Snack Attack: Parlor Ice Cream Co. Baklava Sandwich at Pelekasis

All the honey-scented nuttiness you look for in baklava, with added whimsy.

Welcome to our weekly series Snack Attack, where we highlight a sweet treat or savory start you should save room for.


Pelekasis's baklava ice cream sandwich

Pelekasis’s baklava ice cream sandwich, made with the Parlor Ice Cream Co. / Photo provided

When Jacqueline Dole and Brendan Pelley met last summer, the two chefs got to talking about, of all things, Harry Potter.

“He noticed my Harry Potter tattoo, and we hit it off,” says Dole, the confectioner behind the pop-up Parlor Ice Cream Co.

Dole and Pelley kept in touch, and when the latter was retooling the dessert menu at Pelekasis at Wink & Nod this spring, he called her up. He had heard about the baklava-flavored ice cream she was selling in Hoodsie-style cups out of the Chubby Chickpea, and he had an elevated ice cream sandwich in mind. And, he wanted to up the creaminess factor in his Nescafé frappe, a ubiquitous Greek treat. Could she make sweetened condensed milk-flavored ice cream?

She tried a few test batches, and about a month ago, Dole delivered on both requests. The bolstered frappe and the baklava ice cream sandwich will be on the Pelekasis menu through the end of July, when Pelley will pass the torch to the next Wink & Nod chef.

Pelekasis replaced a more traditional baklava on the menu with the collaboration.”This is more in line with what Pelekasis is, where it’s influenced by a classic Greek recipe, but [it’s] more modern and fun.”

Dole steeps walnuts and pistachios in milk for her ice cream base, then adds warm spices and flecks of what she describes as a sort of phyllo streusel. Pelley provides the chewy, cinnamon-walnut-honey cookie. Cut in half, it’s a shareable start to a dessert course, he says, or it’s a satisfying snack for one.

Pelley is excited to showcase the Parlor Ice Cream Co. at his pop-up restaurant, and says to expect future collaborations between the two chefs.

“Being a small business startup, I want to help my friend out and help promote her business as she’s starting up. She’s kind of doing the same route as me, venturing out on her own and doing pop-ups,” he says. “And her ice cream tastes super delicious.”

Baklava ice cream sandwich, $6, Pelekasis at Wink & Nod, 3 Appleton St., Boston, 617-482-0117, winkandnod.com, parloricecreamco.co.