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Talia Hodge
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Talia Hodge
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Talia Hodge
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Talia Hodge
The secret behind the peanut butter pie at Beau’s Grille in Fairlawn and Beau’s on the River in Cuyahoga Falls is executive chef Beau Schmidt’s pastry chef mother, Jerry Schmidt, who makes the pies ($6.95 slice) from scratch.
“You can tell it’s homemade,” Beau says. “How she decorates the pie — it’s got chopped-up candy on it — it looks like somebody put a lot of effort into it.”
Jerry puts many years of expertise into it too. Growing up, Beau learned to bake by watching his parents make birthday and wedding cakes for their catering business, and when he got into the restaurant business decades ago, Jerry followed him, making desserts and more. For 25 years, they’ve been serving peanut butter pie, dating back to the former Beau’s Tavern in the Valley. Beau was inspired by Cajun chefs like Emeril Lagasse, so he added peanut butter pie, which is popular in the Big Easy.
The pie starts with a house-made graham cracker crust filled with a base of cream cheese, peanut butter, powdered sugar, heavy cream and house-made whipped cream with chopped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups mixed in. It’s decorated with a thick topping of whipped cream and more chopped Reese’s. All those years have given them time to master the recipe, and they started folding in more whipped cream to refine the texture.
“It made it creamier, lighter, airier, not as dense,” Beau says. “You get a lot of peanut butter flavor.”
Garnishes often include a strawberry, a blackberry and caramel sauce adorning the plate. Word has gotten out that Jerry is the one making desserts, and the peanut butter pie has become the No. 1-selling dessert, often selling out.
“I’m creative by nature,” she says. “This is how I express my art through baking.”
Beau’s Grille, Hilton Akron/Fairlawn, 3180 W. Market St., Fairlawn; Beau’s on the River, Sheraton Suites Akron/Cuyahoga Falls, 1989 Front St., Cuyahoga Falls; beausrestaurants.com