New York bakery tour: Ladybird Bakery and Baked

I never thought I'd say it but after the cake trip, writing up the cake features and working on a certain book proposal, I'm thoroughly all caked-out (for now at least) so this is the last installment of the New York bakery tour (I think we've had more than enough buttercream for now).

So, I'll keep this short and simple: Brooklyn is brilliant. If there was one place in New York I could choose to live, other than coveting my friend's apartment over Chelsea way, it would be in a brownstone, on Brooklyn's 7th Avenue. This is where I live in my New York dreams. See, even the brick walls are cool:

Oh, and Brooklyn's bakeries rock too.

First stop - after navigating our way over to Brooklyn on the subway and somehow managing to find a cab on the other side (after being told, when we asked for directions that "Hell I don't know this place, I'm from THE BRONX") - was The Ladybird Bakery, which is actually on 8th avenue, a teeny tiny little quirky gem of a place).

(Above: The Ladybird Bakery and its famous Brooklyn Blackout Cake)

It was here that Brooklyn Blackout Cake was invented (apparently) and so no surprises what we ordered. I don't normally like chocolate cake - but this was AMAZING; moist, bouncy, melting.

Second stop: Baked. I love Baked. If I lived on 7th Avenue, Brooklyn, I'd always somehow find a way to get to Baked (it's quite a walk away from my dream home). The thing I love most about Baked is - aside from the amazing olive breads and the sweet and salty chocolate brownies and cake - is that it's not twee, not vintage, not girly (well, it's the brainchild of two guys after all), and the cakes aren't ooh-aah pretty. Instead it's all just very retro-cool - just look at the interiors.

(Above: inside Baked)

This is my kind of place. I interviewed the manager, another cool type called Alex, and he even gifted me a wall plate (the blue bird one) which most definitely made my day.

(Above: Baked wall plates. Very cool.)

Baked is by far my favourite bakery out of all the ones we went to in all of New York. The flavours are spot on; there's no girly faffy cupcakes; and almost every recipe is a real old-fashioned home-baking one, but brought up to date with a twist. My interviews with the manager and one of the founders feature heavily in my magazine feature on baking trends for British Baker magazine because they impressed me so much. So, if you find yourself in New York, please find Baked. And tell Alex I said hi. And then eat a big slice of sweet and salty caramel cake (as below), sit back and enjoy the lazy day Brooklyn vibe.