Category: Eat & Drink

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Cupcakes and the City (of New York)

By aliciak
updated 3 months ago

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Unlike the dot.com crash, the cupcake boom has yet to nosedive into a pile of crumbs, particularly in the city that supposedly started it all, New York! Innovative bakeries with new twists on the palm-sized treats are popping up right and left, challenging the limits of icing-covered cakes. How did this cupcake trend begin anyway? Was it really due to the ladies on Sex and the City? I'm here to take you on a little tour of the cupcake's coming-of-age in the Big Apple.

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The First Cupcake Bakery in NYC

Most of us have fond memories of birthday cupcakes in elementary school, so to attribute the spawning of a cupcake craze to one bakery or a TV show seems inane.  Cupcakes were everywhere before Magnolia Bakery or Sex and the City came along! Therein lies an important fact, however: cupcakes have always been popular with kids, but never before did they strike such a chord with adults. 

Magnolia Bakery was the 1996 West Village brainchild of two childhood friends, Jennifer Appel and Alyssa Torey. Three short years later, all ties between the two dissolved, and soon enough, more cupcake offspring appeared. Jennifer would go on to open Buttercup Bakeshop, and Magnolia employees would follow suit with their own cupcake business ventures.

Carrie and Miranda eat Magnolia Bakery cupcakes

The famous clip, circa 2000, that launched Magnolia to cupcake fame!

SATC Bus Tour

Successful television shows in New York usually lead to numerous ways to ride out that momentum, which is to say, bus tours are key. In addition to visiting Carrie’s stoop, you can reenact the cupcake-devouring scene above. After you wait in the quintessential Magnolia lines, that is!

Cupcakes Perforate the Internets

Lazy Sunday with Parnell and Samberg

Less sexy than Carrie Bradshaw eating a cupcake perhaps, but Chris Parnell and Andy Samberg’s viral short, Lazy Sunday, made the internet rounds and proudly features Magnolia Bakery (as if she were lacking publicity!) and its goodies.

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Maybe you want a t-shirt for yourself?

The Battle of the Cupcake Makers

No matter what the t-shirt says, the cupcake battles in New York have been fierce. New York Magazine breaks down the where, when, and why of the ongoing sugar fights.

Some Extras for the Cupcake-Lover

cupcakes

Nigella Lawson's Cupcake Recipe

This is by far the easiest and most delicious cupcake recipe out there, and it is the creation of none other than Domestic Goddess Nigella Lawson.

I have made these cupcakes for countless birthday and celebratory occasions, “blitzing” all the ingredients in a food processor and spending about 30 minutes total from start to finish.

Cupcakes Take the Cake

Cupcakes Take the Cake is a blog for-you guessed it-all things cupcakes! Semi-based in New York, with cupcake meet-ups on the schedule and a plethora of interviews, photos, and recipes, you’ll be embarking on a daily sugar high in no time!

 

These are a few of my Favorite Things...

As a baker and cupcake maker myself, I was a late bloomer to the cake scene, in general.  For the first 20 years of my life, I never touched my birthday cake.  I was solidly anti-cake, and therefore, anti-cupcake.  A sweet tooth I had, but only when New York became home did I really explore the wonderful world of cupcakes.  These are my suggestions for where to scarf down some sweet airy goodness.

Babycakes Nyc

248 Broome St, New York, NY 10002

For those of you out there allergic to gluten, I am genuinely sorry, but at least you can indulge in every single baked good at Babycakes. All gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined-sugar-free, talk about innovative solutions to complex dietary needs!

For those of you out there allergic to gluten, I am genuinely sorry, but at least you can indulge in every single baked good at Babycakes. All gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined-sugar-free, talk about innovative solutions to complex dietary needs!

Billy's Bakery

184 9th Ave Frnt, New York, NY 10011

Cupcake Cafe

Cupcake Cafe 4

Cupcake Cafe Inc

522 9th Ave, New York, NY 10018

The honor of eating my first cupcake in New York proudly goes to Cupcake Cafe, after I spent 10 hours on a greyhound bus. Yes, Cupcake Cafe is a stone’s throw from the dreaded bus terminal near Times Square, but fortunately, their artfully-decorated cupcakes cancel out all negative bus memories.

The honor of eating my first cupcake in New York proudly goes to Cupcake Cafe, after I spent 10 hours on a greyhound bus. Yes, Cupcake Cafe is a stone’s throw from the dreaded bus terminal near Times Square, but fortunately, their artfully-decorated cupcakes cancel out all negative bus memories.

Magnolia Bakery Inc

401 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10014

Despite the long lines, the cupcakes do not disappoint. Alternately, I recommend the peanut butter frozen icebox cake if you wander in on a unlucky, “no more cupcakes” day.

Despite the long lines, the cupcakes do not disappoint. Alternately, I recommend the peanut butter frozen icebox cake if you wander in on a unlucky, “no more cupcakes” day.

Joyce Bakeshop

646 Vanderbilt Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238

I am proud to call Joyce my neighborhood bake shop, and luckily, there are a always a few cupcake varieties on hand, including Red Velvet. The staff is friendly, and you can see Joyce herself in the back kitchen, mentoring her bakers.

I am proud to call Joyce my neighborhood bake shop, and luckily, there are a always a few cupcake varieties on hand, including Red Velvet. The staff is friendly, and you can see Joyce herself in the back kitchen, mentoring her bakers.

Sugar Sweet Sunshine

126 Rivington St, New York, NY 10002

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A cupcake tree @Buttercup Bake Shop

Buttercup Bake Shop

141 W 72nd St, New York, NY 10023

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Buttercup Bake Shop

973 2nd Ave Frnt, New York, NY 10022

Magnolia Bakery co-founder Jennifer Appel’s first bakery opened with much fanfare, showing up on the Today Show, on CNN, and in the hands of Martha Stewart and Hilary Clinton!

Magnolia Bakery co-founder Jennifer Appel’s first bakery opened with much fanfare, showing up on the Today Show, on CNN, and in the hands of Martha Stewart and Hilary Clinton!

Crumbs

321 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10023

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