Next up in our Best of NYC series is- cupcakes! Cupcakes are one of my favorite dessert options, and New York City has some of the best cupcake bakeshops in the world. Today I am sharing 7 of my favorites. Some you’ve likely heard of (unless you’ve been living under a rock) but there are a few hidden gems on this list you may not have heard of before.
First up had to be the famous Magnolia Bakery. In 1996, Magnolia Bakery opened its first location on a quiet street corner in the heart of New York’s West Village. From its inception, Magnolia has been cherished for its classic American baked goods, vintage decor and warm, inviting atmosphere. The bakery was made famous from it’s cameo in the show Sex and the City. They serve a classic red velvet cupcake daily, and then serve a different special flavor every day of the week. Magnolia Bakery has 7 locations in the US and 13 locations internationally.
After briefly closing all locations last summer, Crumbs has re-opened its doors! Crumbs Bake Shop first opened in March of 2003 on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and have since expanded to 17 locations throughout the northeast and LA. They have many unique and different flavors compared to other cupcake shops, but we recommend the cookie dough and devil’s food flavors.
3. Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery
Sugar Sweet Sunshine is an eclectic little bakery on the Lower East Side that sells some of the best cupcakes I’ve ever eaten. This little gem is my favorite of the bunch. Their “cast of cupcakes” features flavors such as Sassy Red Velvet (red velvet cake with chocolate almond buttercream), Goodie Goodie (dark chocolate cake with whipped peanut butter buttercream), and my favorite, Bob (yellow cake with chocolate almond buttercream).
We’ve talked about The Little Cupcake Bakeshop already, but they have to be included in our cupcake round up. They specialize in using fresh, sustainable ingredients that are sourced locally. They have branched out from your typical cupcake flavors offering options such as blue velvet (made with blueberries), peanut butter and jelly, and black and white (inspired by the black and white cookie). The black and white flavor was DELICIOUS. Another unique flavor they offer is the dreaming princess which was an almond cake with raspberry preserves and an almond buttercream, which sounded yummy on paper but i couldn’t get that taste out of my mouth fast enough. Shelby loved it though so don’t let my opinion sway you. They have 3 locations in the New York area, two in Brooklyn and one in Manhattan on Prince St. If you find yourself near one and in need of a sugar rush it’s the perfect spot to grab a coffee and a bite of something sweet.
5. Sprinkles
Sprinkles single-handedly started the cupcake craze of the early 2000’s, and they still hold up today. In addition to cupcakes, they now serve cookies and ice cream at some locations. The ice cream is served basically like a deconstructed ice cream sandwich, with a scoop of ice sandwiched between a cupcake that is sliced in half. The much hyped cupcake ATM is perfect for that 3AM cupcake craving. We love the chocolate marshmallow, pumpkin, and triple cinnamon flavors. Sprinkles has 17 locations throughout the US.
The owner of this cute bakery named the the shop after his third grade teacher, Molly, because she always brought her students cupcakes on their birthdays. In honor of her, a portion of the proceeds are given to schools in the community. Here you actually get to build your own cupcake! I picked a vanilla cake with french buttercream frosting. I then went over to the “sprinkle bar” (!!!) and added some sprinkles for decoration. They also sell pre-made center-filled cupcakes and I can’t wait to try to peanut butter nutella one next time! The decor was actually my favorite part of this place. The table tops were old desks and the bar stools looked like swings…except sadly they didn’t move. Molly’s is located on Bleecker Street in Manhattan, and there are also locations in Chicago and Iowa.
Baked by Melissa is another one of my favorites. All the cupcakes are bite size, so it’s a great way to try a bunch of different flavors. The chocolate chip pancake and mint cookie flavors are available year round and are some of my favs. They also always have a “mini of the month” and this year they have a special fall collection (pictured above) featuring 3 special flavors- deconstructed cookie dough, vanilla cookies and cream, and scotcheroo. There are 14 Baked by Melissa locations in the NYC area.
Have you been to any of the spots on our list? Which was your favorite?
-Ashley xx
I’ve had Magnolia and Baked by Melissa cupcakes…and I loved them both! I’m going to try more when I go to in December!