Friday, April 04, 2008

Astoria Loves Red Velvet

What's with the Red Velvet love? And by Red Velvet we mean cupcakes--of course.

Judging from the signs I've seen in storefronts on 30th Avenue, "We sell Red Velvet cupcakes", "Red Velvet cupcakes available here," there's certainly a demand for these spongy sensations. It struck me as interesting that this very American dessert is desired in our very ethnic neighborhood. What you usually find in bakeries in Astoria is flaky Balkava, creamy Napoleans or luxurious Cannoli--but Red Velvet? I personally love this dessert and scoped out the best places that carry it. And because it's such a rare treat in Astoria, it certainly goes for a premium. The below bakeries make Red Velvet quite well and to keep things more interesting, we even added a home baker extraordinaire into the mix.

Terrizzi Pasticceria - An authentic Italian bakery owned by pastry chef Joseph Anthony Polito. He's known for his elaborate cakes (especially wedding cakes) and has prepared his treats for public figures such as Michael Jackson and Colin Powell. Terrizzi sells Red Velvet cupcakes for $2.00 each. 35-14 30th Avenue. 718.726.9698

Frank's Bakery - Another Italian bakery (one of two Frank's in the 'hood), which offers various types of breads and pastries--my favorite is their olive bread. They sell Red Velvet cupcakes for a whopping $2.95 each. 36-02 30th Avenue. 718.726.7813

Martha's Country Bakery - By far the most designer, Manhattan-like bakery in Astoria. You can easily compare it to Billy's or Magnolia but I think Martha's is much better. The cupcake variety is enormous--Oreo to Carrot Cake to Red Velvet! You can get Red Velvet in cupcake form for $2 each or in various cake sizes: 5 inch cake $10.95, 7 inch cake $22, 8 inch cake $25. 36-21 Ditmars Blvd. 718.545.9737

Baked Goodness by Shaya Elcock - A local foodie and baker extraordinaire, Shaya Elcock is not only a talented treats-maker she's an entrepreneur in the making. Her company Baked Goodness is just the beginning to her lifelong dream of owning a bakery. Shaya makes a mean Red Velvet cupcake for a bargain price of $1.65 each. You can contact her directly to order: 219.510.3923 or bakedgoodnessnyc@gmail.com

Hope that we've satisfied your sweet tooth!

6 comments:

Unknown said...

i have SO been noticing this lately too! and now i must go try some...

megc said...

Martha's has a red velvet cheesecake, which I tried yesterday. It was good. It's got a layer of cheesecake above the layer of red velvet cake. $3.25 a slice, which is not bad. I found the cake nice and moist and the cheesecake light and mild. Definitely worth a try if you like both of these elements!

Aly said...

I love red velvet cupcakes and was so excited to see this post that I practically sprinted to Terrizzi Pasticceria. The cupcake had a pinkish hue and tasted like strawberries. I've had better cupcakes from a box; not to mention that there was nothing red velvet about it. Note to bakeries -- you can't just call something "red velvet" because of its color.

Fooditka said...

That's really unfortunate Andrea. Try Martha's--they are known for their cupcakes. I mentioned Terrizzi because they had a sign up about red velvet specifically. It's a bummer that the cupcake was so disappointing.

Derek Abbott said...

for what it's worth... I liked the cupcakes at Terrizzi. Maybe not what you'd expect from a Red Velvet... but still very tasty.

Anonymous said...

I also love red velvet in fact my wife love too.




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