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In pursuit of the Big Apple’s best desserts
No trip to New York City is complete without trying a sweet treat. Amid restaurants, bakeries, tourist sites, and cafes, NYC’s dessert finds are varied and delicious and often worthy of a social media posting.
From traditional goodies — think cannoli, cupcakes, or cookies — to innovative culinary creations, these are the 15 best desserts in NYC and where to find them.
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Photo courtesy of Kevin J. McCormick Photography
Classic Sunshine Cupcake, Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery
While NYC visitors often associate cupcakes with Magnolia Bakery, other bakeries like Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery hold their own in making these lovely little cakes. On Manhattan’s Lower East Side, owners Deb Weiner and Peg Williams opened their shop in 2003. Amid an assortment of cupcakes and cakes, with some vegan options, plus pudding and pies, the classic Sunshine Cupcake, a vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream frosting, is a favorite among customers.
Other recommended cupcake spots include Buttercup Bake Shop, Little Cupcake Bakeshop, Huascar & Co. Bakeshop, all in Manhattan, and Brooklyn Cupcake in Brooklyn.
Photo courtesy of Malai / Morgan lone Photography
Rose with Cinnamon Roasted Almonds Ice Cream, Malai
Founder and CEO Pooja Bavishi started Malai in 2015 in homage to the aromatic spices and flavors reflective of her childhood. Bavishi applies them to eggless ice cream varieties, nondairy ice creams, and sorbets with South Asian-inspired whole ingredients. Try flavors like rose with cinnamon roasted almonds, chocolate coconut burfi, and festive, seasonal holiday ice creams at Malai’s scoop shop in Brooklyn’s Carroll Gardens.
Other NYC ice cream shops include Sundaes and Cones, Caffè Panna, Il Laboratorio del Gelato, Big Gay Ice Cream, and Sugar Hill Creamery, all in Manhattan, and Tipsy Scoop, Oddfellows, and Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream, in various locations.
Photo courtesy of Michael Turkell / Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain
Milkshakes, Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain
Those who remember old-time soda shops find nostalgia at Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain in Carroll Gardens. Inside a circa 1920s pharmacy, this contemporary malt shop is known for its regular and specialty milkshake selection. The apple pie shake incorporates a scoop of apple compote, while The Rocket is a coffee milkshake with a shot of espresso. You can also order regular milkshakes, ice cream floats, or the New York classic egg cream.
Other milkshake spots in Manhattan include Black Tap, Lexington Candy Shop, Harlem Shake, and Ray’s Candy Store, all in Manhattan, and Soft Swerve, which has various NYC locations.
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Photo courtesy of Moritz Wiesel
Cheese and Guava Quesito, Chocobar Cortés
Quesitos, or Puerto Rican pastries made with puffy pastry dough and sweet cream cheese, are made fresh daily at the New York City outpost of Chocobar Cortés. The gastronomic side of the bean-to-bar chocolate company Chocolate Cortés offers guava and cheese and regular quesitos, chocolate-based drinks, and Caribbean dishes. Quesitos are one of the best desserts in NYC, especially when paired with churros con chocolate or a chocolate martini.
New York City is home to other Caribbean bakeries, including Allan’s Bakery in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Photo courtesy of Levain Bakery
Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie, Levain Bakery
Friends and bakers Pam Weekes and Connie McDonald founded Levain Bakery in 1995 as a small bread shop on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Today, their business is famous for its chocolate chip walnut cookies, one of the best desserts in NYC. As triathletes, Weekes and McDonald started baking 6-ounce cookies as a post-race treat. After finalizing the recipe, they quietly offered the cookies for sale, and they were a hit.
Other cookies not to miss in NYC are at Chip City, Milk Bar, Maman, and Funny Face Bakery; Ovenly in Brooklyn; and Sweet Maresa for vegan cookies and other baked goods.
Photo courtesy of Eileen’s Special Cheesecake
Cheesecakes, Eileen’s Special Cheesecake
While Junior’s often comes to mind with NYC cheesecake, Eileen’s Special Cheesecake has also been a longtime favorite. In 1975, Eileen Avezzano founded her namesake storefront in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood. Now run by her daughters, Holly Maloney and Bonnie Ponte, this cheesecake place has become an institution, serving some of the best desserts in NYC. Flavors include plain, strawberry, chocolate, salted caramel, pineapple, cookies and cream, lemon, and mango cheesecakes.
You can also find great cheesecakes at Circo’s Pastry Shop in Brooklyn, Martha’s Country Bakery in Brooklyn and Queens, and Veniero’s Pasticceria & Caffe and Keki’s Modern Cakes in Manhattan.
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Photo courtesy of Mah-Ze-Dahr Bakery
Brioche Doughnut, Mah-Ze-Dahr Bakery
Doughnuts are almost synonymous in NYC, with noteworthy shops all over the five boroughs. Mah-Ze-Dahr Bakery, founded by James Beard Foundation Award nominee Umber Ahmad, has a brioche doughnut that’s one of the best desserts in NYC. The doughnut starts with a light brioche dough, gets filled with a signature vanilla pastry cream, and then dusted with vanilla bean sugar. A doughnut hole sits on top like a crown of glory.
Other recommended doughnut places include Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop and Fan-Fan Doughnuts in Brooklyn, The Donut Pub and Sweet Churros in Manhattan, and Doughnut Plant in multiple locations in NYC.
Photo courtesy of Lauren Marie Marsh Photography
Carrot Cake, Lloyd’s Carrot Cake
With its first location in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, followed by a place in Manhattan’s East Harlem, Lloyd’s Carrot Cake has been serving some of the best desserts in NYC since the 1980s. Carrot cake, of course, is one of them. Now run by third-generation Lloyd family members, the institution is known far and wide for the dense, moist cakes studded with nuts (or not) smothered with sweet cream cheese frosting.
Other family-owned bakeries in NYC include Thierry Atlan in Manhattan, Victory Sweet Shop in Queens, and Ceremonia Bakeshop in Brooklyn.
Photo courtesy of William Greenberg Desserts
Black and White Cookie, William Greenberg Desserts
As far as anyone knows, the black-and-white cookie had been served at the now-closed Glaser’s Bake Shop on the Upper East Side since opening in 1902. Now, thanks to being sold in delis and bakeries for generations (plus a very funny episode of “Seinfeld”), the black and white is an iconic dessert in NYC. You’ll find an excellent version of the half-vanilla, half-chocolate frosted cookie at William Greenberg Desserts. Open since 1946, the bakery’s current owner, Carol Becker, also offers customized versions in various color combos.
“Look to the cookie” at other great Manhattan spots, like Orshwashers, Breads Bakery, Zabar’s, and Russ and Daughters.
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Photo courtesy of Dan Ahn
Corn Mousse Cake, Lysée
In Manhattan’s Flatiron District, pastry is edible art at Lysée, a pastry boutique and dessert gallery by chef Eunji Lee. Three cultures influence Lee’s creations: French, Korean, and New York City. One must-try is the Corn Mousse Cake, a corn flour sponge layered with a corn flour corn sable, grilled corn cream, and corn mousse and covered in white chocolate. Each cake gets two “corn leaves” dusted in dried corn powder and flaky salt.
For other elegant cakes, visit Café Sabarsky and Lady Wong in Manhattan and Patisserie Tomoko in Brooklyn.
Photo courtesy of Artuso Pastry
Cannoli and Italian pastries, Artuso Pastry
You’ll find many Italian bakeries in Little Italy in the Bronx, almost all of them selling cannoli, Italian cookies, and other treats. Artuso Pastry, family-owned and operated since 1946, is one of the most notable for its cannoli, flaky lobster tails, rainbow cookies, biscotti, and pignoli.
Some other spots to seek out for Italian pastries are Angelina Bakery, Pasticceria Rocco, Caffé Palermo, and Ferrara Bakery, all in Manhattan; Morrone Pastry Shop & Cafe, Delillo Pastry Shop, Egidio Pastry Shop, and Madonia Bakery, all in The Bronx; and Settepani Bakery and Fortunato Brothers, all in Brooklyn.
Photo courtesy of Serendipity3
Frozen Hot Chocolate, Serendipity3
Open since 1954, Serendipity3 is a fun Upper East Side dessert spot that may have inspired the 2001 film “Serendipity.” One of the most popular treats is frozen hot chocolate, a chilly beverage served in a large bowl adorned with a generous dollop of whipped cream.
Other entertaining dessert spots in Manhattan include Sugar Factory Times Square, Bibble and Sip Bakery Cafe, Grace Street Dessert Cafe, and Sweet Rehab.
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Photo courtesy of Little Pie Company
Sour Cream Apple Walnut Pie, Little Pie Company
Arnold Wilkerson, a former Broadway actor turned baker, learned to make delectable pies from his grandmother. Little Pie Company, in NYC’s Hell’s Kitchen, is his second act. Open since 1985, the pie shop is known for using locally sourced ingredients for its seasonal pies, including the sour cream apple walnut. Other favorite pies include Mississippi Mud, pecan, and classic apple.
Other pie places in NYC with the best desserts include Four & Twenty Blackbirds and Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pies in Brooklyn, and Petee’s Pie Company in Manhattan.
Photo courtesy of Cannelle Patisserie
Espresso 31 Cake, Cannelle Patisserie
The Espresso 31 Cake at Cannelle Patisserie in Queens is easily one of the best desserts in NYC. This almond chocolate cake graced with an espresso crème brulée, chocolate cereal, and a milk chocolate mousse is a mocha-lover’s dream. Along with specialty cakes, you’ll find flakey croissants, elegant Napoleons, and Gateau Breton. There are also locations in Long Island City and Jackson Heights.
For more cake creations, check out Spot Dessert Bar in Manhattan and Queens, Lady M Cake Boutique in Manhattan, and ChikaLicious Dessert Bar in Manhattan.
Photo courtesy of Emilia Aghamirzai / FatChix Inc.
24 Layer Confetti Cake, Maison Pickle
This retro diner-inspired eatery on the Upper West Side is known for French dip sandwiches, fun brunch options, and a mini martini hour. But Maison Pickle’s 24-layer confetti cake is a jaw-dropping vanilla cake with silky buttercream frosting covered in (and filled with) vibrant rainbow sprinkles. There’s also an all-chocolate version.
Other notable NYC cake shops include Empire Cake, Red Gate Bakery, and Lady M Cake Boutique in Manhattan and Mia’s Brooklyn Bakery.