Rink Dinks & Twinks, brought to you by Betty from Brooklyn

Betty Bakery, on Atlantic Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn, had been on my list of places to go for a while now, after reading about their own version of Hostess cakes such as the Rinky Dink & Twink (Betty’s special Ring Dings and Twinkies).  When my new roommate and I were apartment shopping in the area, I decided to walk past it and finally get to give it a try.  Sure enough, the day I made it down there, it was Monday and it turns out that they aren’t open on Mondays.  So the next time Stacey and I met up to celebrate getting out apartment at the Addison, we went back to Betty’s to finally try it.


I of course opted for the Rinky Dink, since that was the dessert I had read about and  Ring Dings are one of my guilty non-bakery related desserts.  It was definitely better than the pre-packaged hostess treats.  The layer of chocolate was thicker, the cake was soft and it had just the right amount of cream inside.  Sad to say we only tried the one dessert because I had just come from brunch and wasn’t even hungry, but now that Betty’s is just a few blocks away I’m sure I’ll be back.  The Rinky Dink did cost $3.50, which in comparison with a whole box of Hostess Rings Dings for $2.50 this is a little bit hard to justify, but I chalked it up to the fact that these are freshly made and include local, high-quality ingredients.

Other menu items of note are Twinks (obviously based on Hostess Twinkies), caramel tarts, cupcakes, and lots of different puddings – triple chocolate, coconut tapioca, and bread pudding.  They also had little Marzipan figures, but at $6.50 for a small piece, definitely not worth it.
They also carry bread from Balthazar, for those of you that can’t get to Prince Street to buy it fresh.  They had a wide selection of coffees as well, including cappuccinos and espressos.  I had a great ice coffee, and since there is limited seating we sat and enjoyed our Rinky Dink and ice coffees on the bench in front.

Betty’s has been opened since 2006.  The owners used to work somewhere called Bijoux Doux Specialty Cakes, before they relocated to Boerum Hill and opened Betty’s.  Neither of the owners are named Betty.  The premise of Betty’s is to create baked goods that resemble the treats that came out of grandma’s kitchen, but updated to today’s standards.  For you gluten-sensitive readers, the chocolate-almond cake is wheat-free.  For the animal-friendly, the eggless chocolate cake is vegan.  Betty’s also accepts cake orders and can cater for weddings and other parties.

Betty Bakery is located at 448 Atlantic Avenue in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn between Bond and Nevins Streets.  For those of you scared of crossing the bridge into Brooklyn, it is easily accessible from Atlantic Terminal, or the A/C/G to the Hoyt/Schermerhorn stop.  And while you’re there, call me and you can come visit my new apartment  J  But don’t come on Mondays, because they and I won’t be there.

www.bettybakery.com
718-237-2271

The Cjaps vote for #1 cookie in NY - Levain!

I realized recently that when I created this blog, I had already tried many of my favorite places, which meant that I never had the chance to blog about them. I also realized that I love contributing to this blog and educating people on the all the amazing desserts this city has to offer. So what does that mean? That I am probably going to have to revisit some of my favorites, and also that I have to get back to blogging once a week.
With that being said, let’s start at the beginning. What is the absolute best cookie in NYC. The leader of the cookie pack, that has people lining up to get a fresh out of the oven chocolate chip-laden doughy mound?

Hands down, I have to say Levain. Caryn gets credit as being the first one to have heard about Levain. One day, on a trip to the Upper West Side, Caryn wanted to go to this particular bakery to try a cookie made by triatheletes. I had no idea what she was talking about, but I never argue with getting to try a cookie. So off we went to W 74th street, and as we descended the stairs to the tiny shop there was a line of people waiting their turn for a piece of this giant mound of dough. The bakery itself is simple. There is a small counter, and the kitchen with their trays upon trays of cookies cooling down clearly visible. Levain opened in 2005, by Connie McDonald and Pam Weekes. The two women were training for an Iron Man in 1994, and needed to get their calories in, so instead of filling up on Gu Gels or Powerade, they decided to create a 6 ounce cookie with the finest ingredients.
My personal favorite is the dark chocolate chip cookie, but even with my sweet tooth I find it hard to finish this monstrosity of a dessert. The cookies always have a soft chocolate-filled center that makes you want to keep eating even though you were full 3 bites ago. They’re made with extra dark French cocoa and semisweet chocolate chips, and all I can say is that I’m glad they’re not obligated to post the calories on the menu because I wouldn’t want anything to take away from the experience of eating a cookie from Levain.
I also tried the dark chocolate peanut butter cookie, and even though I typically don’t like peanut butter unless it’s in the form of Reese’s Pieces, this was pretty damn amazing too. Levain has been written up for their sourdough brioche roll stuffed with Valerhona chocolate, but these tend to sell out early in the day and I’ve never been fortunate enough to have the chance to try one. If you’ve tried it, post your review here so I can be encouraged to get up there early enough to have my share!
Levain is located at 167 W 74th Street near Columbus Avenue on the Upper West Side. They have 2 additional locations, one in Harlem on Frederick Douglass Boulevard and another in the Hamptons.

http://www.levainbakery.com/

Chocolate Show in NY - get your tickets now!

Hey everyone,

The 14th Annual Chocolate Show will be returning to NY November 10th - 13th at the Metropolitan Pavilion, located on W 18th street between 6th & 7th Avenues in Manhattan.

We'll be attending that Sunday, with our special guest of the day Sangita! Tickets are $30 for Thurs, Fri & Sun, and $35 on Saturday.

Last year we had the pleasure of tasting some of Jacque Torres' wicked hot chocolate, and smores from a fondue fountain.  This year's participants are still TBD but I'm sure they'll be worth the trip!

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