Babycakes

Clifton's

Some of the famed vegan, organic cupcakes from this Downtown delicatessen

By Shilo Urban

Madonna and Martha Stewart might not have much in common, but they both love BabyCakes NYC Vegan Bakery.

Now Angelenos can enjoy organic, vegan delectables in Downtown Los Angeles, at 130 E. 6th Street where BabyCakes opened their West Coast outpost earlier this year. This East Coast favorite has found a fine home in LA, where special diets are en vogue and vegetarians abound.

As more and more Americans realize the long-term health dangers of a diet rich in animal fats, refined carbohydrates, and pesticides, the movement for healthier food alternatives and organic ingredients has blossomed in recent years. This idea of "conscious eating" was actually birthed in the 60s, but it has taken almost half a century for food manufacturers to understand how to tastefully accommodate the public's growing interest for healthier food. Early efforts to create more nutritious baked goods fell hard on the palate and also on the wallet.

Vegan baked goods have come a long way since then. BabyCakes Bakery is one of many companies now catering to a growing mass of consumers with dietary restrictions, including diabetics, children with food allergies, and people who simply have reservations about the ingredients that go into the majority of sweet treats today.

Founder Erin McKenna has poured her heart, soul, and many bags of gluten-free flour into creating guilt-free baked goods. Owner of an obvious sweet tooth, Erin hit a roadblock several years ago when her own food allergies got in the way of enjoying the desserts that she loved.

Without any prior baking experience, Erin began experimenting with different recipes in her tiny Brooklyn kitchen. Where professionals may have been caught up on conventional baking rules or recipe structures, Erin's relative inexperience granted her a certain freedom of creative experimentation. Starting with the ingredients she believed in and loved, Erin worked on recipes by trial and error until creating her first big win: a gluten-free vanilla cupcake. This recipe would prove to be the firm foundation for many of BabyCakes' recipes. Life may have given her lemons, but she turned them into gluten-free, non-fried lemon coconut doughnuts, forever marrying the words "vegan" and "decadent" in the mind of every patron who enters her bakery door.

The doughnut is Erin's newest adventure, a recipe she perfected for her new cookbook, Babycakes. In true BabyCakes style, the doughnut is baked and not fried, helping these gluten-free breakfast pastries become BabyCakes' most popular item. On my first visit to the BabyCakes Bakery in Downtown Los Angeles, I enjoyed the chocolate-dipped doughnut so much that I had to try a cinnamon-sugar one as well (and this was after I had already indulged in a fudgy brownie).

In a city full of trendier, more vegetarian neighborhoods, why did BabyCakes choose Downtown L.A.? Erin's sister Elizabeth clues us in, "After a few years of trying to open up in a couple of different West Hollywood locations without much movement, Erin decided to reevaluate the location. Customers were starting to wonder about us, so we needed to open up fast. Our GM, Jennifer Frizzel, is married to the owner of The Redwood Bar, Christian. She encouraged him to show us around the Downtown neighborhood because it's up and coming and has a lot of beautiful buildings. A real estate agent showed Erin numerous places, but none felt right until she found the space three doors down from Cole's. She really liked the small neighborhood vibe of 6th Street." 

Luckily for Downtown, this quirky little shop with dog paintings and vintage family photos sells some of the most delicious healthy food that you may ever find. You can try all-natural and all-organic cupcakes, cookies, brownies, cakes, and doughnuts that are all free from many common allergens including wheat, eggs, dairy, soy, and gluten. In this kosher and parve bakery, chemical sweeteners are banned in favor (and for the flavor) of unrefined, evaporated cane juice and agave nectar. BabyCakes occasionally uses unprocessed and unrefined sugar in its treats, but these are clearly labeled.

But don't think that it's all non-this and that-free seriousness at BabyCakes; this bakery is not defined by what it doesn't serve, but by the open, fresh, and fun philosophy inside their shops and in their treats. Along with the funky décor, the new Los Angeles location boasts an affinity for levity that is easily recognizable not only in the delectable baked goods but in the shop's attitude (and the staff's pink-striped uniforms) as well.

BabyCakes is a godsend of sweet freedom to those who are normally not allowed the unhealthy ingredients that dominate most bakeries and most people's ideas of dessert. For parents of children who suffer with food allergies, BabyCakes offers a chance to take back a small bit of carefree childhood. To see the look on a normally deprived kid's face as she chooses between pink cupcake tops and chocolate-chip cookies is priceless.

All of BabyCakes' nutritional information can be found on their Web site; but as with pudding, the proof of their sweet treats is in the eating. Madonna's favorite confection from BabyCakes is the gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, vegan, agave-sweetened vanilla cupcake with lemon frosting – what will yours be? With choices like gluten-free mocha chip doughnuts, key-lime cupcakes, and princess brownie cups, BabyCakes is revolutionizing the idea of healthy treats, one delicious mouthful at a time.

www.babycakesnyc.com

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