Best Cupcakes in New York

Where do you find the best cupcakes in New York? It’s for sure that New York is the place to be when it comes to delicious and colourful cupcakes. The city has some iconic bakeries that you should definitely pay a visit to if you have a sweet tooth. I’ve put together this list of where to buy some of the best cupcakes in New York, so you know exactly where to go.

NY Cupcake Tour

If you would like to skip the line at some authentic NY bakeries and sample some of the best cupcakes in New York, then this cupcake tour is for you. The guide takes you to several unique bakeries in and around the West Village, where you get to taste their best cupcakes, and along the way, tells you some interesting facts about the neighbourhood as well.

Book the Cupcake Walking Tour here

1. Molly’s Cupcakes

   A cute little shop in The Village. Their Chicago branch has won many awards and received raving reviews as “best cupcakes in town”, and their New York shop isn’t any different.

   Molly’s Cupcake story is just as sweet as their cupcakes: the name is a homage to the owner’s third-grade teacher, Miss Molly. She baked cupcakes for all her students if someone had a birthday. In honour of Molly and as a way to help children, a portion of their profit is donated to schools in the community.

   At Molly’s, you can choose from many flavours. They also have seasonal, vegan and flourless cupcakes, all as delicious as the regular flavours. Some customer favourites include Apple Pie, Peach Cobbler, Pumpkin Spice, Ron Bennington (PB&J and chocolate) and Red Velvet.

   📍 Location: 228 Bleecker Street, Greenwich Village

    

2. Magnolia Bakery

   The most famous cupcake bakery chain from New York, thanks to Sex and the City, is definitely Magnolia Bakery. There are several branches, but the oldest and most famous is located on Bleecker Street. You can check my free Eric’s New York App for the exact location. It’s a cosy shop decorated in pastel colours with many different treats. One of the most popular is the Red Velvet cupcake.

   Red Velvet owes its name to the deep red colour of the cake. The colour is obtained by the reaction of the ingredients cocoa, vinegar and buttermilk, which creates a rusty red colour. Nowadays, red dye is also added to the mixture. Originating from America, the flavour is also very popular here!

   📍 Location: 401 Bleecker Street for the original branch, multiple other locations in Manhattan

   

   

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   Eric’s Tip: “My personal favourite at Magnolia Bakery is the banana pudding. It’s a creamy vanilla pudding with fresh wafers and bananas. Due to the popularity of Magnolia Bakery, be prepared for long queues.”

   

3. Little Cupcake Bakeshop

   The cute vintage look is present in every detail here. The store is completely CO2 neutral, and the cakes are all made using organic ingredients. Little Cupcake Bakeshop is consciously involved with the planet in everything they do. In addition, part of the revenue goes to the FEED project, aiming to reduce famine among children worldwide.

   There are many reasons to go to the Little Cupcake Bakeshop, and that’s without mentioning the fantastic cupcakes! Little Cupcake Bakeshop has a wide range of cupcakes, such as the Mott Street Cupcake and the Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcake.

   📍 Location: 30 Prince Street, and multiple branches in Brooklyn

   

4. Buttercup Bake Shop

   Cheerful staff welcome you into their multiple shops in Manhattan: the Buttercup Bake Shop. With a variety of different cupcakes, such as the Buttercup Golden, Chunky Monkey and Red Velvet, as well as their phenomenally delicious cakes and banana pudding, it’s hard to choose.

   📍 Location: 167 Madison Avenue, Midtown and 973 2nd Avenue, Midtown East

   

5. Baked by Melissa

   The cupcake is the perfect treat, but with so many different flavours, you’re bound to want to try more than one. This is exactly what Melissa Bushell, owner of Baked by Melissa, thought too! That’s why she created her mini cupcakes; the perfect solution that comes with a minimum order of six, so you can try multiple flavours. In 2009, Baked by Melissa opened its first store in SoHo, and now the cupcake empire already has about a dozen stores in New York.

   There are as many as ten regular flavours, such as the Tie-Dye, Cookie Dough and Chocolate Chip Pancake. There is also a new flavour every month, often related to the season. The mini cupcakes are about 1 inch (2.5 cm), which is why you should feel guilt-free when you buy more than one.

   📍 Location: multiple locations in Manhattan