Brooklyn's 5 Best Bakeries
Brooklyn has always been home to numerous great bakeries, with a few new ones poised to join the long-standing ranks. Whether you're looking for a slice of homemade pie or a rendition of Ebinger's famous Brooklyn Blackout Cake, here are a just a few of the borough's best. By Siobhan Wallace.
2011 was definitely the year of pie in Brooklyn and Four & Twenty Blackbirds was the pie shop that started it all. Fresh pies are made throughout the day, with a rotating seasonal menu. Be sure to check out their Salted Caramel Apple or Black Bottom Oatmeal, or their newest flavor--and first cream pie--Banana Cream Pie.
Baked's been in Red Hook for seven years now, and it's still considered one of the best bakeries in Brooklyn. They specialize in making classic American desserts, extraordinary. Try their moist cakes and cupcakes, or go for a Brookster--it's a combo of a decadent chocolate brownie made atop a chocolate chip cookie.
Greenpoint's Peter Pan has been around since before the high-end doughnut shops came into town, and they're still churning out some of the best. Thick cake doughnuts or fluffy yeast ones sit next to huge moist muffins, and black and white cookies. If you see a tray of fresh red velvet doughnuts making their way down the counter, be sure to snag one.
Ladybird Bakery has been the spot of delicious desserts for over 15 years now--originally as the first Two Little Red Hens. The case is full of classic sweets like chocolate cupcakes and peanut butter cookies. But this shop is famous for it's Brooklyn Black Out cake: layers of dark chocolate cake separated by chocolate pudding covered by decadent chocolate frosting.
Boerum Hill's Smith Street has long been Brooklyn's own Little Paris with its latest addition being Bien Cuit. A traditional French bakery with fresh bread, morning pastries, and a case of elegant French desserts, but Americanized with wood trim and natural light streaming in from the street. It's worth a visit for their baguettes and chocolate almond croissants.
Siobhan Wallace is the co-founder of BlondieandBrownie.com.
