Babycakes Bakery

Located in downtown Manhattan on Broome Street, Babycakes Bakery is an all vegan bakery that uses all-natural, organic alternatives for wheat, gluten, dairy, casein, and eggs. Also, instead of using white sugar, Babycakes uses agave nectar, a natural syrup that comes from a cactus. Although I am not a vegan or allergic to any of these things, I thought I would check out Babycakes for those who cannot enjoy the buttery goodness of a regular cupcake. However, I was a little put off when I saw the prices of the cupcakes--$3.75 for a regular vegan cupcake and $4.50 for a gluten-free cupcake. I decided to try the regular vegan vanilla cupcake. While the cake was pretty moist, it was a strange consistency and both the cake and icing had a strange taste. Though they tasted a bit weird, the cupcake had a nice cake to icing ratio. Because of the alternative ingredients used to make it, the cupcake is not sweet at all, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but an interesting one. My friend got the vegan chocolate cupcake, which I tasted and must say was much better tasting than the vanilla (even for a vanilla girl, like me). Yet, it still had that strange, almost tough, consistency. Let's put it this way: usually when you think of a cupcake, you think light and fluffy and soft, right? Well this cupcake was not any of those things. I don't want this to sound like I hated the cupcake, because I didn't. I was more simply intrigued by the new taste and consistency and believe that it is more of an acquired taste than the usual cupcake. The store itself is very cute and pretty small, with a few stools and benches to sit on. While it is undoubtedly an adorable bakery, I do wish it was a bit bigger or had a few more places to sit, because it tended to get pretty crowded in just the few minutes I was there. Overall, while Babycakes was not my favorite, it is a great option for those who are unable to eat a regular cupcake or for those who prefer a less sweet treat.