Billy's Bakery

Chelsea
184 Ninth Ave.
between W. 21st/22nd Sts.

P: 212.647.9956

Billy's Bakery is a bakery in the heart of Chelsea that sells old fashioned baked goods like red velvet cake, heavily iced cupcakes, chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream frosting, classic cookies like peanut butter and snickerdoodles, and pies, squares, other cakes, and more. Their slogan is "where life is a piece of cake" and after you visit here, you can almost believe that's true -- at least while you loiter with one of their cupcakes in your hand.

What's great:
The bakery itself has a charming small town ambiance. Whomever puts the icing on the cakes and cupcakes has a wonderfully heavy hand. The towering coconut cake with a cloud of meringue icing can make any sugar lover swoon. It's hard to choose between the classic pastel-frosted cupcakes, pineapple upside-down cake, and a variety of mini-cheesecakes. The old fashioned cookies, which are clearly hand-made, include oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip. They also sell some holiday and seasonal favorites, like pecan pie and apple crumb pie, all year-round.

What to know:
The bakery was founded by an alum of Magnolia, the original icing-laden bakery that started the trend for nostalgic baked goods. They do classic birthday cakes to order, including decorations and inscriptions in buttercream.