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World's Best Sweets

Filed under: Dining



Luxist Readers cast their votes for the best chocolates, truffles, cakes, cookies and cupcakes. The winners for each of these categories are:

Best Cake
Crumbs Bake Shop is the winner of the Luxist Awards' Readers' Choice Award for Best Cake. The bakery is also famous for its cupcakes (it was nominated for a Readers' Choice Award in the cupcake category, accordingly).

Crumbs offers an irresistible blend of comfort-oriented classics and elegant baked goods. Crumbs homemade cakes come in a variety of delicious flavors, from Red Velvet to Vanilla Cake and Chocolate. Crumbs cupcakes come in three different sizes. At each of its bake shops, it offers more than 50 varieties baked fresh daily and a new cupcake of the week every Monday. Crumbs also offers a variety of delicious cakes, from Red Velvet to Vanilla Cake and Chocolate. Accordingly, Crumbs Bake Shop is also a nominee for a Readers' Choice Award for Best Cake.

Currently, Crumbs has locations in California, Connecticut and New Jersey. Its baked goods can also available by placing an order online.

Crumbs Bake Shop Wins Readers' Choice Award for Best Cake

Filed under: Dining


Crumbs Bake Shop
is the winner of the Luxist Awards' Readers' Choice Award for Best Cake.

Its founders, Mia and Jason Bauer, opened their first Crumbs bakery in March of 2003 on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Mia had been an avid baker since first discovering her fierce sweet tooth as a child while helping her mother bake when living on a farm in Israel. An attorney by training, owning a bakery is the culmination of a life-long quest to combine her passion for baking with building a successful business that is both a neighborhood meeting place and a destination for all New Yorkers. Mia's husband, Jason, is a true entrepreneur who has spent his career building businesses in various fields. Prior to opening Crumbs, Jason started Famous Fixins, a manufacturer of celebrity licensed products.


Crumbs offers an irresistible blend of comfort-oriented classics and elegant baked goods. Crumbs homemade cakes come in a variety of delicious flavors, from Red Velvet to Vanilla Cake and Chocolate. The bakery is also famous for its cupcakes (it was nominated for a Readers' Choice Award in the cupcake category, accordingly).

Currently, Crumbs has locations in California, Connecticut and New Jersey. Its baked goods can also available by placing an order online.

Nominees for Best in Sweets

Filed under: Dining


Best Cake

Nominees for best cake include a five-year old upstart that has already been selected as a "favorite thing" by Oprah, herself. The cakes of the second nominee are bound to evoke memories of your childhood. The third nominee was started by a former NYC caterer who fled for warmer climates where he makes mouth-watering desserts. The fourth nominee is a New York institution with a line that wraps around the block while the final nominee has a motto that baked goods are a hallmark of happiness.

Baked
Crumbs
Ice Box Cafe
Magnolia Bakery
SusieCakes

Best Chocolate
The first nominee has a name that is nothing short of iconic, while the second is known for the incredible detail paid to the component parts of its chocolates--details that are noticed at first bite. The third nominee was founded in 1987 by an American after he spent years studying the art of chocolate in France and Switzerland. The fourth nominee was founded in the Holy Land and is now a global company while the last nominee has kitchens in Switzerland that make over 100 varieties of chocolates.

Godiva
L.A. Burdick
La Maison du Chocolat
Max Brenner
Teuscher

Best Cookies
Best cookie nominees include one that bakes recipes originating from the founder's mother. The second nominee is a NYC darling while the third nominee is a favorite in the Bay Area. The fourth nominee was founded by a enterprising woman who started baking when she was only 11 years old. The last nominee is a bakery in the Midwest with a loyal following all over the country--some of its customers have even used its cookies as wedding cakes.

Eleni's New York
Levain Bakery
Sweet Adeline Bakeshop
Tate's Bake Shop
Tom's Mom's Cookies

Best Cupcakes
The first nominee for best cupcake was started in Brooklyn by two former advertising executives and is now nationally recognized while the second offers cupcakes in three different mouth-watering sizes. The third nominee hasn't been the same since it was featured on Sex & the City, while the fourth nominee is a favorite of Hollywood stars. The last nominee is known for its frosting filling---after one bite, you will never be the same.

Baked
Crumbs
Magnolia Bakery
Sprinkles
SusieCakes

Best Truffles
Some of the finest chocolatiers are nominees for best truffles. The packaging of the first nominee is as famous as its chocolate delicacies while the second nominee started in Brooklyn 23 years ago after its founder spent years studying the art of chocolate in France and Switzerland. The third nominee pays a great deal of attention toward the ingredients it uses, subtlety of balance, richness of taste and palette of flavors. The fourth nominee's roots date back 70 years ago in the Alps, while the final nominee is a relative newcomer founded in 1998.

Godiva
L.A. Burdick
La Maison du Chocolat
Teuscher
Vosges Haut-Chocolat


Crumbs Bake Shop: Cupcakes Like Mom Used to Bake

Filed under: Dining


Crumbs Bake Shop is a nominee for a Readers' Choice Award for Best Cupcake.

Crumbs is famous for its Signature size cupcakes. At each of its bake shops, it offers more than 50 varieties baked fresh daily and a new cupcake of the week every Monday. Crumbs also offers a variety of delicious cakes, from Red Velvet to Vanilla Cake and Chocolate. Accordingly, Crumbs Bake Shop is also a nominee for a Readers' Choice Award for Best Cake.

Made with the finest ingredients, Crumbs' cupcakes remind us that the best things in life are simple. Crumbs offers a selection in three different sizes: Classic, Signature and Taste size cupcakes. "Classic" cupcakes are the largest variety and are sold individually. The medium sized cupcakes, "Signature", are sold individually in stores, and can be ordered online in increments of six. Customers can create their own individual six packs or choose a pre-selected assortment. The smallest size, the "Taste" size cupcakes are offered by the dozen in single flavors and pre-selected favorite assortments. At this time Crumbs is not shipping its classic size.



Its founders, Mia and Jason Bauer, opened their first Crumbs bakery in March of 2003 on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Mia had been an avid baker since first discovering her fierce sweet tooth as a child while helping her mother bake when living on a farm in Israel. An attorney by training, owning a bakery is the culmination of a life-long quest to combine her passion for baking with building a successful business that is both a neighborhood meeting place and a destination for all New Yorkers. Mia's husband, Jason, is a true entrepreneur who has spent his career building businesses in various fields. Prior to opening Crumbs, Jason started Famous Fixins, a manufacturer of celebrity licensed products.

Currently, Crumbs has locations in California, Connecticut and New Jersey. Crumbs treats can also be ordered online.

Ice Box Cafe: Award-Winning Cakes

Filed under: Dining


The Ice Box Cafe has been nominated for a Readers' Choice Award for Best Cake.

Owner Robert Siegmann, is a former New York caterer who was discovered by Martha Stewart after he prepared a celebatory luncheon for 100 people at her home in East Hampton. Born in New York, but raised in Mexico,

The South Beach (Miami, Fla.)-based cafe features a massive bakery counter and a minimally decorated, informal dining room. From its old-fashioned pink coconut layer cake to its signature Ice Box Cake, all of its hand-made baked goods are natural and contain no artificial colors or artificial flavorings.

Oprah Winfrey said the Ice Box Cafe bakes the best cakes in the country. Her favorite? The Bomb, which is a decadent symphony of chocolate with two layers of rich chocolate cake filled with melt-in-your-mouth bittersweet chocolate mousse and a layer of cheesecake brownies. The Bomb is topped off with a bittersweet chocolate ganache.


SusieCakes: California Dreamin' About Cakes

Filed under: Dining


SusieCakes is a nominee for a Readers' Choice Award for Best Cake.

The Los Angeles, Ca.-based company was launched in 2006 by Susan Sarich. The inspiration behind the company's founding was Sarich's childhood in Chicago. Each day, she used to arrive home from school to a warm kitchen filled with the smell of baking and treats fresh from the oven. Her two grandmothers, who were also neighbors, loved to bake, from frosted sugar cookies to Whoopie pies and chocolate layer cakes.

To this day, Sarich is captivated by what those desserts symbolized. "Baked goods are hallmarks of happiness," says Sarich. "Whether we're celebrating a holiday or a specific event, we want them to be as unique as the day." It was a combination of Sarich's sweet tooth and nostalgia for the homemade desserts of her childhood that led her to open SusieCakes.



SusieCakes is famous for its custom layer, stacked and sheet cakes, as well as its signature six-layer "Cupcake" cake. Custom orders are also accepted with advance notice.

Baked: Cakes Baked Fresh Daily in Brooklyn

Filed under: Dining


Baked
, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based bakery is a nominee for a Readers' Choice Award for Best Cake.

The company's founders, Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, came from the world of advertising, in which Matt was a producer while Renato was a graphic designer. Their thoughts were never too far from cake and coffee, and slowly (even unbeknownst to them) the idea for Baked was born.

Matt wanted to open a bakery that celebrated American desserts beyond the cupcake, and Renato had always been hankering to open a neighborhood cafe, so together they scoured New York City for the perfect location. They found a small, storefront church in the largely industrialized and gritty section of Brooklyn, and together with Rafi Avramovitz, set about building their inspiration. Finally, after many long delays, they opened Baked in 2005 on the shores of Red Hook, Brooklyn with just a few ovens, some mixers, and an espresso machine.

Baked is both a neighborhood spot, and a nationally recognized bakery. Baked has been featured on the Martha Stewart Show, the Today Show, the Food Network, and the Style Network. Baked has also received an awards from Time Out, French Culinary Institute, Citysearch, and America's Test Kitchen. Oprah recognized their brownies as a "favorite thing" and they have written recipes for Food and Wine, Bon Appetit, and many more.

Crumbs: An Oasis of Delicious Cakes

Filed under: Dining


Crumbs Bake Shop is a nominee for a Readers' Choice Award for Best Cake.

Its founders, Mia and Jason Bauer, opened their first Crumbs bakery in March of 2003 on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Mia had been an avid baker since first discovering her fierce sweet tooth as a child while helping her mother bake when living on a farm in Israel. An attorney by training, owning a bakery is the culmination of a life-long quest to combine her passion for baking with building a successful business that is both a neighborhood meeting place and a destination for all New Yorkers. Mia's husband, Jason, is a true entrepreneur who has spent his career building businesses in various fields. Prior to opening Crumbs, Jason started Famous Fixins, a manufacturer of celebrity licensed products.


Crumbs offers an irresistible blend of comfort-oriented classics and elegant baked goods. Crumbs homemade cakes come in a variety of delicious flavors, from Red Velvet to Vanilla Cake and Chocolate. The bakery is also famous for its cupcakes (and has been nominated for a Readers' Choice Award in the cupcake category, accordingly).

Currently, Crumbs has locations in California, Connecticut and New Jersey. Its baked goods can also available by placing an order online.

Vote for the company you believe makes the best cakes. Readers' Choice Winners will be announced on March 1st.

Magnolia Bakery: Old-Fashioned Cakes from an Eponymous Manhattan Bakery

Filed under: Dining


Magnolia Bakery
, located in the West Village of Manhattan, is a nominee for a Readers' Choice Award for Best Cake.

Open since 1996, the family-owned bakery is a throw-back to another era. It is famous for its old-fashion desserts, especially its cupcakes and home-style multi-layered cakes. There's a reason why has had staying power. Its baked goods are made fresh from scratch on premises, all day, every day, using the finest ingredients. Magnolia Bakery is also a nominee for a Readers' Choice Award for Best Cupcake.

Magnolia Bakery specializes in such classic cakes as red velvet, ice box, German chocolate, devil's food, coconut and banana pudding. In addition to cakes and cupcakes, other dessert specialties include brownies, magic cookies, peanut butter toffee bar, lemon squares, pies and cheesecakes. Magnolia prides itself on tradition and quality and strives to satisfy loyal patrons while maintaining the integrity of the brand. All Magnolia Bakery locations are certified as Kosher by the United Kosher Supervision.



Its original store is located at 401 Bleecker Street on the corner of West 11th Street. Additional locations in Manhattan can be found at 200 Columbus Avenue, on the corner of West 69th St. and at 1240 Avenue of the Americas. A store in Manhattan's Grand Central Terminal is expected to open later on this month and in Los Angeles in April. Magnolia Bakery's first overseas location will open in Dubai. For more information and location hours, please visit Magnolia's website.

The bakery's founders, Allysa Torey and Jennifer Appel, are the authors of a cookbook entitled "The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook: Old-Fashioned Recipes from New York's Sweetest Bakery."

Vote for the company you believe makes the best cakes. Readers' Choice Winners will be announced on March 1st.

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