If you ever want to try something painfully delicious, do what Stephan and I did and go on a cupcake crawl of NYC but only after eating a gigantic meal in K-Town. How did we end up doing something so awesome you may be asking yourself? Obviously, the Internet made us do it. Stephan found some food blog the other day that supposedly ranked the best cupcakes in NYC, and we thought we should verify. We could only make it to five bakeries(a polite way of saying we couldn’t fit anymore in our stomachs at one time) that day (we ate or split about three cupcakes per bakery), so this list is a work in progress. I only hope to one day have the top ranking on Google for Best Cupcakes in NYC. If you want to help me out, in the comments section you should write something like, “This is the greatest best cupcakes in NYC list I’ve ever read!” or something similar. Hmmm… Is it wrong to ask my readers to help me with my SEO?
Let’s get to the list of Best Cupcakes in NYC – New York!
First, how did we choose these bakeries? We based a lot of our choices off of this cupcake blog and our location at the present time. The rest we just found by using our iPhones, Google maps, and keywords like ‘cupcake’ and ‘bakery’.
Second, everyone who plans on telling me that I’m an idiot and that this list is horribly incorrect, please realize that I already know that I’m an idiot and do not need you to tell me. I mean, come on, I’m writing about eating like 15 cupcakes in one day. Constructive criticism and suggestions are good. Being a jerk isn’t.
So these are the bakeries (listed in the same order as the pictures below) that we hit up that day to find the Best Cupcakes in NYC:
- Magnolia Bakery – 200 Columbus Ave (Near 69th), New York
- Kyotofu – 705 Ninth Ave (between 48th and 49th), New York
- Amy’s Bread – 672 Ninth Ave (Across the street from Kyotofu), New York
- Billy’s Bakery – 185 9th Ave (near 21st), New York
- Big Booty Bread Co – 261 W 23rd St, New York
And here it is – the list of the best cupcakes in New York (NYC) in reverse order:
#5 (the worst cupcake!) – Billy’s Bakery in Chelsea, NY
There was a long-ass line coming out of Billy’s Bakery that Saturday (it was even raining a little), so I was a bit surprised to discover how underwhelmed we were by the cupcakes here. After Stephan and I got our cupcakes from the counter and discovered there was no place to sit in the bakery, we decided to find ourselves a nice stoop on 21st Street. Sitting was nice at the time because this was the fourth bakery of the day, and we were starting to feel pretty sick. Why were these cupcakes so bad? These cupcakes seemed to be like 60% icing and 40% actual cupcake. We tried cutting one in half and Stephan ended up with mostly just icing. I think his exact words were, “oh God, this is torture.”
#4 (mehhh) – Kyotofu in Hell’s Kitchen, NY
This was actually the first destination on our cupcake tour, and I had high expectations for it based solely upon the sign stating they had the best cupcake in NYC as shown in the pictures below. Stephan and I both agreed that the cupcakes weren’t bad, it’s just that they weren’t spectacular for being $6.50 each. If you do decide to try out Kyotofu for the cupcakes, order the chocolate one over the vanilla. And don’t try to order milk there (Stephan tried) because they won’t let you.
#3 (expected) – Magnolia Bakery in the UWS, NY
Unfortunately I must have missed the Sex in the City that made this bakery famous. I know, I know, the one in the village is the original and better blah blah blah. We couldn’t make it there, so I made sure to specify the UWS one for this list. As you can see in the photos below, I ended up trying quite a few different ones from Magnolia. The cupcakes here were what I expected. Not blown away, but they were good. My fave at this place are the red velvet and the chocolate w/ chocolate icing.
#2 (happy) – Amy’s Bread in Hell’s Kitchen, NY
After being relatively disappointed by Kyotofu, I was happily surprised at the quality at Amy’s Bread in Hell’s Kitchen in NYC. Stephan and I again couldn’t find a seat at Amy’s Bread, so we decided to take our cupcakes out to a stoop and eat in front of strangers. Stephan made a nice little animated gif so that you can see the order in which we ate. All of the cupcakes at Amy’s Bread were quite delicious. I think we both agreed that the red velvet was tops though.
#1 (surprise! – best cupcake in NYC) – Big Booty Bread Co in Chelsea, NY
Stephan and I just happened to stumble into Big Booty Bread Co on our way to Billy’s Bakery. [You guys didn't even show up when we Google Mapped 'cupcake', and we were standing one block away! If anyone at Big Booty Bread Co reads this, make sure you contact me so we can fix that!] Anyway, Stephan was pretty hesitant to order from this bakery since they didn’t have any awards or reviews posted on their window, so he walked into the bakery and asked the guy straight up what made their cupcakes better than the ones at Magnolia. The guy said that what made their cupcakes stand apart were how fresh they were at all times. We decided to order up a red velvet cupcake and try a new one called dulce de leche. Their red velvet cupcakes were so fresh that they didn’t even have icing on them when we ordered. Needless to say, Stephan and I were both pleasantly surprised at the awesomeness of the cupcakes here. Even better (at least for me), is that this place is only a few blocks away from our office at Simande. Right, so everyone go to Big Booty Bread Co and say that iblogwhatieat sent you!
Lastly, I’d just like to note that I know that there are a ridiculous amount of bakeries in NYC with fantastic cupcakes, and we missed some obvious top contenders. Put all of those suggestions in the comment section please! I will update this post or write a part 2 of the Best Cupcakes in NYC List when Stephan and I go out again. We’re also seriously considering doing a best ice cream sandwich in NYC crawl soon too. Anyone want to join?!?
Box of Magnolia cupcakes from UWS in NYC
chocolate and vanilla cupcake from Magnolia Bakery in NYC
Caramel cupcake from Magnolia Bakery in NYC
Red velvet cupcake from Magnolia Bakery in NYC
Outside of Kyotofu on 9th Ave in NYC
fancy organic coffee from Kyotofu in NYC
chocolate cupcake from Kyotofu in NYC
Amy's Bread in Hell's Kitchen in NYC
Red velvet, vanilla, and chocolate cupcakes from Amy's Bread in NYC
Animated disappearing act of cupcakes from Amy's Bread in NYC
Billy's Bakery in Chelsea in NYC
Making of cupcakes at Billy's Bakery in NYC
Red velvet and vanilla cupcakes from Billy's Bakery in NYC
Big Booty Bread Co in NYC
Dulce de leche cupcake from Big Booty Bread Co. in NYC
Red velvet cupcake from Big Booty Bread Co. in NYC
The interesting thing is that you can’t tell what’s good or bad by looking at them. The plainest ones seemed to be the best.
Sugar Sweet Sunshine… haven’t been there yet, but heard it’s a good one and it’s somewhere in east village
it’s amazing you can still fit into your pants
big booty bread co is the best because i said so
http://www.sugarsweetsunshine.com/
I will need to try out some of these cupcakes…judge for myself…red velvet cupcakes are awesome though..
I forgot that you like things diabetic, so I can’t trust your judgment on these here cupcakes. Whenever I get Magnolia’s, I always have to scrap off 90% of their frosting before biting into it and I would still be able to taste the sugar in my mouth 30 minutes after I swallow it. Go find a korean bakery that makes cupcakes. I bet you the sugar level would be just right.
Speaking of cupcakes….Jill, it’s been awhile since you’ve brought in any baked goods. =)
Also, I know this place isn’t in NYC, but they do have delicious cupakes, and they don’t overload the frosting, which is something I really appreciate. They also get bonus points for some of the names given to their cupcakes: http://www.sweetavenuebakeshop.com/
Go to korea and get me these: http://www.goodovening.com/
FAIL! you forgot Crumbs Bakery.
http://www.crumbs.com/
someone just told me today that crumbs is horrible. looks like another one i’ll have to add to the list.
What a great foodie adventure. If I ever hit up NY, I will take up your recommendation and grab a Red velvet cupcake from Big Booty Bread Co. in NYC. I love red velvet cakes.
I adore sugar sweet sunshine. it was just bite after bite of happy.
Your link to the cupcake blog is broken. FAIL.
In return for my awesomeness at winning the Poutine-identifying contest, you are going to take me to all of those bakeries.
Mmkay!
You are absolutely right, that was a fail. It’s fixed now.
And I’ll take you to those bakeries… but you’re buying.
Matt, I know for a fact you’ve eaten a crumbs cupcake.
oh, those midget ones. they were pretty good.
Matt I had a crumbs right behind my apartment!! you should go they have really good cupcakes!!
You forgot to try CRUMBS which has the biggest and best cupcakes…get the cookie cupcake it has filling in the middle!
Did you guys eat all those cupcakes in one day?
I also second sweet ave bake shop in Rutherford, NJ:
“Everything we make at Sweet Avenue is totally vegan. That means that all of our cupcakes, cookies, and everything else are all dairy- and egg-free. They’re also 100% cholesterol-free, completely cruelty-free, better for the environment, and 156% awesomer than non-vegan desserts. Seriously. You can take that to the bank.”
They are amazing
Crumbs Bakery is a must! My fave little place in Nyack had them shipped in from there…& their Red Velvet has been my favorite so far, but the Peanut Butter Cup & Hostess replica are yummy too
My vote for the best cupcakes in NJ is a tie between Sweet Ave Bake shop(vegan)and Mr.Cupcakes(non vegan)in the Riverside mall in Hackensack. I like the southern red velvet flavor while Dave likes the tiramisu one.
@KT – yes, we ate them all in one day
@Lauren, @KT, @julie, @dan – Crumbs is coming up in a new post
[...] promised, Stephan and I continued our cupcake crawl of NYC based upon your comments and recommendations from last [...]
[...] a cupcake crawl. If you missed either of them, you can read about our last two cupcake crawls here and here. The newest cupcake crawl was organized by Walking Tours Manhattan and featured the [...]