Part one of NYC food: Babycakes and Pennylicks.
I've been horribly lazy with taking photos of food. I've been inundated with deliciousness! However, here a are a few I've scraped together.
Babycakes, Manhattan.
Pretty much the first thing I did when I got to New York was ride to Babycakes. I'd heard so much about it and wanted to know if it lived up to the hype. Babycakes is a little different, because not only are 100% of their baked goods vegan, but also free from refined sugar, gluten, wheat, and soy, relying instead on ingredients like coconut oil, agave, and spelt flour. I tend to be a little skeptical of vegan food that is free from all of these "bad" ingredients, as I feel like they usually taste too "healthy" - I like my treats to be fattening, sugary, and naughty; they're supposed to be treats, after all! The use of these more specialist ingredients, and the yuppy-ish clientele they inevitably attract, is certainly reflected in the price. Although I still wasn't used to the exchange rate, I knew that $3.50 was pretty steep for a single cupcake, but what the hell, I'd just got there!
I decided on a red velvet cupcake, as I'd never had a "real", professionally-baked one before so I wanted to know if my previous attempts at baking them had done them justice or not. The cupcake itself was very basic looking, with no decoration other than a dollop of frosting smothered on by the back of a spoon; nice and simple, but not exactly a treat to the eye.
I sat down to see how it passed the taste test. The cake was light and tasty, but the use of wholegrain flour gave the cake a somewhat "bitty" texture owing to the remains of the grain's outer bran layer. The frosting, which can be bought by the shot, was incredibly smooth, melted on the tongue, and was the perfect amount of sweetness to compliment the cake. I'm far more used to cupcakes hitting me on the head with a sugar rush, but all in all, this one hit the spot without making me feel guilty or sluggish. I will certainly be attempting to recreate this once I get my hands on the Babycakes cookbook!
Despite my former skepticism, Babycakes showed me that it is indeed possible to make tasty treats without overloading on sugar, yet still avoiding the "healthy" tastes of carob (UGH), date syrup, or other such stereotypical ingredients. Babycakes offers "healthier" versions without compromising too much on taste, which, keeping in mind the amount of baked goods I "treat" myself to, is no bad thing.
Pennylicks, Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
When I was in need of a serious sugar hit, Pennylicks was the perfect solution. I'm seriously lacking in photos of this place considering the amount of brownies and ice cream that I ate there, but they never lasted that long anyway. Pennylicks isn't 100% vegan, but I would guess that over half of their baked goods are fine, and with a selection like this I was never starved of choice.
My one criticism of the place is that things aren't baked on-site, but are instead delivered once a week from Vegan Treats in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Whilst I never had a problem with the freshness of my purchases, it's far nicer to know that you're getting something made locally and baked that day. Whatever, the brownies are fucking incredible. Fudgey, moist and sugary, they're everything I think a brownie should be. They're also available in different flavours, with the same brownie base being piled high with different frostings (including the famous peanut butter bombe, which I don't have a photo of) nuts, caramel, and even vegan white chocolate pretzels. Yep. I wish I could eat this again RIGHT NOW.
With all that frosting, even I found it difficult to finish a whole one, so instead I would split one with Garrett and then have a Pennylick as well.
[Not my photo.]
A Pennylick costs a mere dollar, and consists of a tiny cone with a perfectly satisfying taster serving of Temptation ice cream. Their cookie dough ice cream is my favourite of all time, so being able to have a mini scoop of it was perfect to help me answer the "brownie or ice cream?" debate. The answer: BOTH.
Babycakes, Manhattan.
Pretty much the first thing I did when I got to New York was ride to Babycakes. I'd heard so much about it and wanted to know if it lived up to the hype. Babycakes is a little different, because not only are 100% of their baked goods vegan, but also free from refined sugar, gluten, wheat, and soy, relying instead on ingredients like coconut oil, agave, and spelt flour. I tend to be a little skeptical of vegan food that is free from all of these "bad" ingredients, as I feel like they usually taste too "healthy" - I like my treats to be fattening, sugary, and naughty; they're supposed to be treats, after all! The use of these more specialist ingredients, and the yuppy-ish clientele they inevitably attract, is certainly reflected in the price. Although I still wasn't used to the exchange rate, I knew that $3.50 was pretty steep for a single cupcake, but what the hell, I'd just got there!
I decided on a red velvet cupcake, as I'd never had a "real", professionally-baked one before so I wanted to know if my previous attempts at baking them had done them justice or not. The cupcake itself was very basic looking, with no decoration other than a dollop of frosting smothered on by the back of a spoon; nice and simple, but not exactly a treat to the eye.
I sat down to see how it passed the taste test. The cake was light and tasty, but the use of wholegrain flour gave the cake a somewhat "bitty" texture owing to the remains of the grain's outer bran layer. The frosting, which can be bought by the shot, was incredibly smooth, melted on the tongue, and was the perfect amount of sweetness to compliment the cake. I'm far more used to cupcakes hitting me on the head with a sugar rush, but all in all, this one hit the spot without making me feel guilty or sluggish. I will certainly be attempting to recreate this once I get my hands on the Babycakes cookbook!
Despite my former skepticism, Babycakes showed me that it is indeed possible to make tasty treats without overloading on sugar, yet still avoiding the "healthy" tastes of carob (UGH), date syrup, or other such stereotypical ingredients. Babycakes offers "healthier" versions without compromising too much on taste, which, keeping in mind the amount of baked goods I "treat" myself to, is no bad thing.
Pennylicks, Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
When I was in need of a serious sugar hit, Pennylicks was the perfect solution. I'm seriously lacking in photos of this place considering the amount of brownies and ice cream that I ate there, but they never lasted that long anyway. Pennylicks isn't 100% vegan, but I would guess that over half of their baked goods are fine, and with a selection like this I was never starved of choice.
My one criticism of the place is that things aren't baked on-site, but are instead delivered once a week from Vegan Treats in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Whilst I never had a problem with the freshness of my purchases, it's far nicer to know that you're getting something made locally and baked that day. Whatever, the brownies are fucking incredible. Fudgey, moist and sugary, they're everything I think a brownie should be. They're also available in different flavours, with the same brownie base being piled high with different frostings (including the famous peanut butter bombe, which I don't have a photo of) nuts, caramel, and even vegan white chocolate pretzels. Yep. I wish I could eat this again RIGHT NOW.
With all that frosting, even I found it difficult to finish a whole one, so instead I would split one with Garrett and then have a Pennylick as well.
[Not my photo.]
A Pennylick costs a mere dollar, and consists of a tiny cone with a perfectly satisfying taster serving of Temptation ice cream. Their cookie dough ice cream is my favourite of all time, so being able to have a mini scoop of it was perfect to help me answer the "brownie or ice cream?" debate. The answer: BOTH.