7 Irresistible Desserts in Chicago

Desserts in Chicago run the gamut from cold and creamy to firm and flaky. Jennifer Billock, a dessert lover who lives in Chicago, reveals seven iconic Chicago desserts that you won't be able to resist. She shows you where to eat them too!

Lemon FluffPhoto byJennifer Billock

You probably already know Chicago’s famous savory foods: hot dogs, pizza, Italian beef, pizza puffs. But as a self-proclaimed historic Chicago bakery expert (hey, I wrote the book about them, it’s only fair), I have to tell you - if you haven’t tried iconic Chicago desserts, you’re missing out.

These are my seven favorite desserts in Chicago, plus one I don’t like but feel obligated to include, along with some history of each and a recipe:

1. Atomic Cake

Atomic cake is my favorite cake. I love it so much that we had custom trifles made from the cake's ingredients at our wedding. But if you’ve never heard of it, you’re probably not alone. The iconic Chicago cake is a staple of the south and southwest side of the city.

Here’s how to build it: banana cake topped with Bavarian custard, sliced bananas, and whipped cream; then chocolate cake topped with strawberry glaze, sliced strawberries, and whipped cream; then yellow cake topped with a layer of fudge; and the entire cake covered in whipped cream.

The cake officially emerged in the 1950s (the exact date is unknown) at Liberty Bakery on the South Side, invented by baker George Kremm, who conceived of the cake years earlier while working at a different South Side bakery. Over the years the hyperlocal dessert never left the neighborhood.

Luckily for me, my family is from that part of Chicago, and even though I live on the North Side now, I still know where to go to get the best version of this dessert (hello, Weber’s Bakery!).

2. New Look

Did you know Chicago has a secret society of bakers?

They’re called the Bakers Dozen, and they’ve been meeting and creating since the 1930s. One of their creations is called the new look. The group ordered custom pans for the treat; they were square with a hole in the middle.

The new look itself is a buttery pecan coffee cake with custard filling surrounding the hole. The Bakers Dozen developed it in the 50s, but any further history of the pastry is lost to time.

Pro Tip: If you want a new look recipe, you may be out of luck. There’s only one place to get the authentic version now: Jarosch Bakery, which opened in 1959 and isn’t in the city at all, it’s in the nearby suburbs.

3. Lemon Fluff

“Lemon fluff! Lemon fluff! Can’t get enough of lemon fluff!”

This catchy chant is usually heard from a parade float in Evergreen Park, just on the other side of the city limits. The float's riders are touting the signature cake from Wolf’s Bakery, the lemon fluff cake. The cake is an airy lemon chiffon with whipped custard filling and topping.

When the bakery opened in 1939, it was a bestseller — and clearly still is, though I personally would love more of a lemony punch. (I know, it’s a whole lemon cake. I just can’t get enough lemon!)

4. Paczki

For Chicagoans, a paczki (pronounced poonch-key) isn’t just a treat - it’s an entire holiday.

The Polish pastries look similar to jelly donuts with traditional fillings like rosehip and prune. Every year on Fat Tuesday, or as we call it, Paczki Day, everyone heads out to the bakery to snag a package of their favorite to devour at home. It’s a citywide tradition.

Chefs come up with creative fillings, lines stretch for blocks, and accordion players come out to entertain the crowds. If you don’t have a paczki, you’ll have bad luck for the rest of the year. My favorite flavor is the custard-filled.

5. Brownie

If you’ve ever stayed at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel in Chicago, you can officially say you’ve slept where American dessert history was made.

In 1893, Bertha Palmer brought the world the brownie. Well, technically, the chef at the hotel did.

Palmer wanted something to go into boxed lunches for guests that were heading to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. She asked the chef to create a small cake-like dessert, and he churned out the classic chocolate brownie. Bertha Palmer (and chef), the world salutes you.

6. Garrett Popcorn

You probably know Garrett Popcorn, or as Chicagoans call it, just Garrett’s. Their Chicago mix of caramel corn and cheese popcorn is world-famous (and probably my least favorite food product created in this fine city). Interestingly enough, though, it wasn’t originally on the Garrett's menu.

Customers made it themselves by buying a bag of caramel corn and a bag of cheese popcorn, and mixing them together in a third bag. It was officially put on the menu in 1977.

Everyone (except me) seems to love the salty and sweet combination - it’s a holiday staple in Chicagoland.

7. Rainbow Cone

Why have one flavor of ice cream when you can have five?

Rainbow Cone first started serving cones in 1926, and the iconic original version of the cone still has the same five flavors: chocolate, strawberry, Palmer House cherry, pistachio, and orange sherbet. The slices — yes, slices — of ice cream are stacked one on top of the other and served on a cone with a drip tray around the top. Though if you’re anything like my niece and nephew, that drip tray is essentially useless.

There’s a trick to eating the towering ice cream. Start your lick from the bottom and swirl upward, then turn the cone to start again, licking and turning, until you’ve eaten all the impending drips. (I learned that from my mom. We’ve got five generations of Chicagoans who all loved Rainbow Cone — my great grandma down to my niece and nephew.)

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