I want Billy’s….Cupcakes!

So, I’m more of a cookie lover, but I think these cupcakes officially have changed my mind. I was lucky enough to try 2 cupcakes at work from Billy’s Bakery. They were fluffy, delicious, and flew like hotcakes out of the containers, so I was happy to get my hand on 2 different flavors. Billy’s bakery has more than just cupcakes though, and I can’t wait to be able to try more menu items! They have cheesecakes, pies, cookies and bars and other items such as breakfast muffins and biscuits. They are located throughout the city, so make sure to check them out for your next event or birthday!

Allergy Info:
No preservatives in any products
Nuts are used in certain items such as the carrot cake, pumpkin bars and some of the breakfast items (for example the banana nut mini loaf). Although there may not be nuts in whatever you order, they’re still made in the same kitchen, so nut allergies beware!

Foodie Rundown:
Red Velvet Cupcake: Very velvety, delicious and the frosting was amazing! (warning: this cupcake stains, so make sure you’re careful when eating it, check your fingers, your clothes and make sure that it’s not all over you!)
Banana Cupcake: I have never tasted a cupcake like this before. It was like banana bread with a cream cheese frosting, so flavorful and seasonally appropriate. I absolutely loved it!

Locations:
Chelsea
Tribeca
Nolita

http://www.billysbakerynyc.com/

Madison Square What?

From September 21st to Friday October 19th, make sure to check out Madison Square Eats in Worth Square, across the street from Madison Square Park! What is this amazing feast you may ask? It is a collection of trucks, restaurants and vendors offering some of the best food in the city.

I’m going to try and get to each and every stand before they leave, here’s a sweet one for your Monday.

Today’s post is for Momofuku Milk Bar. I bought 2 nut free cookies from the Momofuku Milk Bar stand. Every ingredient is listed on the back of the cookie labels which is great. There are nuts in the bakery / factory where the cookies are made, but they are not in the Blueberry and Cream Cookie or Cornflake Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookie, which are the 2 that I bought.

Allergy Info:
Allergy Friendly
Nut friendly ** (anything on their menu on the website will have **’s to specify if the item has nuts in it or not.
Periodic soft serve ice cream flavors that are gluten free, unfortunately all the items on the menu otherwise have gluten


Foodie Rundown:
I need to go to the store to try more things, but the cookies were outrageous! Soft and gooey and lasted a few days. These were just outrageous! MUST TRY MORE!

Just to get an idea of the flavors, here are the available cake flavors, can you say, “yummy???”

· apple pie cake cheesecake filling, apple compote, pie crumbs
· banana cake**banana cream, hazelnut crunch, gianduja fudge
· birthday cake rainbow cake crumble, sprinkles, vanilla frosting
· carrot cake cheesecake filling, milk crumbs, streusel buttercream
· chocolate chip cake passion fruit curd, chocolate crumbs, coffee buttercream
· chocolate malt cake malt fudge, malted milk crumbs, charred marshmallow
· dulce de leche cake dulce de leche frosting, milk crumbs
· mint cookies n’ cream cake cookies n’ cream frosting, mint cheesecake, chocolate crumbs
· pistachio cake** lemon curd, pistachio frosting, milk crumbs
· pretzel cake stout ganache, burnt honey frosting, pretzel crumbs
· strawberry-lemon cake lemon curd, pickled strawberry jam, milk crumbs

Locations:
East Village – 13th and 2nd
Midtown – 56 btetween 5th and 6th
Upper West Side – Columbus
Brooklyn – Williamsburg
Brooklyn – Caroll Gardens
Urbanspace meatpacking market – Corner of 13th and Washington

Mini Cupcakes!

Ok, so if you had a quarter and a cupcake, which one would you eat? Personally, I’d eat the cupcake, but if it was the SIZE of a quarter, I’d eat at least TWO!

At Baked By Melissa, a boutique cupcake shop popping up all over New York City, you can be sure that you will be popping these little guys into your mouth all day long if you had a box of them.

These bite size pieces of heaven come in a variety of flavors. Please see picture below! There is a disclaimer on the website mentioning that they only use peanut butter in their peanut butter cupcakes. So if you have a peanut allergy, there are no peanut flavorings, or almond flavorings in any of the other cupcakes. But please note, that all the cupcakes are made in the same facility and in the same kitchen, so if your peanut allergy is severe, it may be best to find some other yummy cupcakes!

Allergy Info:
Peanut Butter products are ONLY in peanut butter cupcakes, all others are peanut free!
All sealed Baked by Melissa products and packages are certified Kosher

Foodie Rundown:
Cinnamon – seriously melts in your mouth, tastes like a cinnamon coffee cake, with frosting and yummy cinnamon filling
Peanut Butter & Jelly – If my mom made me peanut butter and jelly sandwiches like this for lunch when I was in middle school, I would have eaten 1,000 of them a day!
Cupcake of the Month – Snow Covered Pretzel – You know those days when you’re craving something salty, and then sweet, and you take pretzels and dunk them into melted chocolate, THIS cupcake, is sweet and salty and captures the best of both worlds. Wish this could be a standard cupcake because it was delicious!

Locations:
Soho
Union Square
Grand central
Fashion District
Upper West Side
Times Square
Columbus Circle
Gramercy
Financial District
Don’t live in NYC? Baked by Melissa SHIPS NATIONWIDE!

http://www.bakedbymelissa.com/ 

Travel Thursday - Hey Cupcake!

Guest Post by Gina Oliva – Thank you!

Today we’re traveling to Austin, Texas. Although Austin is weird, (if you’ve been you totally know the saying), but gourmet cupcakes are never weird especially at Hey Cupcake!

There are simple flavors ranging from Vanilla to Chocolate, to 24 Carrot and Michael Jackson. The best is that they offer gluten free options, such as Pina Colada. A tropical paradise for those who are gluten free! Oh and if you’re in the area, and you go to their website, or click on the link here (http://www.heycupcake.com/index.php), you can enter your email address for a FREE cupcake. Yes, I said FREE!

Allergy Info:
Gluten Free Cupcake Option

Foodie Rundown:
Pina Colada- Trying to fit in with the Austin mentality of fitness and healthy eating, I choose a Gluten Free cupcake after a delicious dinner at South Congress Café across the street. I was not expecting much, just that I would not feel as bad for my decision to say “Screw It” and eat a cupcake. It was well worth it. Hands down no one would have known it was gluten free. After taking my first bite, my second bite was even better. To my surprise the cupcake was filled with pineapples to make the cupcake even moister. The only deduction was that the icing was super sweet. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth (would rather eat another bowl of pasta than dessert ;)), so I would have preferred more of a cream cheese frosting, such as the one they have on their delicious red velvet cupcakes, which are not gluten free. The Pina Colada cupcake was as close as I could get to pretending I was on a beach and a great example of how eating gluten free does not always match up with the stereotypes associated with it.

Locations:
Everythings bigger in Texas…
North Austin
South Austin
Four Points
Braker
San Marcos

Cake Heaven!

If you like savory, delicious, melt in your mouth cupcakes and cakes, then you should order your next birthday cake or cupcakes from the Buttercup Bakeshop. I have not tried all the flavors (I really wish I had!), but I do know that the Bakeshop was very accomdoating with my peanut allergy (when I had one). Normally, peanut allergies prohibit the ordering of cakes and cup cakes from normal bakeries, but when I called the Buttercup Bake Shop they promised me that the batter I had chosen had no almond flavoring or nuts of any kind and that any nuts or peanut butter frosting would be kept entirely away from my cake.

What’s even more exciting is that this place delivers anywhere in Manhattan for a small delivery fee. So order your mom’s next birthday cake here (yes, that’s what I did), and I promise it will go over great. The website even allows you to do all the ordering and the customization of colors and text on your cake online! I know you foodies like technologically advanced food websites, who doesn’t?

Allergy Info:
Peanut friendly and DELICIOUS!
*Please note there are nuts in some of their cakes, but the bakery is cautious and happy to accommodate people with allergies, this does not mean that they are completely NUT free!

Foodie Rundown:
Buttercup Golden Layer Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Icing – I know I say this a lot, but I really think this will change your life, I’m not kidding this time!

Locations:
973 2nd Ave (between 51st and 52nd)
White Plains, NY

http://buttercupbakeshop.com/

Hebrews and She-brews - A Kosher Cupcake!

On this Shabbat evening, let us take a moment to honor thy cupcake. Let’s break it down. Analyze this beautiful work of art from Crumbs Bake Shop. Let’s start with the flavors: (take a deep breath now):
Red Velvet
Cookies and Cream
Devil’s Food
Peanut Butter Cup
Squiggle
Cookie Dough
S’mores
Black and White
Artie Lange
Chocoloco
Fudge Chocolate Chip
Chocoalate Coconut
Caramel Apple
Chocolate Sundae
Chocolate Covered Strawberry
Carrot
Butter Pecan
Brownie
Blueberry Swirl
(take breath)
Cotton Candy
Key Lime
Dulce de Leche
And
Milkshake…

Just to name a few!

Ok so Crumbs (as you most likely know) has locations all over NYC and many other cities as well, but did you know that their cupcakes were kosher? Bring them to a Shabbat dinner for dessert, as I’m sure these colorful, tasty treats will go a long way (as long as you don’t eat them before you get there!).

Allergy Info:
Kosher! - http://www.crumbs.com/orderinfo/kosher
Nut Allergy Beware! Crumbs suggests if you have a nut allergy to not eat any of their products. See the link for more information.

Foodie Rundown:
You seriously can't go wrong with any of these flavors! Can't decide? Get the box of minis with a tasting of flavors!

Address:
Various - So here’s the location finder! - http://www.crumbs.com/locations/

http://www.crumbs.com/