Chocolate cake is yummy

The next stop in my continuing quest to eat everything on the Billy's Bakery menu (again) was the chocolate cake with vanilla frosting. I'll caveat this post (and the atrocious photo below) with the statement that I actually cut this slice of cake, wrapped it in plastic wrap, kept it in the fridge overnight, and THEN ate it, which is pretty much everything that you're not supposed to do with your cake or cupcakes.

And, readers, it was still good.

And this was actually the best photo of all the shots I took

The cake was incredibly moist and chocolatey, and frosting was perfect vanilla-inflected Billy's goodness. Butter, sugar, chocolate. Absolutely delightful.

Billy's Bakery
Chelsea, Tribeca, and Nolita
212-647-9956

The classic chocolate cupcake from Billy's

I'm slowly making my way through the menu at Billy's, once again, and I'm reminded every day how freakin' delicious this stuff is. And I'm not just saying that because I'm employed there. I mean, take the classic chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting. Light, fluffy, cocoa-inflected cake, with an appealing darker, almost coffee-like undertone at the exposed lip of the cake. Sugary, pure frosting, dotted liberally with sprinkles for visual and textural contrast. It's baked-good perfection: simple, uncomplicated, and thoroughly, seriously delicious. It may be humble (and bordering on homely, once I squished it beyond recognition in my purse on the way home), but it's a straight-shot throwback to childhood. In the best way possible.

Kinda dented. Oops.

So light and tender!

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

Another ode to the Hello Dolly

Recently, I had the first Hello Dolly of my second stint with Billy's Bakery. Last time, I loved them so, but in my first few weeks at the bakery this time around there was a lot of cupcake and brownie tasting, so I hadn't gotten around to bringing one of these fabulous babes home yet... but then I did. And I remembered.

Why hello, Dolly.

Sure, she may be homely. But darn it, this Dolly is delicious. Graham cracker, pecans, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and coconut are all enrobed in a crackly, sticky-sweet layer of condensed milk. It's incredibly sweet and incredibly satisfying-- texturally interesting with a range of flavors, filling but not cloying. I could eat one of these every day, and the only thing standing between me and doing just that is willpower. And the prospect of buying a whole new wardrobe, several sizes bigger.

Billy's Bakery
184 Ninth Avenue and 75 Franklin Street
212-647-9956

Back to the Billy's classics

The other day, after spending much of my day wrist-deep in frosting, I just craved a cupcake, darn it. And even though I usually go for the more exotic offerings at Billy's-- the red velvet, the carrot-- for some reason I just wanted a classic vanilla-vanilla cupcake. And so a classic cupcake I got.

It got a little squished in transit, but it's still so cute, no?

Man, what makes cupcakes so good? Probably the fact that it's just pure butter and sugar, but still. This classic yellow cake was incredibly light, almost ethereal, and the crown of vanilla frosting was generous and lip-smackingly sweet. I gobbled this cupcake in a few bites and could have eaten about three more (but didn't!). Gotta love it.

Lots of frosting there

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

Pumpkin goods (and me!) at Billy's Bakery!

Readers, I am proud to announce that I have returned home-- that is, to Billy's Bakery. After a year or so hiatus, I'm back in action at the beloved bakery, making things happen (or, hoping to) behind the scenes.

What does that mean for you all? More Billy's baked goods, of course! And why not start now? The other night, in my first official post-employment Billy's bite, I chowed down on a duo of pumpkin treats.

First, there was a pumpkin cupcake. Incredibly light and fluffy spice cake crowned with a swirl of creamy, tangy cream cheese frosting-- it's not strongly pumpkiny, only autumnal and delightful. This puppy goes down like water.

Isn't she a beauty?

Then, there was the pumpkin whoopie pie. It's a baseball-sized confection, definitely designed for sharing. Two halves of pumpkin cake-- a bit more substantial and cookie-like than the pumpkin cupcake's version-- are anchored together with a smear of sugary-sweet icing. It's a gut-bomb, for sure, and especially so after a whole cupcake, so I only managed a few bites. But since this is only a rare guest star in the cupcake case, it's definitely worth getting if they're on sale when you visit.

Whooooopie!

And that's that. What else is there to say? Pure fall happiness, courtesy of Billy's. It's great to be back.

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

A new kind of cupcake from Billy's

The other day, I had the distinct pleasure of helping man the Billy's Bakery booth at the NYC Wine & Food Festival. I dusted off my rusty cupcake-frosting skills to help feed the hungry (and tipsy) sweet-seeking masses. And in return, I got to taste a few of Billy's more unusual creations.

My favorite this time around was a twist on Billy's traditional chocolate-vanilla cupcake. This was a traditional chocolate cake base, but the frosting was vanilla bean-white chocolate buttercream, and there were a few Godiva white chocolate pearls dotting the top. The frosting was creamy and sweet without being cloying, and the real vanilla bean added nuance to keep the concoction from being one-note. It was the perfect foil for the fluffy chocolate cake.

I frosted this beauty myself!

It was delicious. And classy. The best of both worlds.

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

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

Meats 'n' sweets at The Red Cat

On Saturday night, AV and I headed to The Red Cat in far West Chelsea to meet up for our second "date" with SW and BC, a long time in the making. AV and I got there a little early, which made for an unfortunate amount of time spent with us trying to make ourselves inconspicuous in the entryway/bar area, which was packed with revelers (leaving pretty much no room to stand. Scratch that, literally no room to stand). Finally we were led to a table, and SW and BC joined soon afterward. Get the party STARTED!

Red Cat was busy. Crazy busy. Servers was running around, chatter was high, people in various states of hipster dress and fluorescent-colored hair milled about, all creating what I think is technically called "buzz." It took a while to get our orders in, but once we did, we were treated to thick slabs of bread, portioned out one per person, with a tiny dish of olive oil in the middle to share. The bread was addictive, incredibly stretchy and chewy in the middle with an assertive thick crust. But we could have used more olive oil, as our well had run dry by the time the four of us had finished our pieces.

You can't tell from this perspective, but this was a huge piece

SW and BC had ordered the fontina macaroni to share as a starter. First off, the macaroni was covered with an arresting green crust-- an inquiry of our server confirmed those were "herbed bread crumbs," but geez, covering anything with what looks like a moldy substance can't be a great PR move for a dish. Nonetheless, SW and BC enjoyed the macaroni, which had pieces of pepperoni tucked inside a loose cheese sauce. I abstained due to the meat content, but I must say I like my macaroni more on the thick-and-rich side, like the craziness at Brown Cafe. But fortunately nobody asked me.

Green mac & cheese, Sam I Am

It took a while after the mac and cheese was gone, but our entrees did arrive eventually, and I will say up front they were winners all around. I went with the arugula and parmesan salad, which is technically a side; it was fresh and much more interesting than I had anticipated, since it came with some onions and halved grape tomatoes. Plus there was ample parmesan, which I appreciated. AV went with the short rib with "garlic escarole, apple-parsnip puree, and pink pepper gremolata"-- he was impressed. SW and BC raved about their sauteed cod ("lamb polpette, cockles, tomato white wine broth") and grilled pork tenderloin ("blue cheese-tomato gratin, wilted spinach, caramelized onions"), respectively. All portions were pretty ample and were beautifully presented.

Short ribs

Cod

Pork

...and salad

And then there was dessert. The Red Cat dessert menu had a number of good-looking options, so we indulged. AV went for the carrot cake (SW and BC also elected to share an order), which consisted of a cupcake-stump-style round individual cake, accompanied by a scoop of cream cheese ice cream atop a carrot and carrot ginger salad. The whole shebang was anchored to the plate by a smear of what tasted like thinned cream cheese frosting. AV and I traded bites of dessert, and I'll attest that the carrot cake was quite good-- the cake part was moist and packed with raisins, and it tasted almost like the Billy's version (which I ADORE). The cream cheese ice cream was a dead ringer for cream cheese frosting, only in ice cream form. Got that?

Like a molten chocolate cake, but carrot. And not molten.

My choice was an order of apple profiteroles. These came three small pastries to a plate, each one an eggy puff (really eggy-- I know it's an egg-based pate a choux but you could really taste the egg in this, even smothered in caramel) filled with apple-butterscotch ice cream, all topped with caramel and perched in a soup of cinnamon-chocolate sauce and swirls of caramel. Sounds like a mouthful, huh? It definitely was. This was a very sweet dessert, but given my insatiable sweet tooth (apologies to my dentist) I really enjoyed it. For texture there were tiny bits of apples in the ice cream and a bit of chew in the pastry. For pure decadence, there was the pool of sauce, which I lapped up long after the rest of the dessert was gone.

Well plated puffs

So, as you can tell, our experience at the Red Cat was quite positive. The place itself is fun to be in, with unusual touches like decorative fork-and-spoon coat hooks on the walls; my only gripe aside from the fact that there's no room to stand while waiting for a table is that the space is loud (the four of us were shouting for much of the night). But the food was quite, quite tasty, thoughtful, and high quality, especially the desserts. I would certainly recommend it and would be happy to return myself, making TRC a solid four Offset Spatula destination.

The Red Cat
227 Tenth Avenue, between 23rd and 24th Streets
212-242-1122

LWF&D makes yummy treats. And eats them.

On Tuesday afternoon, I made delicious, delicious cupcakes. They went a little something like this:

First, a thorough search of the internet for the perfect recipe. Chocolate cupcakes? Maybe. Buttermilk vanilla? Perhaps. Banana? Aha! Yes! After my love affair with Billy's banana cupcakes was sadly truncated by a return to my "real" job, I haven't had that blissful taste in months. Well, it was time to rock 'n' roll.

Following Martha Stewart's recipe (yes, cringe. I'm not a Martha fan, but I am man--well, woman--enough to recognize a good recipe when I see one), I conjured up a big bowl of cupcake batter. It was an interesting batter-- more of a muffin mixture than a traditional cake batter, using melted butter and mashed bananas. And then before I baked the little delights, I hid a secret surprise in each, my little editorial addition to the recipe. You'll see.

They came out of the oven looking beautiful:

Tiny golden beauties

The corner cupcake

And then I frosted them. Martha's recommendation is a honey-cinnamon frosting, basically a traditional American buttercream with a bit of honey and a dash of cinnamon. But, in my quest to replicate Billy's masterpiece, I wanted cream cheese all the way. So I whipped up a batch using, yes, another Martha recipe. And once my beautiful cupcake stumps were cool, I slathered those pupplies with the frosting. They looked like this:

Crowned with snow

Finally, after dinner, I chose the perfect one to be my tester cupcake. Yup:

THE one

As always, I cut it in half... revealing the surprise!

Hidden Hershey kiss!!

And then I dug in. Dear readers, forgive me for tooting my own horn, but these cupcakes were damn good. I'll admit the frosting wasn't as good as Billy's cream cheese frosting, which I suspect has a higher ratio of sugar to cream cheese (my version was tangier and softer). But the cake was delicious, and the bit of chocolate hidden inside put it absolutely over the edge. I gobbled this down in the blink of an eye.

And then I licked the frosting bowl. Oops?

Give it a try yourself. Recipes are available here:

Banana cupcakes
Cream cheese frosting

Back to basics at Amy's Bread

It's been a tough few weeks for the cupcake eater in me. First I tried to squelch the craving with a non-cupcake pastry from Andre's. Then I gave in to the siren song that is Crumbs. Where's a Billy's red velvet or banana cupcake when you need one? Down in Chelsea and Tribeca, sadly. So when the craving returned last week, once again I turned to a local option: Amy's Bread.

Now, while my heart certainly lies with Billy's, I won't pretend I was unhappy "settling" for Amy's. I wrote about the black and white cupcake at Amy's a while back, and when I get a local craving for a chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting, it still can't be topped. They've changed the wrappers to French cupcake liners since I last wrote, making the quarry look a little something like this:

The frosting got squished in transit. But still good!

When you pull the paper off the cupcake, it falls away in a neat halo, not unlike this dinosaur from Jurassic Park.

I realize this picture doesn't look much different from the one above it. But trust me, the cupcake liner mechanism works well.

And then when you cut into the cupcake, it reveals its true magic: A moist, fine-crumbed, intensely chocolatey cake that neatly straddles the line between cake and brownie. The center is always a tiny bit underdone, aptly delivering that fudgy-brownie hit, while the base of the cupcake brings the cake. Oh, and the frosting is perfect, sugary and mild, a classic foil for the rich cake.

You can see the moisture throughout and the layer of fudginess right below the frosting

While the other cupcakes at Amy's can't hold a candle to the goodies at Billy's, their black and white cupcake is tops. My unequivocal recommendation remains.

LWF&D goes all Benedict Arnold at Crumbs

As I mentioned earlier, I've been battling a rather severe cupcake craving since my departure from Billy's. Today I was at the office planning my post-dinner indulgence. I got a window of time to duck out for a quick cupcake-shopping trip and realized my only real option was... Crumbs. Crumbs, the McDonald's of cupcakes, whose pastries are the size and shape of softballs and come in as many colors and flavors as Sanford Mr. Sketch markers (don't pretend you never ended up with colored dots on your nose from smelling those markers as a kid). Sigh. Off I went to the Crumbs by Bryant park.

After dinner, I unveiled my prey. It was a Butterfinger cupcake: vanilla cake, filled and frosted with Butterfinger buttercream and edged in chocolate chips. Overkill, much?

Looks innocent, but was almost as big as my head

I cut it in half and chose one of the halves, wrapping the other one for later. The filling job went admirably deep, almost all the way to the bottom of the center of the cake. I took one bite of the cake by itself, and... well, it was actually pretty good. Really moist, with an almost artificial vanilla flavor. Very much like cake mix. The Butterfinger frosting was totally intense, with a true Butterfinger taste and even some of the shattery texture, all thanks to the pieces of real Butterfinger mixed in. I could have done without the chocolate chips around the edge, but hey, they made it pretty. I ate half the cupcake and was full; ten minutes later I had stomach cramps. The other half went in the trash.

Well filled and frosted

While I'll never go to Crumbs if I can help it (i.e., if there are other, better cupcake options nearby), this particular cupcake was actually not as bad as some of their others-- I think the Butterfinger pieces actually helped mask the usual shortening-y taste of their frosting. But regardless, eating Crumbs is very much like eating McDonalds (in theory... I haven't eaten McDonald's in well over a decade): it tastes good, but it makes you feel both crappy and slightly guilty afterwards. Oh well. Consider the cupcake craving sated.

Bye-bye, Billy's

Dear Readers,

It is with a heavy heart and an empty stomach that I officially announce my time at Billy's Bakery has come to an end. I have returned to my "real" job, which sadly involves a significantly smaller amount of baked goods on a daily basis. But while I may not be there in person, I promise to continue my unstinting coverage of Billy's to the best of my no-longer-insider abilities. Stay tuned...

Janine

A red velvet break at the Cupcake Stop

Sunday morning, AV and I went out to explore the rare weekend-morning quiet that envelops Hell's Kitchen at times of the day I don't often see. As we rounded the corner of Ninth Avenue, we spotted none other than the Cupcake Stop, inexplicably parked at 47th and 9th at around 10AM. AV hadn't had breakfast, and after I explained to him the story behind the Cupcake Stop (law school, truck, cupcakes, etc.), he had to try one. Ever a red velvet man, he chose an RV cupcake to go.

Frosting like a jaunty beret

While I am and always will be partial to Billy's, this RV wasn't bad. The tiny bite I took revealed a flavorful and somewhat spongy cake and a soft, vanilla-inflected frosting. I didn't detect much cream-cheesiness in the frosting, but then again, I only had about half a gram, not enough for a truly accurate judgment. My only squabble was with the frosting-to-cake ratio-- much too much cake for the frosting, in my humble opinion. But in the end, if you're nowhere near a Billy's and need an RV cupcake stat, I say cautiously that the Cupcake Stop will do. It'll do, pig, it'll do.

A limited-time apple interlude, courtesy of Billy's

As part of the Billy's Tribeca Grand Opening celebration, we held a contest for customers to submit ideas for Billy's next bestselling product. The winning suggestion will be featured from July 19-25 at both Billy's locations. We chose the winner two weeks ago, and since then, the bakers have been testing recipes. Behold, the exceptionally delicious creation:

What is it??

That, of course, is an apple cupcake with cream cheese frosting. A cross-section reveals a hearty, brown-sugar-heavy batter packed with chunks of real apple.

Visible brown sugar... niiiiice

The scrumptious creation tastes almost like an appley gingerbread, full of those delicious gingerbread spices. Combined with our traditionally outrageous cream cheese frosting, which is given a smart dusting of cinnamon-sugar, this cupcake is a truly craveable treat. Mark your calendars-- it will only be available for one short week, so come on down and grab one when you can. Rest assured that I'll be eating as many as possible during that time...

Billy's Bakery Tribeca opening this Saturday!

At long last, Billy's Bakery's second store, at 75 Franklin Street in Tribeca, will be opening this Saturday! Stop by for a Grand Opening celebration of epic proportions. Highlights include: a free small coffee with purchase (from opening until 11AM); free cupcake card with purchase all day; and more free samples than you can shake a stick at. But really, you won't want to shake a stick at these free samples-- we'll be sampling everything from our product line, so if you've ever wondered how our peach pie or chocolate icebox cake tastes but didn't want to commit to a full slice, now's your chance.

We'll also be holding a contest to choose the next Billy's Bakery bestselling product. If you have an idea for a sweet treat you've always wanted to see at Billy's, enter your idea for a chance to see your creation in sale at Billy's for a full week in July. If you win, you'll also get a sweet Billy's Bakery t-shirt and a dozen cupcakes, of course...but really, it's all about the glory. So, so much glory.

Once again, it's this Saturday, June 20, at Billy's Bakery Tribeca (75 Franklin Street, between Broadway and Church). See you there!

Tasting the competition

MS, the illustrious office manager of Billy's, just returned from a weekend in LA. And in the cupcake world, LA doesn't mean Hollywood and movie stars-- it means Sprinkles. So she brought us all back Sprinkles cupcakes to try.

At the bakery I sampled the vanilla-vanilla (relatively tasteless frosting; weird gummy cake; surprisingly delicious white sprinkles) and the chocolate-vanilla (yummy chocolate cake; good frosting with tiny little chocolate squares sprinkled on top). But I took home her real gift for me: the red velvet.

The Sprinkles cupcakes are shaped like Crumbs cupcakes, with a flat-ish top and their signature Sprinkles dot on top (note to readers: do NOT eat this dot. MS warned me but I ate it anyway. It was truly disgusting). The chocolatey cake was an understated russet reddish-brown, which was appealing. And the frosting looked promisingly sugar-crusted.

Like a giant single bloodshot eye

A bite revealed a tasty mixture. The cake had a very large crumb, which made it not necessarily dry but very springy, if that makes sense. The frosting was delicious, sugary with a hint of cream cheese (Billy's cream cheese frosting is definitely cream-cheesier, which I think gives it a delightful tang). Together, the two elements were more than the sum of their parts and quite yummy.

Large crumb. Pretty red.

I finished this cupcake easily, although I must admit it gave me a bit of a weird-stomach-feeling afterwards (don't know why. Maybe the red dye?). Overall, I'd say that the Sprinkles red velvet was "Solid." But I still like Billy's better.

The most fun Billy's Bakery cupcake ever

Last Friday, the delightful bakers at Billy's created something I've been asking for for several months (seriously): FUNFETTI CUPCAKES!!! I was attempting a bakery-item detox diet for the week, but when one of the awesome friendly counter staff workers specially frosted one for me with funfetti frosting... well... I gave in.

First: isn't it beautiful?

Just a little parcel of edible fun

And second: isn't it delicious? YES! The little confetti bits melted right into the cake batter, just as everyone remembers from childhood birthday cupcakes. But the best part was the very top of the cupcake, where it met the frosting: the little confetti bits that migrated to the top of the batter stayed crunchy, so the cupcake top had an incredible, delightful crunchy texture that was just out of this world. And the confetti's extra crunch in the funfetti frosting was a little something extra. All in all-- everything I've ever wanted.

Festive, sugary, and delicious!

Rebecca Taylor cupcake...mmm

Last night for my daily treat I had a yummy Rebecca Taylor cupcake from Billy's. These cupcakes were designed by Rebecca Taylor herself during a visit to the bakery. She created two masterpieces: a mocha concoction and this one, fondly known as "Vanilla Twinkle."

Swirly and celestial

Underneath that showy exterior, it's one of Billy's classic vanilla-vanilla cupcakes. The swirled blue icing, our vanilla buttercream, is really pretty and is deliciously sweet and creamy. But the reason I chose this one over a regular vanilla-vanilla (aside from the fact that I love blue, and this blue is puuuuuurty) is because I actually think the decorations add a little somethin'-somethin'. There's a sprinkling of course sugar over the top, which gives the exterior of the frosting a delightful crunch. Plus there are the silver dragees, which most people don't eat but I do (whoops?)-- I find them sweet and yummy. All in all, this is one of those cupcakes that just bring a smile to your face. A pure, pretty hit of sugar: What could be wrong with that?

Come visit Billy's at Tribeca Film Festival Family Day!

Dear readers,

In honor of our soon-to-open second location in Tribeca, Billy's Bakery will have a table at the Tribeca Film Festival Family Day Street Fair this weekend! Come visit us on Saturday from 10AM-6PM on Greenwich Street between Hubert and Duane. You'll be able to sample our cookies, brownies, blondies, Hello Dollies, and (of course) cupcakes-- all stacked, packed, and frosted by yours truly! (Well, not ALL, but I helped.) More info is available here: http://www.tribecafilm.com/festival/events-panels/family-fest/2008_Tribeca_Film_Festival_Family_Street_Fair.html

See you there!

Janine