Gluten-free, Vegan Bakery on the Lower East Side of Manhattan
Founder Erin McKenna’s goal is to provide organic, natural baked goodies that are gluten-free and vegan, and often soy-free. They use coconut oil and agave nectar as a sweetener in most of their baked goods.
They offer cupcakes, scones, cinnamon buns, brownies, muffins, cookies, and more. It’s a tiny little place, but there’s a counter where you can sit and indulge in your newly purchased treat and a cup of fair-trade coffee.
I visited Babycakes recently and tried three of their cupcakes: vanilla, red velvet, and carrot. The vanilla was the best—moist, with a light vanilla flavor. The red velvet was a little dry, but it had a nice flavor to it. The carrot cake was very crumbly (it almost didn’t make it into my mouth) and while it didn’t have much of the “carroty” taste that carrot cake usually has, it was still tasty.
Babycakes is at:
248 Broome St., between Orchard and Ludlow
212-677-5047
http://www.babycakesnyc.com/
They’re open 7 days a week.
McKenna released a Babycakes cookbook in May of 2009 and Babycakes has opened a location in Los Angeles.