Sprinkles is, sadly, delicious

The other day, I made my way to the new NYC location of Sprinkles to check out the competition. I'd actually had a Sprinkles cupcake once before, flown across country by a coworker who had visited LA. It was a red velvet, and it was okay, but granted it was a few days old at that point.

This time, I would have a fresh-as-a-daisy specimen and see what all the fuss was truly about. The Sprinkles store itself is bright, clean, airy, and sort of disorganized. Sure, the cupcakes are all orderly and very attractively presented, but there's no real line-- just some people milling about at the counter. Then you place your order, the person writes it along with your name on a pad and rips off a little slip, then someone takes the slip, fills the order, and puts the order and the slip on a back counter. Then the cashier picks up the bag and the slip, calls your name, and summons you to the register to pay. It's one of those systems that probably works really well when it's absurdly busy, but given that I was the only one ordering at the time and was standing at the counter the whole time, it was about 10 steps too many and sort of silly. Also worth noting is that the cash register is hidden in a tall podium, so to pay you sort of slip around the side where the employees enter and exit; there's a trash can there but no counter or place to set a bag or wallet while you're paying. That seems like a bizarre oversight to me.

My cupcake booty

All right, enough. You want to know about the cupcake, right? Right. I chose a black and white cupcake, chocolate cake with vanilla frosting and tiny square chocolate sprinkles decorating the top. And, much as I'd love to slam Sprinkles as terrible and overrated and all that, it was pretty darn delicious. The cake was strikingly chocolatey as well as notably moist, with a springy crumb that held moisture well. The frosting-- and there was quite a bit of it-- was the perfect mixture of buttery and sweet (erring on the sugary side, as you know I like), and the little chocolate sprinkles added some textural contrast as well as more chocolate flavor.

And it's pretty, too

Cross-section

So, sadly, this was one of the better cupcakes I've ever had. And while it's not cheap--$3.50 a pop!-- it's pretty big as well. Sprinkles, you win this round...

Sprinkles
780 Lexington Avenue, between 60th and 61st Streets
212-207-8375

Sweets in Brooklyn: One Girl Cookies

Before our jaunt to Palo Cortado for some Spanish wine and tapas, KS and I stopped at One Girl Cookies to pick up some dessert. Since I don't make it over to Brooklyn very often, it was my first exposure to One Girl-- and boy, was that exposure delicious.

The place itself is adorable, a bright space that's very cleanly maintained. The display case is filled with tiny cookies, meticulously crafted and sporting offbeat flavors. But I went straight for the good stuff-- whoopie pies, of course. Yes, there were some cupcakes, and even a cake by the slice, but their whoopie pies are supposedly something special, so I indulged.

Cookies like little jewels

Cupcakes with spikes

Saucers ready for takeoff

With whoopie pies in my purse (and a selection of cookies for KS and CC), we jaunted off to dinner and then back to KS and CC's apartment. Out came a plate and a fork, and onto the plate went my two whoopie pies: one in chocolate, one in pumpkin. I dug in.

Pies a-waitin'

These were scrumptious. Truly. They're unassuming, and pretty small-- just about two and a half inches across, if that. But the cake is moist and fork-tender, and the frosting/filling is incredible. Instead of the usual fluffy creme centers, One Girl fills its pies with cream cheese frosting (um, YES). It's sweet, it's tangy, it's thick, and it combines with the cake in a rich marriage of soft sweetness. I expected to like the chocolate version better, but surprisingly the pumpkin was the winner; its cake was more moist than the chocolate cake, and its flavor was of Thanksgiving spices like nutmeg and cinnamon-- no assertive squashiness here. The little pies are rich, and after a few bites I figured I wouldn't be able to finish them both. But when I looked down a few moments later, they were both gone. A good whoopie pie'll do that.

A superlative whoopie pie is rare in this city, and One Girl fills that gap (and your stomach) admirably. Kudos.

One Girl Cookies
68 Dean Street, Brooklyn
212-675-4996

So long, Chicago: Some Sugar Bliss to see me off

My final post from Chicago, fittingly, ends on a sweet note. My last day in the city had culminated in a stroll downtown on a brisk but bright day. And lo and behold, where should I find myself (completely coincidentally, of course...) but in front of Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique on Wabash. Well, I had to get something, right? Right?

So get something I did. They had a tempting away of cupcakes, both full-size and mini-size, and I almost went for an assortment of the minis. However, the one flavor I really did want to try was the chocolate cake with white frosting, and sadly, they were out of that mini version. Guess I'd just have to man up and get a full-sized cupcake.

After carting the precious thing around all day, trying desperately (and largely successfully) not to crush it, I got the little bugger back to my hotel room and tucked in. And boy, was it good.

Only a bit worse for wear!

The chocolate cake was fudgy and moist while still being light-- not sticky but not fluffy, occupying that hallowed middle ground in between. It was incredibly, incredibly satisfying. The frosting, piped in an attractive daisy pattern crowned with a small chocolate button, was smooth and creamy; while it wasn't greasy, it had a bit of a shortening mouthfeel and aftertaste to it, which prevented it from being truly stellar. Regardless, the combination of cake and frosting certainly got the job done.

Mmm, devil's food chocolate cake

Yes, Sugar Bliss is currently over a thousand miles away from me, but next time I'm in town you can bet I'll stop by. And if you're anywhere closer to Chicago than I am, I encourage you to do the same.

Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique
115 N. Wabash, Chicago
312-845-9669

A birthday cupcake tableau

This year, for my birthday, I received two incredibly thoughtful cupcake deliveries. The first came late on my birthday evening, courtesy of my Dad: two Red Velvet monsters from Crumbs, packed sweetly in a little twin tin. I tucked in happily the next day.

Get your mind out of the gutter!

These were bright crimson cake bases, the traditional softball-sized Crumbs indulgences, slathered with cream cheese frosting and decorated with white sprinkles and more red cake crumbs. While the cake wasn't really moist at all (perhaps due to the fact that it was a day old by the time I ate it, so reserving judgment here), I give Crumbs major props for the fact that it actually tasted like chocolate. Most RV cupcakes these days only taste like food-colored vanilla cake, but there was definitely cocoa in this batter.

Ready to go

The frosting was also delicious-- not really that cream-cheesy, but smooth and decadent and really bad for you in that honest, straight-up way that frosting has. The sprinkles added a tiny bit of texture and not much else. I ate about 2/3 of this cupcake and felt pretty sick. And then I went and played wiffle ball. My team lost.

Really really red

When I returned that evening, I was greeted by cupcake delivery #2: A dozen Billy's Bakery gems, courtesy of my employers and the rest of our team in London! Oh man, what a treat. The following day, I had a banana cupcake, my favorite. It was the traditional real banana cake, tender and delicious, beautifully frosted with the signature Billy's cream cheese frosting that may be may favorite thing on God's green earth. Thank you, AY and DL and the rest of the team, for such a thoughtful gift-- nothing makes my day like a big bunch of Billy's.

So pretty!

Yum yum

Crumbs
Locations throughout Manhattan

Billy's Bakery
184 Ninth Avenue and 75 Franklin Street
212-647-9958

LWF&D goes back to Billy's for some cupcakes

Last Sunday, I stopped by Billy's Tribeca to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the location. To commemorate the event, they were selling $1 cupcakes, so I bought two. And then I ate them for dinner. Oops?

First up: a red velvet. Still delicious, if a little bit TOO red for my taste (I think it would be just as delicious without the dye). The cake is tender and you can actually taste the cocoa, and the cream cheese frosting is still my kryptonite, just as I remember it.

Appetizer

Next, I proceeded to a carrot cake cupcake, perhaps my favorite of Billy's creations. The cake is just so moist, packed with nuts and coconut and crazy deliciousness. Combine that with the same cream cheese frosting, and... well... we're done here.

Entree

You know I'm not exactly unbiased, but I do love me some Billy's, and I miss eating the delicious baked goods every day. Well, my arteries probably don't, but my taste buds sure do...

Billy's Bakery
75 Franklin Street, between Broadway and Church Street
212-647-9958