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"Babycakes: Vegan, Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York's Most Talked-About Bakery"

By Erin McKenna
Photographs by Tara Donne
Clarkson Potter -- 2009
Buy It at Amazon

Note: While testing the vanilla frosting recipe, we accidentally used soy flour instead of the the soy milk powder the recipe called for. The two are easily confused but not interchangeable, as our results demonstrated.

When Erin McKenna opened BabyCakes NYC in 2005, her gluten-free, vegan baked goods became a huge success, giving hope to the gluten-intolerant and converting legions of dairy-worshipping skeptics. Her new cookbook is both a how-to guide and winning, chatty account of McKenna's journey from junk food junkie to gluten-free goddess (she changed her Twinkie-loving ways in 2004, when she was diagnosed with wheat and dairy allergies). Pretty much everything in the baked good pantheon is here -- cupcakes, blueberry corn muffins, scones, cake and cobbler -- ensuring that while the gluten and dairy may be missing, absolutely nothing else is.

Takeaway Tips: McKenna writes in a clear, humorous and reassuring voice that makes you feel like you're baking in the company of, if not an old friend, then an endlessly understanding and forgiving teacher. She provides ingenious advice on making simple, natural food coloring (who knew that a pinch of turmeric made gorgeous yellow icing?), and her incredibly helpful ingredients glossary at the beginning of the book (from agave nectar to xantham gum) removes a lot of the considerable intimidation factor inherent in gluten-free, vegan baking.

See what we tested and whether the book's worth buying after the jump.

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Eating pork buns (cha siu baau) is an excellent way to get a taste of New York's Chinatown. These warm buns -- either steamed or baked -- are full of savory barbecue meats, sometimes with scallions.

Last weekend, a friend and I decided we would eat our way through Chinatown by trying pork buns at various bakeries. And, what started out as a "pork bun journey" turned into an exploration of both savory and sweet buns, ranging from pork to red bean.

Fay Da Bakery, at 83 Mott St., has a variety of buns that you can select yourself with tongs when you enter the shop. While being underwhelmed by their pork buns, we were blown away with their sweet topping red-bean bun. The outside of the red-bean bun is coated in a flaky layer of sugar that balances marvelously with the doughy bun and the creamy red-bean paste.

Head directly to the Golden Fung Wong Bakery, at 41 Mott St., to try some of the best pork buns in Manhattan's Chinatown. Chunks of pork are flavored with a delicious mix of soy and oyster sauce. This bakery also sells an assortment of rice cakes and melon cakes that are worth trying.

I have always been a huge fan of deliciously rich and creamy whoopie pies. So, when I read the recent New York Times article about its current popularity among New Yorkers, I was not too surprised.

The article traces the history of this delectable to pockets of New England, Pennsylvania and Ohio. And, it explains that due to their gaining popularity, supermarkets like Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and (specialty deli) Zingerman's sell them. But, my favorite spot for whoopie pies is at One Girl Cookies in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn.

As food historian Sandra Oliver states, the cake part that sandwiches the cream is not especially sweet and is often dry, because the frosting, the heart of the whoopie, is full of sugar and a gooey consistency. This characterizes One Girl Cookies' luscious whoopie pies. There is an amazing balances between the frosting in the center and the light fluffy dry cookie/cake.

Perhaps, one of the reasons why they're so special is that cream cheese frosting is sandwiched between pumpkin cake (see the photo above).

You can purchase a dozen whoopie pies from One Girl Cookies online for $27. The Times mentions another pastry shop in Brooklyn with whoopie fever called Trois Pommes Patisserie.

W. Neil Berrett ain't working here no more.

When the San Francisco "data wrangler" decided to leave his job, he gave his notice on a vanilla sheet cake filled with Bavarian cream and fresh strawberries. Mmm, it turns out that the taste of resignation can be delicious.

"Dear Mr. Bowers," the cake began. "During the past three years, my tenure at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard has been nothing short of pure excitement, joy and whim.

"However, I have decided to spend more time with my family and attend to health issues that have recently arisen. I am proud to have been part of such an outstanding team and I wish this organization only the finest in future endeavors.

"Please accept this cake as notification that I am leaving my position with NWT on March 27."

Berrett tells Slashfood the cake - made by local bakery The Cake Gallery -- was well received, though he also included his resignation on paper.

"It's hard to file or fax a cake," he says.

Pappas arranges the recipes into four sections: traditional cookies, family favorites, gift cookies and party cookies. Though each section contains standbys, the highlight is Pappas' gift for presenting ideas and recipes not everyone will have heard of. Most of us know that gingerbread (page 28) is traditional at the holidays, but did you know about the traditions of springerle (page 22), peppernuts (page 31), or Viennese bells (page 36)? Sugar cookies (page 40) and spritz (page 42, if you can lay your hands on your cookie press) and are de rigeur for holiday baking, but why not incorporate lemon wafers (page 45) or pepparkakor (page 44)? And whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, the Solstice or just calories, don't forget to put together a tray of coconut-orange macaroons (page 89).

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1. Martha Stewart's muscovado soy biscuits
2. Muscovado and hazelnut tart with yoghurt sorbet
3. Butterscotch Pots de Crème
4. Gingerbread cookies - Substitute the brown sugar with muscovado
5. Muscovado sugar cookies
   
6. Christmas Pudding - I highly recommend making this decadent fruity pudding this holiday season.
7. Caramelized Nectarines
8. Pigs' ears - These delicious confections are in the shape of pigs' ears.