The Best Thanksgiving Desserts in San Francisco To Go

If you’re trying to figure out where to pick up the best Thanksgiving desserts in San Francisco, don’t fret. We got this!  Here are six haute suggestions where you can pick up delicious desserts, perfect for taking to a friend of family’s home—or serving to your guests. Whether you’re in the mood for a classic pumpkin pie, a fruit tart or something less traditional, like a pumpkin chai French cream puff or pumpkin cheesecake, we’ve got your taste buds covered.

Tartine Bakery & Cafe

Photo Credit: Chad Robertson

Tartine Bakery & Cafe, the über-popular joint located at 600 Guerrero Street, has a to-die-for Thanksgiving menu filled with cakes, tarts, teacakes and specialty items. Good luck deciding whether you want the pumpkin pie or the pecan tart with a chocolate-lined rye shell with rum. Or maybe the double crust apple pie made with Granny Smith and red blush apples and almond frangipane cream strikes your fancy. Then again, passion fruit Bavarian cake with lime genoise, passion fruit mousse, sweetened cream and coconut sounds so tasty. There’s always the chocolate souffle cake, a flourless chocolate mousse with a chocolate cake base. Oh we could go on, but we’re drooling.

B. Patisserie

Photo Credit: Courtesy B. Patisserie

You’ll have to act quickly and order your Thanksgiving dessert from B. Patisserie, located at 2821 California (at Divisadero), by Friday, Nov. 21. The scrumptious offerings from Belinda Leong and Michael Suas include a 10 hour apple tart (it wouldn’t last 10 hours with us!), banana caramel cream tart, lemon meringue tart, Mississippi mud tart, pear-cranberry tart, pecan tart and pumpkin mascarpone tart. If by chance you miss out on ordering, you can still enjoy other tasty B. Patisserie offerings on turkey day because the bakery/cafe is open on Thanksgiving from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

CHOUX Bakery

Photo Credit: Courtesy CHOUX Bakery

Say “ciao” to CHOUX Bakery, which made the Lower Haight a little sweeter when it opened in August at 248 Fillmore Street. CHOUX, whose owner Laura Athuil hails from Nice, France, offers the ultimate French cream puff experience. You’ll score brownie points when you arrive with a box of her delicious creations. Fall flavors that are sure to impress guests include pumpkin chai (Lauren), caramel apple with almond crunch (Shirah) and peanut butter banana (Ruben). Other delicious flavors CHOUX offers include rum custard, pistachio, salted caramel and lemon.

 Tout Sweet Pâtisserie

Photo Credit: Frankeny Images

No one will be mad at you if you show up on Thanksgiving Day toting a box of Chef Yigit Pura’s trademark French macaroons from Tout Sweet Pâtisserie, the two-year-old French-infused store inside Macy’s in Union Square. You can also go with something seasonal like this heirloom pumpkin pie. Pura will soon bring his macaroons, petit gâteaux (“small cakes”), verrines (layered parfaits), tarts and cookies, as well as a rotating menu of seasonal offerings and signature and celebration cakes, to Silicon Valley. His second location, a 700-square foot store in Palo Alto’s Town and Country Village (855 El Camino Real, #160), is scheduled to open in early to mid-December and feature much of the same delectable treats as his San Francisco outpost.

 Bouchon Bakery

Photo Credit: Deborah Jones

If you’re in wine country for Thanksgiving, be sure to pop by Thomas Keller’s celebrated Bouchon Bakery in Yountville. The three-Michelin starred chef is offering three pies through Nov. 27 at his popular spot at 6528 Washington Street.

• Apple – Vanilla sucree (tart dough) filled with house made apple butter, almond cream, caramel poached apples and topped with almond streusel
• Pecan – Buttery pie crust filled with sweet bourbon syrup loaded with chopped and whole pecans, topped with a maple Chantilly
• Pumpkin – Vanilla sucree (tart dough) filled traditional pumpkin custard, topped with pumpkin seeds and vanilla Chantilly

Bluestem Brasserie

Photo Credit: Courtesy Bluestem Brasserie

We love to stop in Bluestem Brasserie, at 1 Yerba Buena Lane, after a day of shopping Union Square and were thrilled to find out that Pastry Chef Curtis McDonald’s whole cakes and pies are available to go. You can pre-order your Thanksgiving cake by calling (415) 547-1111 and pick them up  Nov. 24 – Nov. 26. Chef Curtis has whipped up beyond the traditional pumpkin pie to create Thanksgiving’s favorite flavors in cheesecakes, layer cakes and more. Bluestem is offering the following flavors of holiday cakes perfect for your family and friends gathering:

• Not Your Grandma’s Pumpkin Pie $40 (12 servings)
  Genoise, Apple Butter, Pumpkin Cheesecake, Brown Sugar Crème, Cranberry Coulis and Pumpkin Seed Tuile
• Papa Stu’s Kahlua Mocha Cake $40 (12-15 servings)
  Kahlua-Soaked Genoise, Semi-Sweet Ganache, Milk Chocolate Mousse, Chocolate Glaze and Cocoa Nibs

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