New York City is a melting pot of bakeries. Italian cookies and French croissants abound, but what if you want old-fashioned red velvet cupcakes, an apple pie or a sticky bun? That’s where Two Little Red Hens steps in. This American bakery concocts over 100 delectable homemade faves from scratch. Owner and baker connoisseur Christina Winkler opened this gem 5 and a half years ago, but has been at home in the kitchen since she was a little girl, watching her grandmother and great-grandmother pull perfect pies out of their oven on a farm in Iowa. “The feel, the touch, the hand, the ability to actually make the product comes not just from a gift that you’re given, but from hours of watching someone else doing it the right way,” says Winkler, who certainly has a special knack for baked goods. The specialty birthday cakes are guaranteed to please, but we would devour the red velvet cake for any occasion.

Two Little Red Hens
1652 Second Avenue
85th/86th Streets
www.twolittleredhens.com

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The ingredients for success may vary from business to business, but one mother-daughter team put together a winning recipe in 10464. Irina Brandler and her mother Ina combined a little bit of sugar with a little bit of spice and found themselves with everything nice! Their catering business and dessert café on City Island in The Bronx is a successful testament to the touching moments and trying challenges that accompany working side by side with your immediate family. Irina, a French Culinary Institute graduate, handles all the baking while Ina oversees the lunches. And the advice on how to dress for tomorrow’s weather. A few of the current S&S specialties are homemade, heart-healthy granola and “kitchen sink” cookies – made with 3 kids of chocolate, cherries, coconut, walnuts, butterscotch, and, well, everything but the kitchen sink! This winning team does more than just satisfy the sweet tooths of New Yorkers, the bakery also runs community outreach programs that teach underprivileged children how to bake. CiNYC Hosts Shirley & Christopher stopped by to lick a couple wooden spoons at this cheap eats find.

Sugar & Spice
536 City Island Ave, 10464
sugarandspiceonline.com

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Try this delicious banana bread recipe at home, courtesy of the gang at Sugar & Spice:

2 Cups sugar
1 Cup butter
2 Eggs
½ Cup buttermilk
3 ½ Cups Flour
1 T Baking powder
2 t Baking soda
1 t Salt
1.5 T Vanilla or 1 vanilla bean
2 t Cinnamon
1 Cup raisins
1 Cup walnuts

1. Beat together butter and sugar, add bananas
2. Whisk together eggs and buttermilk
3. Sift all dry ingredients
4. Combine wet and dry ingredients
5. When mixture is incorporated add raisins and walnuts
6. Bake in a buttered and floured loaf or cake pan at 350° until test pick comes out clean

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This February, sip on the 16th annual Hot Chocolate Festival at The City Bakery. Each day of the month features a different flavor, both classic and exotic, and each year a brand new flavor is introduced. Last year’s list included beer, Earl Grey tea, lemon, and chili pepper. “The flavor in 2007 was Save the Polar Bear Hot Chocolate, a white chocolate hot chocolate whose proceeds were donated to the Natural Resources Defense Council,” says general manager Sara Weeks Dima. Lemon Licorice was just announced as the luscious flavor for 2008. Whatever your pleasure, have your cocoa the way you like it, with or without the bakery’s handmade marshmallows. If you’re looking for something more substantial, The City Bakery also boasts a full menu of confections like cheese danishes, lemon tarts, and their famous pretzel croissants – as well as salads and entrees. Check up on this year’s calendar in 10011, and treat your taste buds to a cup of dark delight that will warm you from the inside out.

www.thecitybakery.com

3 West 18th Street, 10011

Open the door to Billy’s Bakery and you feel like you’re walking into your grandma’s kitchen. It’s warm, nostalgic, and smells incredible. Take a seat and watch the pastry chefs in action while enjoying your own scrumptious treat. Yummy Banana cake with cream cheese frosting and cup cakes are best sellers. Billy’s even delivers in Manhattan so you can indulge your sweet tooth without walking out your door!

www.billysbakerynyc.com

184 9th Ave, 10011

Egidio’s Bakery is in the heart of “New York’s Real Little Italy,” or the Arthur Avenue section of Fordham in the Bronx. Around since 1912, this old-fashioned bakeshop has occupied the same storefront for 95 years. Italian immigrant and entrepreneur Pasquale Egidio founded the shop and was its namesake, though ownership has changed hands twice since then, and Carmela Lucciola now runs the operation. It’s easy to see why she kept the bakery name. Egidio’s has built its reputation around authentic pastries that taste like they came right from the motherland. The cannolis remain a best seller, and it’s easy to taste why. With the flaky crunch of pastry and the sweet ricotta cream, you may as well have a little slice of Italy right in your hand.

622 East 187th Street, Bronx
(718) 295-6077