Indulge in festive sweet treats

Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake ($4.95)

If you’ve ever tasted Italian cheesecake, you might recall how deliciously different it is from the classic New York-style version of the dessert.

Pumpkin Spice Cheese-cake ($4.95), featured this month at Fendu Boulangerie in Manoa Marketplace, blends cream cheese and Italian mascarpone for a dessert that would be right at home in a bakery deep in Brooklyn.

Lightly spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, and baked in an almond flour crust, Fendu’s dessert — like many Italian cheesecakes — includes mascarpone cheese that’s made with cream and has a custard-like texture. Accordingly, this month’s featured cake is more like pumpkin pie. “It’s not dense like a New York cheesecake, but soft and creamy,” says Niel Koep, owner of Fendu.

Another featured treat is Fuji Apple Crumble Pie ($5.99) with a classic bottom crust, topped with oatmeal crumble. Though many pie aficionados swear by Granny Smith apples, Koep says Granny Smiths in Hawaii are extremely tart. “You have to add a lot of sugar to make them taste right,” he observes. “Fuji apples are naturally lightly sweet. They cost more but they’re my favorite for cooking.”

Chocolate Financier ($3.99)

Those who crave just a bit of decadence this month will find a rich reward with Fendu’s Chocolate Financier ($3.99). A gold bar in miniature form, this petite cake is made with almond meal and dark cocoa powder. “It’s like a very sophisticated brownie!” says Koep.

Once again, the busy little Manoa bakery is taking orders for its famous holiday pies — 9-inch deep-dish versions of favorites like traditional Pumpkin Custard Pie ($23), Maple Pecan Pie ($25.50) and Fuji Apple Crumble Pie ($24).

“We filled orders for more than 400 pies last year,” says Koep. “It’s best to call ahead, because no matter what we put in the store close to the holidays, it’s all gone!”