Brooklyn and the Lower East Side

May's trip to New York City, plus recommendations from current and former residents, inspired a new round of dessert tasting when I was back in town in mid-June.

When impromptu city wandering led us to the Lower East Side, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit Sugar Sweet Sunshine, baker of delectable cupcakes. These cupcakes are infinitely superior to Magnolia's (though, alas, I did not see a single instance of purple frosting) in both cake and frosting. The cakes themselves are light - you can eat two cupcakes after a large meal, no problem - but are also moist and packed with flavor. The frosting is also light, but sweet and creamy and not airy. In addition, I appreciated the fun frosting colors and sprinkles. Behold the cupcake bounty below, with details from top left to bottom right:

• Black & White (chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream) - the chocolate cake was simply but richly flavored, and so moist! I think the bakery managed to find the perfect cocoa-powder-to-oil ratio. The vanilla buttercream frosting was light and fun, though I am still on the fence as to whose frosting I prefer (this bakery's or Sweet's). Of course, I greatly appreciated the cheerful pink coloring.
• Lemon Yummy (lemon cake with lemon buttercream) - this is the best lemon baked item I have ever purchased. The cake itself was citrusy and sweet - and almost creamy, as if it were a lemon tart that begrudgingly assented to being a cupcake. The frosting, of course, was pure heaven, and I am now motivated to make my own (confectioner's sugar, lemon juice, butter, and heavy cream, perhaps?).
• Ooey Gooey (chocolate cake with chocolate almond buttercream) - of course, the cake itself was divine. The frosting's almond flavor was a bit overpowering, most likely created via the more aromatic, and hence initially more flavorful, almond extract. Despite my antipathy towards nuts in baked goods, I think I would have preferred the actual-nut method - the extract permeated the chocolate, while discrete nuts would have added textural variety and isolated bits of flavor.
• Sunshine (yellow cake with vanilla buttercream) - this cupcake was pure vanilla excellence. If a bakery can do this simplest of cupcakes well, no wonder everything else is so good!
  

Sugar Sweet Sunshine will get my regular business on future New York trips. Next time, I am eager to try their Spiced Pumpkin cupcake with cream cheese frosting!

That evening, we traveled to Brooklyn's Cobble Hill neighborhood to satisfy a long-time dessert desire. My roommate, a former Brooklynite, recommended The Chocolate Room when she first learned of my obsession, and while I wish I had made it there sooner, it was still worth the wait. Here, you can see the Brownie Sundae and Chocolate Pudding.

I was impressed with the majority of the sundae. The homemade brownie was moist and dark; the fudge sauce was bittersweet, which gets us to two distinct chocolate flavors in one dessert; the whipped cream was oh-so-light and sweet; the cherry on top had been rolled in chocolate shavings. The ice cream flavor was of your own choosing, and I went with mint chocolate chip, hoping for a tasty yet traditional take on that classic flavor. I was slightly disappointed. The chips were actually very thick shavings of delicious milk chocolate (three distinct chocolate flavors in one dessert, mmm), but the mint flavor itself was slightly too fresh and leafy. It did not go well with the bittersweet chocolate, and left an almost sour taste in my mouth. The chocolate pudding, however, was just what a chocolate puddding should be, with perhaps an extra kick of robust chocolate flavor. Other things in the Chocolate Room's favor: they serve you a small scoop of Vahlrona chocolate sorbet upon sitting down, and offer a variety of unique chocolate items (both Chocolate-Room-specific and other brands) for purchase at their bar in the front of the restaurant. What could have made our experience better? Maybe a chocolate martini to mask that mint taste!