Babycakes NYC- Los Angeles, CA

Babycakes NYC
Los Angeles, California

As luck would have it, we are not only blessed with one delicious Babycakes over here on the west coast, but TWO! And in reasonable proximity to one another, in case you feel like hitting both in one afternoon. In fact, both are located in Los Angeles. Lucky us! 
We visited the Downtown location for some treats on a recent wholesale trip to American Apparel for Alex's newest adventure, FLOW Clothing Co: apparel for hockey and lacrosse players.

Immediately facing the door was this wall, where we were promptly informed that everything was gluten free, vegan, kosher, soy free, and casein free; at least we knew we were in the right place!

This was the next thing we saw, and by far my favorite part...the goodies!
There was a reasonable selection when we arrived: donuts, cookies, cupcakes, wonder buns, and loaves of banana bread. The prices might seem expensive in comparison to your regular ol' cupcakery, but I like the guarantee that what I'm eating is 100% vegan...and all of the other awesome things listed on that first sign. I simply feel better about eating good, healthy 'junk food'.

Alex and I each chose two treats. He picked a blueberry donut and cinnamon sugar donut; I picked a coconut donut and a 'wonder bun', which is basically a cinnamon bun.
The flavors of the donuts was incredible. They were soft and not too crumbly, with a delicate hint of vanilla in the batter of each. The blueberry was topped with a blueberry glaze and had real blueberries floating around inside. The cinnamon sugar was a basic, really well done vegan donut. I don't think anyone could not like this donut. The coconut donut was frosted and covered with a thin layer of pink colored shredded coconut. The coconut taste wasn't overwhelming and really complimented the whole thing nicely.
The wonder bun didn't quite measure up to the donuts, sadly. It was harder than I expected, and almost flavorless. The frosting seemed more for decoration than flavor, so it seemed like we were just eating empty calories, which made me feel sort of guilty. 
Overall, I understand why they're famous for their baked goods, because the donuts are awesome. I have heard rave reviews about the cupcakes and cookies  as well, so maybe it was just an off day in wonder bun world.

This adorable corner is filled with sugar, syrup, utensils, and love letters. Seriously, people LOVE this place! And they should. The store was well kept, the employees friendly and helpful, the decorations adorable. Plus, where else did such a bakery exist before Babycakes? Thousands of vegan and gluten free Angelenos were ready for a place like this. 
In the ten minutes we were inside the small bakery, another ten people must have come and gone. 
The corner above is filled with letters of thanks, appreciation, articles...and a signed copy of a J. Lo headshot. When you have Jennifer Lopez endorsing your products, you know you're got something good.
(For the record, the J. Lo picture got cut off. Top left hand corner for the signature, though.)

Babycakes will definitely be seeing our cute little vegan faces again! Ordering goodies and not having to stress over wether they were both prepared and baked using vegan ingredients was a nice reprieve. Plus, those donuts!
Also, if the prices are keeping you away, they have a 'day old' section where everything is half priced (but equally delicious I am sure)!

For more on the Babycakes bakeries, visit BabycakesNYC.com.

You can also buy their cookbook (like I did!) here. Its full of delicious pictures to accompany recipes that speak for themselves.