Cupcake recommendations for Thanksgiving

[nyc_londoner]

So i've done the usual suspects Magnolia, Crumbs, Baked by Mellissa - I'm sure Im missing some truly delightful places....any suggestions?

[ellenost]

I adore the cupcakes from Chikalicious Dessert Bar. My abosulute favorites are the red velvet and the caramel. Although many (if not most) people love the cupcakes from Two Little Red Hens, I'm not a big fan of them. I find they're almost too large (not enough frosting to cake ratio).

[HungryHorn]

Try Cupcake Cafe. Two locations: 18 W18th between 5 and 6th Ave and 545 9th Ave between 40 and 50th St

[kathryn]

Be forewarned: Cupcake Cafe has gorgeous cupcakes with super buttery frosting.

[LeahBaila]

They're gorgeous to look at, but not so much to eat.

[Jess321]

As a TLRH fan, I feel obligated to point out that if you go to their bakery on the UES they DO sell mini versions of all or most of their cupcakes, including the amazingly delicious Brooklyn Blackout cupcake! I have not seen these mini versions at Dean & Deluca, only the full-size. I've never tried the minis because if I make the trek to the bakery then I'm getting a big one, but I'm sure they're just as tasty as the full size ones!

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Dean & DeLuca
1 Rockefeller Plz, New York, NY 10020

[ellenost]

I've seen the mini-version cupcakes at TLRH, and they're "tiny"--more like one bite. Adminittedly, they are cute! Chikalicious' cupcakes (at least to me) are the perfect size.

[ellenost]

Okay, I tried a bunch of different flavors of the mini cupcakes at TLRH, and I like them better than their full-sized cupcakes. They're about 3 bitefuls. Better icing to cake ratio. Liked very much the carrot cake. Still prefer ChikaLicious' red velvet. Still have the blackout and marble minis to taste (my after the gym treat).

[Blumie]

The "usual suspects" all suck! The best (imho) are Sugar Sweet Sunshine. I also like Chikalicious, but they're half the size and twice the price of Sugar Sweet Sunshine!

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Sugar Sweet Sunshine
126 Rivington St, New York, NY 10002

[Nancy S.]

I agree that Chickalicious and Sugar Sweet Sunshine are the best. I happen to like the flavors at Chickalicous better, as well as their icing technique.

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Sugar Sweet Sunshine
126 Rivington St, New York, NY 10002

[r0cc00]

Another vote for SSS.
Have to check out Chickalicious on this trip.

How are their prices vs. SSS?
I couldn't believe the prices (low!) that SSS was charging in NYC!
Another pleasant surprise in this economy.

Thanks.

[kathryn]

Chikalicious' cupcakes also are on the petit side, so it's not exactly an exact comparison. She does lighter, whipped frosting with overall less frosting on the cupcake. I like them a lot but find SSS more satisfying overall. Another option is Butter Lane because they are more about natural ingredients. I find theirs to be more clean tasting. I also like Sage available from Dean and Deluca. Good frosting to cake ratio.

Thumbs down to Billy's (hit or miss in terms of dryness), Buttercup Cake Shop (chalky frosting and way too much of it), Crumbs (too big and too sugary), Magnolia (way too sugary frosting).

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Butter Lane
123 E 7th St, New York, NY 10009

[uwsister]

I still don't get all the love Sugar Sweet Sushine gets - yeah, it's cheap, but I haven't found a single cupcake that I liked there. Okay, there was one, strawberry creamcheese, and I've tried almost EVERY single kind of cupcake they have. And their chocolate frosting is ghastly.

My faves: Chikalicious, TLRH, Butter Lane, Big Booty (red velvet only) in Chelsea

Middle-of-the-road: Magnolia, Billy's

Thumbs way down to Pinisi, Buttercup, Crumbs

[kathryn]

I really like their lemon, pistachio, and vanilla. Their chocolate frosting is a little off sometimes.

[steakrules85]

I like pinisi also

[Pan]

I can't relate to that. I gave on on Pinisi after several tries. Dry and just not good. I like Chikalicious but have to remember to try Everything Frosted, which sounds interesting to me. I also like Two Little Red Hens a lot but probably prefer the squares there (lime-coconut, lemon, linzer, etc.) to anything else.

[comiendosiempre]

As a devoted cupcake aficionado, the best cupcakes I (and others in the family) have had in awhile are at the new spot in Chinatown, Everything Frosted. Its on Mosco Street, off of Mott. Up a small flight of stairs. Great, friendly owners. Very cute spot. The cupcakes were perfect. We thought way better than Magnolia, Buttercup and others. The Times had a blurb on the spot recently. Happy eating.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/20/din...

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Everything Frosted
105 1/2 Mosco St, New York, NY 10013

[kelea]

I will preface my blurb with the fact that I don't actually care for cupcakes or cakes in general so please take my input with a grain of salt. That being said, due to birthdays galore, i've been eating a number of them recently. Here are the few saving graces.

LeahBaila is right...Cupcake cafe is gorgeous but overall not too tasty and a little dry. However, the maple walnut cupcake is delicious is moist and the only one worth eating.

Crumbs is general blah. Too sweet and just too large so the ratios are off. I did find a Samoa cupcake (yes created for the girl scout cookie) at the 37th and 6th location. The caramel and toasted coconut to that simple vanilla cupcake has been the only cupcake I actually truly enjoyed.

I would lump Sugar Sweet Sunshine with Magnolia and Buttercup. Ridiculously sweet frosting and completely forgettable.

Most recently, I had Lulu Cake Bakery and I think for boutique bakeries, this is definitely one of the most enjoyable ones. Esp the red velvet and the vanilla hazelnut

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Sugar Sweet Sunshine
126 Rivington St, New York, NY 10002

[kathryn]

SSS is probably the best of the Magnolia style but that entire class of cupcakes may not be for you.

Try Chikalicious or Butter Lane for less sweet varieties.

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Butter Lane
123 E 7th St, New York, NY 10009

[uwsister]

>I would lump Sugar Sweet Sunshine with Magnolia and Buttercup. Ridiculously sweet frosting and completely forgettable.

EXACTLY how I feel. I'll never get why some people bash Magnolia and love SSS - Magnolia has better banana pudding anyway. And no, I've never seen a single episode of Sex and the City...