This Nolita bakery and café might have cupcake in its name, the cakes and other sweet creations are the real draw. In fact, you won’t get nearly the same mind-blowing experience from the brooklyn blackout in cupcake form; the layer cake comes with SO much more chocolate buttercream and ganache, transporting you straight to a chocolatey rich wonderland that once only existed in your dreams. The cheesecakes are just as impressive, shaped in circles on crusts ranging from classic graham to oreo crumbs. And I haven’t even mentioned the bars, where melted marshmallow keeps you warm on the coldest of days. Yes, there’s a whole world out there beyond the cupcakes – these are my favorite discoveries…
Raspberry white chocolate cheesecake
Combining swirls of raspberry jam with white chocolate is always a good idea, especially inside a cheesecake. The result is a dessert that is extra creamy and sweet, balanced by a crumbly graham cracker underneath.
S’mores bar
A positive side of living in NYC in the winter: this s’mores bar. This seasonal special features a bed of graham crackers, which is layered with fluffy pillows of marshmallow and melted chocolate. It’s rich, gooey and exactly what you need to stay warm (that’s what we’ll tell ourselves at least).
Cookies and cream cheesecake
This city will never get tired of cookies and cream, so you’ll often find the dynamic duo shining through in other desserts. Little Cupcake Bakeshop does a particularly good job at the cookies and cream cheesecake, which comes with copious amounts of oreo crumbs, dotted throughout its creamy center and on top. All of that, held together by a crunchy oreo crust, is how to make the most of America’s favorite treats.
Strawberry good humor cake
A riff on a childhood favorite, Little Cupcake Bakeshop transforms the Good Humor strawberry shortcake ice cream into a slice of cake. All the flavors are there; two strawberry-packed layers, buttercream icing freshened with more strawberries, and a crumble of strawberry cookies and cream surrounding the whole slice. It’s nostalgia in every bite.
Oreo cake
What’s not to love about this cake, which brings you the exact more-ish flavors of oreos, yet this time in a fat and fluffy layer cake that lasts so much longer than a pack of rolled oreos (guilty). Alternating the dark chocolatey layers, there’s a light vanilla bean cake with fantastically fresh vanilla buttercream, which is then finished off with crumbled pieces of oreo. Died and gone to heaven.
Brooklyn blackout cake
Voted best chocolate cake in the US by food & wine, and aspiring dessert specialist (me), the Brooklyn blackout definitely lives up to all expectations. Imagine the moistest chocolate cake you’ve ever eaten, filled with the most indulgent chocolate ganache, topped with chocolate mousse-meets-buttercream, take that times ten and you’re there. But seriously, you haven’t lived until you’ve eaten this Brooklyn blackout cake.
Banana Nutella cake
Dear readers, this was the day I realized Nutella isn’t the answer. Nutella on banana bread cake is the answer. Little Cupcake Bakeshop makes banana bread way more fun and decadent, studding a dense banana slice with chocolate chips before slathering it in Nutella. Never change your ways baking genius Salvatore Lo Buglio. Never change.
Lemon blueberry cake
Artificial flavoring has no place at Little Cupcake Bakeshop; this light lemon cake bursts with juicy flavors thanks to whole blueberries and a fresh lemon glaze. Sometimes sweet, sometimes sour, but whichever part you bite into, it’s always effortlessly delicious.
Address: 30 Prince Street, NY 10012
