Pastry Profiles: Crumb Board at Keane's Bakery, Pleasantville NY

I'd like to introduce you to the most delicious board I've ever tasted: Crumb Board from Keane's Bakery in Pleasantville, New York.

When I walked into this place the baker probably thought I was kind of crazy, because I asked him to repeat himself when he told me the name of this sweet manna about 10 times. Crumble? Crumbold? No...Crumb Board.

Which begs the question...what is Crumb Board? 

Basically, it's crumb cake, but take away the cake and add the "board" - pie crust's thinner, flakier cousin. As a devoted lover of crumb cake, I will admit that the deepest part of my love for this treat is the crumb (as evidenced by my behemoth crumb cake recipe), so swapping out the cake for a crispy, buttery layer of crust was just fine for me.

The crust added a nice crunch to the crumb, and a deliciously buttery flavor. In fact, it made me wonder why more crumb isn't served atop crust in the world. It made me want to make an apple crumble pie but leave out the apples.

But most of all, it made me glad I had stopped at Keane's, which I hope I will get to visit again.

Keane's Bakery, 57 Wheeler Avenue, Pleasantville, NY.

Keanes Pleasantville Bakery on Urbanspoon

Sweet and Salty: the Chocolate Hazelnut Pretzel Stick from Ralf's in Bellingham

What happens when you cross baguette, pretzel, and chocolate ganache?

A triple threat of awesome, that's right: the sweet, salty, and carbohydratey masterpiece which is simply called the "Chocolate Pretzel Stick" at Ralf's Bavarian Bakery in Bellingham.

This small retail bakery specializes in pretzels of the Bavarian persuasion, some of which are twisted traditionally, some of which are served as "sticks" (more like demi-baguettes), many of which are served with classic pretzel complements: salami, mustard, cheese...and, on the sweet end of the spectrum, a specimen with a rich, beautiful heaping of chocolate hazelnut ganache (sounds like Nutella to me).

This is probably the most pleasurable dessert-sandwich I've enjoyed in some time, with a perfect pretzel: with a little bit of resistance on the chewy exterior giving way to a soft, yeasty interior which was perfectly matched by the contrasting chocolate-nut filling, which worked beautifully with the salty, carbohydratey mass. Oh, and yes, that is a burger wallet in the background. That would be mine.

So awesome. So delicious. Drive to Bellingham right now.

Ralf's Bavarian Bakery, Bellingham, WA; online here.

Sweet Fancy: Morfey's Makes a Fine Wedding Cake in Seattle

When it came time to get married, I didn't have a single wedding cake.

No, I had five.

My favorite one, of course, was the one my dear SpyMom made: a three tiered pink confection which was sort of like my soul, interpreted in wedding cake form. Here's a picture of it:

But my second favorite, which was obtained from a retail baker, was from Morfey's Cakes in Seattle. It was a three-tiered confection, frosted in Tiffany blue and piped with a delicate white. It was lovely, and it was delicious.

So it should come as no surprise that they are one of about six places in Seattle which I frequently suggest  to couples asking for wedding cake advice.

The Morfey's Cake, it should be said, is not an incredibly fussy affair. If you're looking for a cake with lighted effects or molded fondant to resemble the building where you met, this is probably not where you want to go (there is definitely a time and place for these cakes, of course!).

But if you're looking for a solidly good, fluffy, old-school cake with a light, almost whipped-texture type frosting, you're in the right place.

I love their simple, homey decorating style too--it looks like something that a home baker could aspire to, but, you know, it's better than you could probably do at home (no offense). And, it doesn't hurt that when you walk into their baking space in the shadow of the Space Needle in lower Queen Anne, it smells like you are walking into a cake being baked--that is to say, sort of like how I would imagine heaven to be.

When Mr. Spy and I attended a wedding this weekend, for the lovely Kim and Andy, we were delighted to see that they had obtained their special-day cake from delicious Morfey's. This baby had three tiers of awesome: Kim, who emailed me from Paris, where she was eating a croissant on her honeymoon (lucky girl!) says that "The top 2 tiers were coconut cake with white mocha filling, the bottom was chocolate with chocolate mousse filling, then buttercream frosting on the outside!" 

I didn't get to try both types, but can attest to the deliciousness of the coconut cake. (I took tasting very seriously)

So, this is all to say--if you're looking for a wedding cake in Seattle, definitely put Morfey's on your list for a tasting.

For more information, visit morfeyscake.com.

U-Bake, I-Eat: U-Bake Cookies by Grand Central Baking Company

Grand Central Baking, which has retail bakery locations in Seattle (at one of which I got to wake up early and experience the life of an early-morning baker) and Portland, has expanded their repertoire to offer some new U-Bake products, including pie dough, puff pastry, and sweet little ready-to-bake nuggets of delicious cookie dough.

And recently they asked me if I'd like a sample to try out at home.

Hmm, free cookie dough? Count me in, baby.

When I went to pick up my sample, the employee asked which flavor(s) of cookie dough I'd like; I asked her which was the best one. When she hesitated, I said, "Well, tell me which one is your favorite." Much better: "The oatmeal chocolate chip" she said, not missing a beat. Sold!

So brought my little bucket of baby hockey-pucks of ready-to-bake dough home, and set to preheating. I simply placed them on the cookie sheet and baked, and 9-13 minutes later, the picture at the top of the post is what came out of the oven. Well, minus the googly eyes.

A little weird-looking on top, so maybe I'd finesse the dough into balls a little more before baking, but that complaint is purely visual. The cookies were very good--and when I brought a tin of 'em to my friends at Madison Park Greetings (my former employer before I took on full-time Cake Gumshoery), they were quite pleased, too.

U-Bake cookie dough is available at Grand Central Baking locations; visit their website here. Also, you should probably buy their book, The Grand Central Baking Book: Breakfast Pastries, Cookies, Pies, and Satisfying Savories from the Pacific Northwest's Celebrated Bakery -- because I have it and can attest that it's got some good recipes.

Toast of the Town: Brioche French Toast from Oddfellows Cafe, Seattle

Recently, Danny stuffed his face with something delicious: Brioche French Toast with Mascarpone and fresh fruit from Oddfellows Cafe in Seattle.

For one thing, when you have this plate put in front of you, it's pretty impossible not to smile. It's huge. It is the size of your head. Not that quantity is more important than quality, but, you know, a big plate of food is a happy thing.

And happily, the quality is equal to the quantity, if not greater. "This is really, really good" was Mr. Spy's first comment; when pressed, he added a few notes:

The texture, while crispy on the outside, was almost custardy inside, soft and buoyant, cakey bread which porously absorbed the delicious syrup and strawberry juice that dripped from the ripe, flavorful fruit. The mascarpone added a lovely, lightly tangy flavor contrast which worked beautifully with the syrup and berries, and the bread itself was studded with bits of (orange?) zest which added a nice tart edge and kept it from being sweetness overload.

Final verdict: very good. If you find yourself in the neighborhood, you'll probably be going to Oddfellows anyway, as they have so much delicious stuff; if you happen to be there in the morning, the French Toast is going to be a Good Choice.

Oddfellows Cafe, 1525 10th Ave E. Seattle; online at oddfellowscafe.com.

Cake Byte: Full Sweetness ahead at Trophy Cupcakes in May

Talk about a totally sweet lineup! Seattle's Trophy Cupcakes has plenty of delicious to offer this month:

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcake (one day only, on Cinco de Mayo!): Just in time for Cinco de Mayo, our Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcake is back for its third year! The perfect blend of cinnamon and cayenne pepper warms up this bittersweet Chocolate on Chocolate Cupcake. Available May 5th. 

Margarita Cupcakes: By popular demand, we will be featuring Margarita Cupcakes every day through the month of May! Our Fresh Lime Cupcake is full of tangy lime zest, fresh lime juice and delicious lime oil topped with Tequila and Lime Buttercream…of course it is finished with candied lime zest and sea salt! Oh my, it is good (if we do say so ourselves!). Available everyday in May.

Lemon Raspberry (one day only, on Mother's Day!): Especially for Mother's day we are featuring Lemon Raspberry…our Fresh Lemon Cupcake is topped with our luscious Raspberry Buttercream and a fresh raspberry. So yummy and so pretty and definitely mom approved! Please order by Friday at 3pm for Sunday pick up.

Available at all three Trophy Cupcakes locations; for availability, directions and hours, visit their website.

Cakewalk: Two Sweet Pittsburgh Bakery Visits with Cake Gumshoe Lauren

CakeSpy Note: You know what rules? Getting bakery tips from readers. Here's a great round-up of sweet spots that I know I'll be trying next time I'm in Pittsburgh, thanks to Cake Gumshoe Lauren H.!

I’m sure that there are many excellent ways to spend a rainy February weekend in Pittsburgh, but my favorite so far is most definitely exploring the city’s bakeries. While we weren’t there long enough to try too many places, my husband and I had a lovely time at the two places that we did visit (which we might have visited more than once), and I wanted to share them with other Cakespy readers who might be looking for sweets during their next trip to Pittsburgh!

Our first Pittsburgh stop was Dozen Bake Shop. I found a link to their website on Cakespy and wanted to be sure to visit! Dozen has two locations in Pittsburgh, one in Lawrenceville and one near the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon campuses in Oakland. We dropped by both; while the Lawrenceville location has seating and a more “café” feel, the Oakland location just seemed cozier for some reason!

Dozen has a daily cupcake menu, and I’m proud (ashamed?) to say that my husband and I managed to try the majority of the daily specials during our two days in Pittsburgh. The six cupcakes that took part in our taste test (pictured above, clockwise from the top left) were Mostess (basically a much tastier Hostess cupcake), Almond Dream, Milk Chocolate, Elvis (banana cake filled with chocolate buttercream and topped with peanut butter frosting), East End Chocolate Stout, and Red Velvet. Though all but one of the cupcakes were hits, the highlight was definitely the Almond Dream – I’ll be making my way to Dozen for another as soon as I arrive in Pittsburgh next time! The one miss was the East End Chocolate Stout: we were definitely not a fan of beer + cupcake + Irish cream frosting!  

We also indulged in some of Dozen’s non-cupcake sweets in the form of an incredible cinnamon bun, which I actually think my husband would rank above the cupcakes as his favorite Dozen treat.   

While Dozen was lovely, however, the highlight of our bakery stops was La Gourmandine Bakery, which is the best bakery that I’ve visited in any city for quite some time! The bakery has been open less than a year and is run by a French couple who relocated to Pittsburgh and decided to open a traditional French bakery there.   

The bakery is small and cozy, with just a few tables, but there was quite a Saturday morning line when we were there, despite its size and relative newness – and with good reason! As the photos above show, La Gourmandine has a spectacular selection of French pastries and breads, and the best part is that everything tastes even better than it looks!  

We indulged in (left to right) a coffee éclair, apple tart, and chocolate éclair. All three were beyond incredible, and the only thing that kept me from returning to purchase a box of coffee éclairs to take home with us the next day was the fact that La Gourmandine is closed on Sundays.  

If possible, La Gourmandine’s bread was even better than the pastries – we brought home a traditional baguette and a pain au cereal and could not stop raving about them (or eating them!) In short, pretty much everything about La Gourmandine was lovely and delightful – and tasted absolutely amazing! We’re planning another trip to Pittsburgh soon, and I’m fighting the urge to count down the days until we can visit the bakery to pick up another baguette and multiple coffee éclairs!

Hopefully this short walk will inspire other Cakespy readers to check out these bakeries next time they’re in Pittsburgh – and keep them full of sweets during their visit!

Places mentioned:

Dozen Bake Shop online at http://dozenbakeshop.com/

La Gourmandine Bakery online at http://www.lagourmandinebakery.com/

Cakewalk: A Sweet Bakery Tour of Montreal with Cake Gumshoe Lauren

CakeSpy Note: You know what rules? Getting bakery tips from readers. Here's a great round-up of sweet spots that I know I'll be trying next time I'm in Montreal, thanks to Cake Gumshoe Lauren H.!

Given Montreal’s ties to France, it seems logical to assume that the city is full of lovely French bakeries; so my husband and I spent a recent trip testing this hypothesis by visiting as many Montreal bakeries as possible! Thankfully, the assumption is correct – lots of good bakeries – and I wanted to share our findings with fellow Cakespy readers, in hopes of providing a couple of places for them to try next time they’re in Montreal!

As we visited a lot of places, I’ve ranked them in our order of preference. I’ve included boulangeries and patisseries on the walk, because you sometimes need some good bread to cut the sweet of all of the patisserie visits!   

1. Duc de Lorraine. The pastries from Duc de Lorraine were far and away our favorites of the trip. While we took our treats to go, the bakery did have seating and savory options. In researching places to try, I’d read excellent things about the bakery, and it was clear why! The pastries that we tried (pictured below, clockwise from upper left, coffee éclair, delicious strawberry/banana pastry, crème éclair, and chocolate éclair) were as good as any that we had in Paris, and I’d return in a heartbeat!

2. Patisserie Kouign Amman. I had seen Kouign Amman on the Cakespy site and was hoping to try to visit, so I was thrilled when we passed it during a visit to Mont Royal. Unfortunately, we popped in late in the day, and there were no more pastries to try. Fortunately, they were still well-stocked with croissants, so we picked up a few for later. Thankfully, my husband talked me out of my original attempt at restraint (“Let’s just get one to share”), because I don’t think either of us would have been willing to give up a bite after tasting how wonderful the Kouign Amman croissants were. They’re everything that you’d want a croissant to be – flaky, buttery, and delicious.

3. Le Fromentier. I went to Le Fromentier specifically to get bread for a picnic dinner, and it was absolutely worth the trip. The shop itself is delightful and very European (one of the only places in Montreal where the shop keeper spoke only French), with breads, cheeses, and pastries. We only tried the bread, which was wonderful (especially the sourdough baguette), but I’d imagine that the pastries are equally wonderful. Le Fromentier is a bit out of the way and a bit of a walk from the closest metro station, but it’s definitely worth the hike!

4. Olive + Gourmando. I’d read that Olive + Gourmando was slightly more a brunch café, and that does appear to be the case, at least in part. We visited late on a Saturday morning, and they had soups, sandwiches, and hot breakfasts available in addition to more traditional baked goods and coffee. It was incredibly crowded, but the staff was efficient and got us a table in about ten minutes (impressive, given that there were 3 – 4 couples in front of us in line). They also offer the option of ordering your coffee and pastry to go, which numerous people appeared to be doing. We stayed more on the savory side at Olive + Gourmando, trying toast with cheddar, an apple and cinnamon “brioche” (more of a cinnamon roll), and a croissant au fromage (pictured, left to right, below). All three (and the coffee and hot chocolate) were lovely; this fact, combined with Olive + Gourmando’s central Old Montreal location, makes it a great place to try!   

5. Café Myriade. Technically, Café Myriade is a coffee shop. Still, I’m including it on the list because their cinnamon bun (pictured above) was one of the best non-patisserie treats that I had during the trip and my husband ranked his croissant (pictured below) as very close to those of Kouign Amann in quality. In short, Café Myriade has wonderful coffee and pastries and a very cozy ambiance – definitely worth a visit!

6. Premiere Moisson. Premiere Moisson is one of Montreal’s chain bakeries; they have approximately twenty locations throughout the city. However, the “chain” label is perhaps deceptive in this case: we visited the location close to our hotel a few times, trying more than the crème éclair and opera cake pictured above, and found all of the pastries to be very nice and not at all what you might expect from a place with so many locations. While Premiere Moisson lacks the “neighborhood” feel that the places ranked above it possess, its treats are good, and its multiple locations make it a great place to grab a nice pastry while you’re running around Montreal!   

7. Claude Postel. We stumbled across Claude Postel in Old Montreal and decided to pick up our desserts for the evening (coffee éclair, chocolate dessert whose proper name escapes me, and chocolate éclair, pictured left to right below) there. I’d definitely recommend it – everything was good – but the pastries didn’t quite measure up to the pastries from the other locations that we tried. Still, I’d try everything that we had there again – one of the benefits of Montreal is clearly that even the 7th ranked bakery on the list is still pretty wonderful!

8. Cocoa Locale. Cocoa Locale is ranked 8th only because it was closed when we arrived to give it a go. However, it is worth noting that it was closed an hour before it was scheduled to be because it had completely sold out of its cakes and pastries for the day (as the sign in the above photo indicates). This fact makes me think it would be ranked much higher if we’d actually gotten to try a Cocoa Locale cake – and puts it on the top of my list for our next trip to Montreal!

9. Boutique Point G. Ranked last, behind even the place we were unable to visit, is Point G. We were drawn in by all of the brightly colored macarons and couldn’t resist trying a few, but it was such a disappointment! As my husband put it, “These look like Paris macarons, but they most certainly don’t taste like them!” The cookies were very cake-y and paled in comparison to all of the other treats that we tried during our trip; in fact, we carried the majority of them home and actually never ate them. Point G is a few blocks away from Kouign Amman – I’d definitely recommend skipping the macarons and going for a croissant instead!

I hope this walk gets other Cakespy readers visiting Montreal started on a boulangerie- and patisserie-filled trip!

Places mentioned:

Duc de Lorraine, 5002 Chemin de la Cote-des-Neiges

Patisserie Kouign Amann, 322 Mont-Royal Est

Le Fromentier, 1375 Avenue Laurier Est

Olive + Gourmando, online at http://www.oliveetgourmando.com/index_flash.cfm

Café Myriade, online at http://www.cafemyriade.com/

Premiere Moisson, online at http://www.premieremoisson.com/

Claude Postel, online at http://www.claudepostel.com/

Cocoa Locale, 4807 Avenue du Parc

Boutique Point G, online at http://www.boutiquepointg.com/

Let's Jam: Jamprint Cookies Recipe from Oddfellows Cafe, Seattle

Anyone who has ever visited Seattle's Oddfellows Cafe knows what a beautiful and special things its bakery case contains. From biscuits to blondies to bundts (and even homemade Ho-hos!), they've got something for every sweet tooth. And now, here's one of their secrets: a recipe for their Jamprint Cookies (a sort of thumbprint-meets-macaroon cookie). They urge you to post pictures on their Facebook page if you try the recipe out!

Here's how to make this magic happen at home:

Jamprint Cookies

 Ingredients

  • .75 lbs butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3.5 cups flour
  • .5 teaspoon salt
  • flaked coconut, for edges
  • jam (of your choosing), about 1 teaspoon per cookie

Procedure 

  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Cream butter + sugar in mixer w/ paddle attachment, add vanilla + salt
  3. Sift in the flour, mix until dough comes together
  4. Wrap in plastic, chill for 1 hr
  5. Roll it into 1 ounce balls, dip balls in egg wash + roll in flaked coconut
  6. Put ball on a baking sheet + indent the top, fill with jam.
  7. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until coconut is toasted and jam thickens.

 

Cakewalk in Manhattan Part 2: Upper West Side

Not long ago, I heard about a group of artists who do the most wonderful thing to keep themselves inspired: they will navigate that city with a map of a different city. The idea, of course, being that sometimes, removing yourself from your natural element can help you see the world through new eyes. Well, to say I was enamored of this idea would be a bit of an understatement, and I have since tried to incorporate this idea into my pastry-eating and adventuring.

So when I was headed to NYC, to create an adventure to rival my pastry half-marathon, I knew I'd have to think of something good.

And then it came to me: a literal cakewalk. Here's the 411:

  • How: I took a map of Manhattan, and on both the upper east and west sides, I wrote the word “Cake” and transcribed it into a walking route (can you see it on the map above?)
  • Why this route: Well, because it was going to involve a lot of backtracking, I realized that choosing these neighborhoods, which bookend Central Park, would result in not only an interesting comparison, but would also ease up the physical amount of walking.
  • But what if I missed a good bakery? Well, I made a few side trips, but the idea in general was to have a route that might take me by places I might not otherwise have heard about and to possibly make some new discoveries.
  • Total Miles Walked: Many.

What did I find? So many sweet discoveries. Read on for the chronicle of the Upper West Side trek (you can also find the East Side Cakewalk here):

Necessary Side Trip: Hungarian Pastry Shop. How could you not stop here? It's a treasure.

105th and Broadway: Silver Moon Bakery. If you've never visited this breadmaker/bakery, you are in for a treat. Carb-o-load on freshly baked pretzels (if they still have any left), which are salty, yeasty, and completely addictive; get your sweet fix with pastries and truffles of all manner. Do it.

96th and Amsterdam: Maybe you've seen one before, but I never had: an Altoid Gum machine.

96th and Columbus: Sing Sing Market, where they have good crumb cake.

Image: Threadless.comAlso at 96th and Columbus: I saw a girl wearing a t-shirt that said “Stupid raisins stay out of my cookie”. No, I wasn't looking in a mirror. I will be, soon, though, because I found it online and ordered myself one.

Side note: Not that you asked, but I fell in love with a new building: 498 west End Avenue.

80th and Amsterdam: Sarabeth's. Favorite two things there: cookies, and jam. Not necessarily together.

81st Street at Broadway: Zabar's. Oh em Gee. Same family that owns Eli's on the East side. The crumb cake is some of my favorite in the city, and everything else—the cookies, the babka, the Hello Dolly bars—isn't so bad either.

72nd and Broadway: Grandaisy Bakery. A teeny tiny storefront, this spot offers a variety of pastries and cookies, as well as little pizzas; this time, I tried the Lumaca, or as I was told to call it, “the snail”, a sweet flaky roll filled with apricot, honey and pistachio. Sort of like a morning roll gets kissed by baklava.

Necessary side trip: Levain Bakery. With half pound cookies that taste as good as they weigh, you'd better make a short side trip to this place.

70th Street and Columbus: Muffins Cafe. This place has my favorite corn muffins, but they sell out early and I'll be honest, I've never tried anything else.

70th and Columbus: Soutine Bakery. Like a little dollhouse bakery at the first level of a brownstone on a side street, this place is as charming as can be, and has a loyal following.

69th and Columbus: Magnolia Bakery. If you've never had a cupcake from one of their outposts, do try the ones at this spot, the second location they opened. If you're so over cupcakes, dive into their banana nilla wafer pudding, which is a strong second-bestseller.

...and to finish, at Columbus Circle: Time Warner Center. You must go here, because they have two things of interest to the avid pastry-eater. For one thing, Whole Foods sells a variety of baked goods from many local bakeries, so if you aren't going to get to visit every neighborhood, you can find sweets from places like Two Little Red Hens, etc, here. Also, you must visit Bouchon, where you can get the most pinkies-out homemade oreos or Ho-hos you've ever seen.  

For highlights from the Upper East Side Cakewalk, click here!

Cakewalk in Manhattan Part 1: Upper East Side

Not long ago, I heard about a group of artists who do the most wonderful thing to keep themselves inspired: they will navigate that city with a map of a different city. The idea, of course, being that sometimes, removing yourself from your natural element can help you see the world through new eyes. Well, to say I was enamored of this idea would be a bit of an understatement, and I have since tried to incorporate this idea into my pastry-eating and adventuring.

So when I was headed to NYC, to create an adventure to rival my pastry half-marathon, I knew I'd have to think of something good.

And then it came to me: a literal cakewalk. Here's the 411:

  • How: I took a map of Manhattan, and on both the upper east and west sides, I wrote the word “Cake” and transcribed it into a walking route (can you see it on the map above?)
  • Why this route: Well, because it was going to involve a lot of backtracking, I realized that choosing these neighborhoods, which bookend Central Park, would result in not only an interesting comparison, but would also ease up the physical amount of walking.
  • But what if I missed a good bakery? Well, I made a few side trips, but the idea in general was to have a route that might take me by places I might not otherwise have heard about and to possibly make some new discoveries.
  • Total Miles Walked: Many.

What did I find? So many sweet discoveries. Read on for the chronicle of the Upper East Side trek:

Bonus coverage: because I couldn't NOT, I did veer off of the grid slightly for a small side adventure before starting the east side cakewalk:

First, Breakfast at Tiffany's: I drew a little Audrey Hepburn-inspired croissant to kick off my journey.

And now, on to the Cakewalk. Here are highlights from the love letter I sweet-walked across the grid of the Upper East Side (click here for the West Side tour):

59th Street: Macaron Cafe. A cafe dedicated to la belle macaron—what could be sweeter?

60th Street and 3rd Avenue: slightly off of my C route, Dylan's Candy Bar was worth the block diversion, because, after all...

59th Street and 3rd Ave: Financier Patisserie. A cute-as-a-button bakery featuring all manner of Frenchie Sweets.

Sidebar: I headed over to one of the little parks that dot the side streets off of Sutton Place, where you can see the view of the Queensboro bridge made famous in Woody Allen's Manhattan. Sweetness!

63rd and York: Sweet serendipity! De La Vega is an NYC artist who is very prolific with sidewalk chalk—it was a delight to discover some of his work. I kept on finding it around the east side, which made me feel like I had a sidewalk chalk compatriot.

73rd and York: Sugar Loaf Cafe. Gawd, isn't that just the best name you've ever heard?

75th and York: The best of the Delavega art I came across, wherein “become your dream” was “become your ice cream”. I left a little response. xo.

78th and 1st Avenue: Bagel and Appetizing. I always love the crumb cake at places like this.

Between 79th and 80th Streets on 1st Avenue: Anneliese's Pastries. Featuring row after row of cupcakes, cookies, and a very surprising variety of roulades, this place gave the entire block a nice, buttery scent.

80th and 1st Avenue: Agata & Valentina. This gourmet grocery not only had great produce but a nice array of treats obtained from various local wholesale bakers.

81 st Street: Gracie Mews Diner. Sweet tip: on the Sunday I walked by, their brunch menu featured something so magical it almost brings a tear to my eye: Brownie Waffle Sundae. I did not try it, but it evoked such sweet fantasies that I couldn't not share.

80th Street and 2nd Avenue: H+H Bagels. Complete with a second entrance for tiny people! (Kidding—it is where the flour is pumped in, I believe). 

82nd and 2nd Avenue: Sweet Temptations, Nut City: It was closed, but the sign did make me smile.

76th and 2nd Avenue: Caffe Noi. For when it's Gelato o'clock!

76th and 77th and 2nd Avenue: Pick a Bagel. Once again, the crumb cake!

75th and 3rd Avenue: Citarella. This gourmet grocer always has some nice sweets, generally from nicer local bakeries.

79th and 3rd Ave.: Crumbs Bake Shop. I've had hot and cold experiences at this cupcake chain, which has proliferated around NYC and now beyond. If I am going to tell you the complete truth, I have enjoyed their cookies more reliably than the cupcakes.

79th and 3rd Ave: Corrado Pastry. This bakery has a location in Grand Central Terminal too, and I was delighted to see a bigger cafe. Good cookies.

80th and 3rd Ave: Eli's. Now, this place is kind of like heaven for foodies. Let's pause to see just a few of the sweeties on offer (a mix of baked in-house and outsourced). The picture above really does not show how extensive their baked-good and sweet offerings truly are--candy, confections, cakes, pastries, pies, cookies...the works. It is like heaven.

Necessary side trip: Wm. Greenberg's, for some of the most celebrated black and white cookies.

83rd and 84th at York: Yorkville Creperie.

86th and 2nd Avenue: Dunkin' Donuts. If you believe it, this is the first one I ran across (unless I missed on along my route previously?)

Necessary side trip: Two Little Red Hens, where you can get your cupcake on, old school style. Just walk over to York Avenue.

86th and 3rd Avenue: This isn't necessarily sweet, but I totally saw Emeril filming at Gray's Papaya at this corner. Cool.

86th and Lexington: Tim Horton's. Just donut. Also, Shake Shack--anyplace that has a Custard Calendar is just fine with me.

93rd and 3rd: Corner Bakery. Featuring fauxtess cupcakes, cookies, and more, this spot was packed.

3rd Ave at 95th: Zesty's Pizza, one of my guilty pleasures, has delightfully greasy zeppole.

96th and Park: Gourmet Garage. Another good bet for baked goods wholesale from some of the city's nicer bakeries.

101st at Park: A sweet heart on the street.

102nd and Lexington: Delicious Bread House. Believe it or not, I used to live on this corner. But when I lived on this corner, this place wasn't there, just a friendly guy who would stand in front of this empty storefront and, I think, deal drugs. Maybe I wouldn't have moved away if this place had been there. The place is roughly the size of a postage stamp, and baking is not done on premises—instead, they receive their baked goods from a variety of wholesalers—but the two workers there during my visit, who were adorable, told me that their goal was to bring artisan bread and delicious pastries to Spanish Harlem. I told them I loved them. Everything was stupid-cheap: I picked up a three-pack of cakey Lemon drop Italian cookies for $1.50. More info here.

110th and 1st Ave: La Tropezienne. This was the jewel gilding the lily of the E on my final turn. Unmarked and unassuming from the outside, I probably wouldn't have looked twice but for the crowd and the singular, heady scent of butter and sugar that I know signifies “Bakery”.

Inside, I discovered a sweet spot indeed: cases and cases of delicate french pastries, cakes, tarts, and even cream puffs shaped like swans. More info here. 

Click here for the West side companion Cakewalk.

Pastry Profiles: Homemade Ho-Hos With Cocoa Puffs from Oddfellows Cafe, Seattle

A big, heartfelt thank you to the modern marvel that is Twitter.

Because without it, I never would have been given a heads up about another modern marvel, the cocoa puff-studded homemade Ho-Ho at Oddfellows Cafe in Seattle.

Now, it is no secret that I love the bakery case at Oddfellows (recent obsession: the biscuits). But they also serve very respectable after-dinner desserts too, with a creative rotating menu. And on a recent evening, they served these babies.

A fancied up version of the junk-food classic, these were made with a light but flavorful chocolate cake rolled with a rich, creamy filling and then coated in a rich chocolate; a candy coating adhered an unexpected garnish: cocoa puffs. Strange as it sounds, it worked: they added a nice little crunch, and a little bit of an unexpected sweet and salty cocoa crunch to the rest of the cake. Plus, a nice homage to the treat's lowbrow roots. 

This item isn't on the menu every day, but there's often something creative like it; give them a call before heading over or follow them on Twitter to keep updated.

Oddfellows Cafe, Seattle WA. Online at oddfellowscafe.com.

Cake Byte: Trophy Cupcakes Offers Hi-Hat Cupcakes For a Limited Time

Happy, happy Easter week! In Seattle, here's a very sweet way to celebrate: with a limited run of Hi-Hat Cupcakes from Trophy Cupcakes! Here's the 411:

Trophy's most anticipated cupcake of the year returns especially for Easter weekend! Available just two days per year, the Hi-Hat Cupcake is made by topping Trophy's Valrhona Chocolate Cupcake with a sky-hi swirl of pastel marshmallow frosting…but that's not all… they are then hand dipped in Semi-Sweet Callebaut Chocolate! Pastel marshmallow, Belgian chocolate and Valrhona Cake all rolled into one amazing cupcake…what could be a more perfect Easter treat?!

Available April 23rd at all three Trophy locations and on Easter Sunday at The University Village, for $4.00. Trophy will also be dressing up all of their cupcakes for spring with flowers, bunnies, candy eggs and baskets, perfect for your weekend festivities.

Trophy Cupcakes will take advance orders for Hi-Hats, as well as for Easter themed cupcakes. Hi-Hats and Easter Cupcakes will also be available in each of the three retail locations on Saturday and at the Univerty Village shop on Sunday (The Bravern and Wallingford shops will be closed on Sunday). Quantities of Hi-Hats for walk-in orders are limited, so Trophy recommends placing an advance order at least 48 hours prior to your pick up. The Wallingford Center and The Bravern are Closed on Easter Sunday, April 24th. University Village is open from 10am to 6pm.

Available at all three Trophy Cupcakes locations; for availability, directions and hours, visit their website. Also, follow them on Twitter!

Pastry Profiles: Peanut Butter Chocolate Whoopie Pie from Baked, Brooklyn

It is no secret that I not only love Baked, but am actually IN LOVE with the owners, Matt and Renato. They are adorable; they are funny; they have two stellar cookbooks; and above all else, they make a mean baked good.

And their flagship Brooklyn bakery, Baked, is a pretty swell time to spend some time, money, and calories.

But on this visit (which was at breakfast time, by the way), I was a hunter, and my prey was the chocolate peanut butter whoopie pie.

I also picked up one of these!This sweetie consists of two cakey, moist but not too dense chocolate cookies (sort of devil dog style) with a generous dollop of the most exquisitely peanut buttery (accent on the buttery)frosting, studded with bits of candied nuts on the outside.

And it is so, so good. Somehow I was able to cut it in half, so I had half for breakfast (so decadent, so delicious!) and half later on, after dinner. And these two halves made my whole day sweet.

You must go get one. (and pick up a cute tote while you're at it!)

Chocolate Peanut butter whoopie pies (as well as a rotating menu of other flavors, including their signature pumpkin) from Baked, 394 Van Brunt Street, Red Hook Brooklyn; online at bakednyc.com

Also a good idea: buy their most excellent books : Baked: New Frontiers in Baking and Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented.

Sweet Love: Sweet Art in Bellingham, WA

It's official: I am in love with Sweet Art in Bellingham, WA.

Why? Let me count the ways.

Let me start by sharing with you their self-description, as written by co-owner Jerry:

A small mom-pop type retail candy store and art gallery where my wife is the artist and I'm the candyman. She paints oils of flowers & landscapes and I dip chocolates and make candy.

That's right: an artist wife and confectioner husband who have teamed up to open the sweetest little spot--one that makes you feel as if you've entered Alice in Wonderland's rabbit hole when you walk in.

Curios and art line the shelves (there's even a little diorama to peek in from the outside), and in the candy cases, row after row of confections:

Fudge, English toffee, Czech Toffee(!?), chocolate dipped strawberries, turtles and so, so much more.

...yes indeed, this is a special place to discover. But even better? The chocolates are delicious. It was after much debate that I finally settled on the fat little mint truffle, known as the "Bombay Mint Truffle", featured at the top of the post. 

If I've ever tasted chocolate-coated bliss, this was it. Rich, buttery, minty ganache that coats the mouth in the most delightful, flavorful way, this is one of those "I think I will close my eyes for a moment now" types of treats. In fact, I solemnly vow to make this a destination for every Bellingham trip, from now until eternity.

Sweet Art, 1335 Railroad, Bellingham, WA.

Sweet Soutine: Cookies and More from Soutine Bakery, NYC

If you haven't heard of Soutine Bakery in NYC, you're not alone. But I'd like you to discover it now, please and thank you.

Soutine is just off of the main drag, on a residental townhome sidestreet. It is tiny—I think of it as a dollhouse bakery. And this appeals to my love of all things tiny and cute.

But it's a double threat, because while their bakery case is small, there is no lack of delicious treats. They have frenchie treats like milles fueilles, sweet gateaux and other American standards (brownies, cookies, etc), but on this trip I zeroed in on the cookies.

The Soutine Chocolate Chip cookie is a crunchy affair, sort of along the lines of Tate's Bakeshop. Generally your dear spy's personal tastes lean toward soft and gooey when it comes to cookies, but, you know, it's never a good policy to eliminate the possibility of a delicious cookie experience solely because the cookie is crunchy. And ultimately the Soutine cookie was a sweet reward: light and crispy but still very buttery and rich in brown sugar flavor. I'd bet they taste even better warm, with a nice contrast between the crispy cookie and some gooey chocolate, but I wouldn't turn these cookies away any day.

I brought a bag to share with my buddies at the Serious Eats headquarters, and they approved, too.

Soutine Bakery, 149 W. 70th Street, NYC; online at soutine.com.

Pastry Profiles: Chocolate Chip Muffin Pudding from Rising Flour Bakery, Canaan NH

Here are four wonderful words for you: Chocolate Chip Muffin Pudding.

I know what you're thinking: some sort of a cross between “Screw you forever, bread pudding!” and “where can I get me some of this?”.

Well, here's the deal. This sweet treat came from Rising Flour Bakery in New Hampshire. It was a very sweet discovery in more ways than one: I actually found it while I thought I was lost (but apparently I was truly found).

This small bakery was fairly no-nonsense in their displays, letting the sweets make the display.

They had a variety of breads, cookies, and cupcakes, but these individual puddings captured my heart and attention. At just about a dollar each, this pudding was a steal: a dense, creamy, almost bar cookie-esque in its density, each generous hunk was served with a dollop of freshly whipped cream.

It just goes to show, sometimes when you think you're lost, you are just primed to find something sweet.

Rising Flour Bakery, Rt 4, Canaan, NH 03741; on Facebook here.

Just Donut: Sweet Love for Peter Pan Donuts, Greenpoint, Brooklyn

I'll tell you something. My first apartment, after moving out of my college dorm, was in a magical little Polish corner of Brooklyn known as Greenpoint. And my first bakery visit in my first apartment was to Peter Pan Donuts.

The first visit (this was in 2001, btw) was sort of like stepping into a time and space machine: the staff was seemingly completely comprised of teenage Polish girls wearing (totally non-ironic) pink zip-up uniforms. But amazingly, the donuts were only about 80 cents. Score!

To say I fell hard for this place would be an understatement: I even learned how to say “thank you” in Polish to endear myself to the counter girls (it worked).

What is it that is so great about these donuts? Well, they are unfussy, unpretentious, and just straight-up good. They are fried to perfection, slightly greasy without being soggy, and cakey and thick without being leaden. Just out of the fryer they are a donut revelation; even at the end of the day, they hold their own.

Since 2001, Peter Pan has gained some acclaim, capturing the heart of Tina Fey; the donuts are now $1; but it's still just as magic as I remember.

Also tasty: the crumb cake and corn muffins. This visit, I heard that they had cupcakes too, but they were out by the time I arrived.

Peter Pan Donuts, 727 Manhattan Avenue, Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop on Urbanspoon

Sweet Discovery: Pastries at Locanda Verde, NYC

It's high time that we discuss the exquisite joy that is pastry-eating at Locanda Verde in NYC.

I've been excited to visit this place for a long time, for three main reasons:

  1. My customer-turned buddy too, Kelly Fink, works there as a baker.

  2. A few visits ago, Ed Levine of Serious Eats said that their sweets could not be missed. You listen to a guy like this.

  3. They have homemade pastries. Really, while #1 and #2 sweeten the deal, #3 alone would have brought me to this place.

yes, looking this good DOES hurt sometimes.So. After arriving in a mild-hurricane state (I had a train to catch, to visit another bakery, in 20 minutes, natch), I was able to quickly give Kelly a hug and nab a cinnamon sugar doughnut and an espresso chocolate scone. Basically, then I had to run.

But that was not the end of my Locanda Verde nirvana.

First, the scone. Dense, biscuity, and extremely moist, it was studded with little landmines of warm, lightly gooey bittersweet chocolate and nibbly little bits of espresso—all topped with a crunchy sugar coating. It was—because other words escaped me while eating it on the subway on my way to Grand Central—very, very good.

Next, the doughnut.

Doughnut lasted all the way to 125th street on Metro North, but had a sweet and rapid demise as the train hurtled in the northerly direction. With a crispy exterior dusted with sandy sugar-and-cinnamon, the crust gave way to a soft, cakey treasure inside—an old-fashioned style doughnut with a rich, moist crumb and a full flavor that tasted something like heaven with a cafe au lait.

And then I napped the rest of the way to my stop, because while I was headed to Pleasantville, it kind of felt like I was already there.

CakeSpy Note: I should note, of course, that this is not a bakery--it is a restaurant--but during the day they do have a takeaway bakery counter. 

Locanda Verde, 377 Greenwich Street, NYC; locandaverdenyc.com.

Locanda Verde on Urbanspoon