Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes
"Cupcake tour of NYC, where cupcakes aren't just a craze- they're an industry"
by
Beth J. Harpaz, Canadian PressIf you're looking for a cupcake tour, New York City is touted as having the best cupcakes for every tatse imaginable. The entire story is
HERE.Must Have York Cupcakes BABYCAKES NYC When you order, be ready to answer: "Gluten-free or spelt?" BabyCakes cupcakes are vegan: dairy-free, soy-free, egg-free, and most sweetened with agave nectar. Customers with wheat allergies take the gluten-free ($3.95; all prices U.S.); the spelt are made from a high-protein grain often used as an alternative to regular wheat ($3.25).
But don't worry about taste - these cupcakes are delicious. The lemon is blissful, and the vanilla is so intense and infused with flavour that kids accustomed to bland, artificial vanilla might have to be convinced that this is what the real thing tastes like.
248 Broome St.;
http://www.babycakesnyc.com
BILLY'S Billy's is a popular neighbourhood spot. The classic chocolate cupcake with sugary frosting will remind you of the ones mom made for your third-grade birthday ($2.25). Specialty flavours like the delicious banana are $2.75.
184 Ninth Ave., and 75 Franklin St.; http://www.billysbakerynyc.com
CRUMBS BAKE SHOP Cupcakes here are a blast from your sweets-filled past, with flavours such as Twinkie, Devil Dog, Heath Bar, peanut butter cup, caramel chew, Butterfinger and Nestle Crunch, in addition to traditional varieties ($2.50 to $3.75).
Locations in Manhattan include 43 W. 42nd St., across from Bryant Park; http://www.crumbs.com.
CUPCAKE CAFE Open since 1988, this was a pioneer in Manhattan cupcakes, and its offerings remain the most beautiful in the city. The frosting on each one is a tiny artwork of flower blossoms rendered in buttercream, a reflection of owner Ann Warren's background as a visual artist. But regular customer Daniel Brewbaker says he also comes for the coffee and the atmosphere. "This is a place where friends congregate, and that's what a coffee house has always been," he says. One of his favourites: the outstanding walnut cupcake with maple frosting ($2.50 or $3.50).
18 W. 18th St., and 545 Ninth Ave.; http://www.cupcakecafe-nyc.com.
CUPCAKESTOP Lev Ekster graduated in May from New York Law School, and while law firm jobs were hard to come by, he thought the cupcake business looked strong. "But it was hard to find a brick-and-mortar location," he says. "A truck was the most affordable way to go to get the business started."
And so the CupcakeStop was born. Devotees follow Ekster on Twitter to find out where he'll be; flavours include key lime and Rocky Road as well as classics such as red velvet, $2.25. Ekster says cupcakes are "the ideal mobile food" for 21st-century New Yorkers on the go: cupcake in one hand and coffee (or maybe an iPhone) in the other.
http://www.cupcakestop.com. Check the daily location at twitter.com/CupcakeStop.
KYOTOFU Kyotofu's chocolate soufflé cupcake contains miso and tofu, and the frosting is made from white bean paste. But though it's unconventional, this is a cupcake any dessert-lover can enjoy, so good it won New York Magazine's best cupcake award in 2007 - beating out standard-issue cupcakes all over town.
Of course, this is not the place to go for a fix of super-sweet buttercream frosting and devil's food cake. But the cupcakes are light, delicious and flavourful. The green tea ($3.25) is as sublime as the chocolate soufflé.
705 Ninth Ave.;
http://www.kyotofu-nyc.com.
MAGNOLIA BAKERY These are the city's most famous cupcakes. "If you come to New York one day, and you have a list of things you want to do, we're on a lot of lists," says owner Steve Abrams, who bought Magnolia three years ago and has opened two other locations.
Abrams sells a few million cupcakes a year, "but we bake small batches all day long, and that's why there's a wonderful smell in our bakeries." Cupcakes are $2.50 or $3.
401 Bleecker St., Greenwich Village, 1240 Sixth Ave. at Rockefeller Center, and 200 Columbus Ave.; http://www.magnoliabakery.com.
THE RITZ-CARLTON
Maybe you can't afford to stay in the Ritz-Carlton hotel across from Central Park, but it's cheaper to sample the hotel's luxurious ambience via its cupcake tea, at $25 per person plus tax and tip.
"We wanted to provide a Ritz-Carlton-quality experience but at a more affordable price point," hotel spokeswoman Jennifer Oberstein says. But there are no paper napkins here, just linen.
The experience includes mini-cupcakes in five flavours, plus a choice of tea, hot chocolate, milk or chocolate milk. Chef Stephanie Grajales reached back into classic Americana and her own childhood memories to create the menu: pistachio, inspired, she says, by a Carvel ice cream flavour; and an utterly perfect strawberry shortcake cupcake topped with whipped cream, stuffed with strawberry preserves - just like the cake her mom used to make on her birthday.
50 Central Park South;
http://www.ritzcarlton.com. Cupcake teas Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., through Oct. 31;
reservations 212-521-6125.
SUGAR SWEET SUNSHINE BAKERY Want some party with your cupcake? Sugar Sweet Sunshine has a fun vibe and an in-your-face attitude, with thrift-store furniture, a huge photo of Jackie Kennedy on the wall, music from the 1960s and 1970s, and a $1.50 price that even artists can afford. The pistachio is sensational, the pumpkin nicely spiced.
126 Rivington St.;
http://www.sugarsweetsunshine.com.
