Billy’s Bakery
Since moving to New York last August, I’ve eaten my fair share of cupcakes. When I was in college and the only experience I had of New York were re-runs of Sex and the City, the place to go for cupcakes was Magnolia’s. Once I moved here, I quickly found out that Magnolia’s is probably the most over-hyped establishment; their cupcakes are dry, their frosting is crusty and too sweet, and the lines are endless. I usually prefer Crumbs, Buttercup, or Cupcake Café. A friend of mine recently told me that Billy’s Cupcakes is another alternative to satisfy my cravings for sugary frosting with moist cake. Naturally, I had to go there myself to see what the fuss was about:
The offerings are similar to Magnolia or Buttercup; icebox cake, red velvet slices, and of course, lots and lots of cupcakes:
My friend, Leo, bought four for us to share:
Their cupcakes are definitely better than Magnolia’s; very light, airy, and chocolately, but not to the point that you can’t finish one cupcake without begging for a cup of milk. Their frosting, in my opinion, is better than Buttercup’s, too, because it’s creamy and sweet, but you don’t feel like you’re eating a pound of butter with every bite. Billy’s was a great treat that I really enjoyed and I’ll definitely be back to satisfy my cupcake cravings!
Reader Comments
My favorite cupcake shop is Sugar Sweet Sunshine in LES – I love their sunshine cupcake (vanilla cake) the most, but pistachio and lemon are really good too!
Here in DC the place rumored to have the best cupcakes is Cakelove. I haven’t sampled many DC bakeries. But the box of Cakelove’s I received as a congratulations (or consolation?) for passing the NY bar was excellent. I have a wicked sweet tooth, so normally I want my frosting supersweet. Cakelove showed me that frosting can have complex flavors, and need not be saccharine to be delicious.
Plus, it was started by a George Washington Law School alumn.