It's as though today's pastry chefs and confectioners are all flashing back to those old ads for Reese's peanut-butter cups - not merely getting their chocolate in their peanut butter, but wildly mixing up their savories and sweets. Dreamy case in point: the butterscotch fondant at Gargoyles on the Square (219 Elm Street, Somerville, 617.776.5300). As nearly cloying as any brown-sugar dainty is bound to be, the fondant turns funky as the scoop of black-truffle ice cream it's topped with begins to melt and emanate cool earthiness (meanwhile, dried strawberries and Rice Krispies bits add texture). Then there's Vosges's much-awaited bacon-chocolate bar: flavored with smoked salt and yes, actual applewood-smoked bacon, it's available to piqued palates at Gourmet Boutique (Westin Copley Hotel, 10 Huntington Avenue, Boston, 617.266.2906). B&G Oysters (550 Tremont Street, Boston, 617.423.0550) offers its own rendition of the Italian stroke of genius that is the olive-oil cake; while hardly salty, it possesses a refreshing, slightly fruity lightness that butter-based cakes lack.
