Located on 7th Street and 1st Avenue in East Village, a five minute walk from Washington Square Park, this quaint cupcake parlor provides a homely escape from the hustle and bustle of the big city. From the minute you set foot in the door, the staff greets you with warmth. Faint echoes of laughter waft through the kitchen and freshly baked cupcakes can be seen getting topped with frosting.
The parlor (which usually runs out of cupcakes by late evening) offers flavors from banana to red velvet and each cupcake has its own selection of frostings. You could choose a chocolate cupcake with strawberry frosting or a vanilla cupcake with chocolate frosting! Or if you don’t feel like eating a cupcake, the bakery also offers cookies, rolls, pies and more. My personal favorite is the vanilla-vanilla cupcake. The cake itself is moist, airy and flavorful. The frosting however takes the cupcake to another dimension. The flavor of vanilla isn’t overpowering, but more like a gentle brush on your palate mixing with the flavour of the cake to create a perfect union. The same can be said for all the cupcakes. Each cupcake is made with love from start to finish and the gratitude on customers faces as they smile giddy after tasting their first bite says it all.
A steady flow of customers keeps the parlor busy all day as regulars come in and select their usual cupcakes and new customers spend longer deliberating which cupcake they feel like sampling. But what sets this place apart isn’t just the creamy deliciousness of the cupcakes but the “café” seating area located within it.
The area more or less closed off from the main entrance is tucked into the side of the bakery. Three tiny tables with matching chairs all made of wood provide a small town feel to this popular parlor. The tables are decorated with vases filled with flowers and assorted condiments you’d require for your daily dose of caffeine. The walls are a light green adorned with quirky wall clocks, frames and flower posters. Shelves covered with tiny tea cups of various colors, vases, books, myriad of teapots and flowers give the sense of an old country home. What’s better is that if you like something off the shelves you can actually purchase it! All together the atmosphere is almost surreal, a cozy place where one can gather their thoughts.
Personally I visit Cupcake Market in the late hours of the evening when the flow of customers has died down and only the excited conversations of the staff can be heard in the café. It’s almost as if the outside world fades away. Old tunes croon in the background and the space transforms into your grandmother’s living room rather than a popular parlor that’s visited daily by local East Villagers. I would definitely recommend this place if you’re looking for a cupcake parlor closer to NYU and want some place that feels like home. And even if you swear by Magnolia cupcakes, I’d still give this bakery a try. After all you’ve probably heard about it for its awesome election themed cookied released early April.
Happy snacking!