I may as well turn this blog into the Cupcake Crawl! Every place I visit seems to have these delicious morsels of goodness. I was hanging out on the East Side today when I got a craving for a cup of coffee and a cupcake. After checking out google maps, I found that there was a relatively new bakery on East 7th Street between 1st Avenue and Avenue A: Butter Lane Cupcakes. After making my way downtown, the cutest little bakery appeared amongst wine bars, shops and town homes. As you can see from the picture to the left, Butter Lane’s outdoor appearance was inviting with good outdoor cafe-style seating with cute little yellow daisies in the window. I was very excited to check this out.
Once I stepped through its front door, the bakery greeted me with its Sirius radio station turned to a 60s light style of music: something perfect for a quaint shop such as this. I was also greeted with the smell of cupcakes coming straight out of the oven, ready to be decorated in sugar and buttery goodness. A few interesting things caught my eye before I was able to place my order. The seating area, although limited inside, was still welcoming. There was a framed sign dictating when the next cupcake decorating class would be held. I was especially excited about this, and well, who wouldn’t be?! I am definitely going to be coming back to learn Butter Lane’s style of cupcake decorating, and I can’t wait! There was also a little laptop computer set up with a sign above it reading, “Fan us on Facebook for your chance to win free cupcakes and also to receive a free shot of frosting right now!” Also, if you have foursqaure on your iPhone or Blackberry, and you are one of the first 10 customers to check in every day, you win a free cupcake of your choice! I just love this social media inclusion into the bakery. It’s fun and definitely brings attention. What you will also notice from the second picture are the many different varieties of frosting flavors to choose from…amazing!! My mouth started to water the instant that I read the peanut butter and banana flavor. Yum.
Once I made it to the counter and was greeted by a very pleasant counter person, I decided to try 2 cupcakes and of course a cup of coffee. As with any cupcake shop, I always try a vanilla cake with vanilla frosting for comparison sake. My second choice was a vanilla cake with espresso frosting. I have to say, Butter Lane’s cupcake definitely comes in very close to my favorite cupcake in the City. The cake was very light, moist and not overpowered with butter. The icing likewise was incredibly light and smooth and had a little hint of cream cheese mixed in with the butter and sugar. I was thoroughly impressed (and of course inhaled them within minutes). The coffee brewed here was Stumptown Coffee, which, if you have read any of my other posts, you know is one of my favorite beans in the City. After the delicious coffee and cupcakes, I definitely want you to check out Butter Lane: a great newcomer to the world of New York City Cupcakes.
