Sky-high frosting and secret fillings are only a few reasons to love these tempting local treats.
Cupcakes are perfect. As cuter, bittier versions of birthday cakes, they deliver just enough sugar to satisfy your sweet tooth sans the food coma results. When it comes to flavors, imagination is the only limitation. In the Hudson Valley, local bakeries tempt with fluffy buttercream frostings, secret dulce de leche fillings, and tasty combinations that run the gamut from the staple chocolate and peanut butter to amaretto, cannoli, and even Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
Take a scroll through some of our favorite baby cakes in the Hudson Valley, then sound off on your top picks in the comments! Fair warning: These will most definitely induce hunger.
Antonio’s Cupcake Factory
New Windsor
Order: Chocolate Stout with Bailey’s Cream Cupcake
If the name doesn’t give it away, Antonio’s is something of a cupcake institution in New Windsor. The cake-crazy locale tempts with concoctions inspired by other desserts, such as banana split and strawberry daiquiri. If you want something really unique, look for the flavor of the day, which could be anything from red velvet kiss to peanut butter cup.
Caked Up Café
New City
Order: Liquor-Infused Cupcake
New City’s Caked Up Café has more than 90 cupcake flavors. Yes, you read that correctly. If options like Amaretto Crunch, Blueberry Cobbler, Milky Way, and Raspberry Cheesecake aren’t enough to entice you to visit, consider the fact that flavors are only part of the appeal. To complete the cakes, Caked Up goes all out with tempting toppings as “basic” as frosting and sprinkles and as quirky as macaroon-topped and Bloody Mary-infused. If you want the best of dessert and happy hour at once, go for the booze-infused treats, which are almost too pretty to eat.
The Fifth Tier Baking Studio
Wynantskill
Moving from Albany to Wynantskill in fall 2020
Order: Red Velvet Cupcake
Pastry chef Lyle Houston is the brain behind this Albany establishment. One look at his picture-perfect cupcakes, however, and we’re more inclined to call him a sweet genius. Inside The Fifth Tier, a multi-hued assortment of cakes, cookies, and scones abound. Order whatever’s on offer the day you visit for a one-of-a-kind eat or opt for the gluten-free goodies if you’re avoiding wheat. P.S. If you need something to supplement the cupcakes, the cinnamon rolls are also divine.
Forget Me Not Cupcakes
Milton
Order: Boston Cream Pie Cupcake
A mobile pastry shop based out of Milton, Forget Me Not is a regular visitor to Hudson Valley fairs and festivals throughout the year. Many of the cupcake varieties are fun riffs on go-to desserts like carrot cake, Reese’s cups, and even bananas foster, which makes it all too easy to walk away with two or three (or more) of the teensy temptations. Our pick, the Boston cream pie cupcake, is a must for anyone who adores the iconic combo of yellow cake, Boston cream filling, and dark chocolate frosting.
Hudson Valley Dessert Company
Saugerties
Order: Carrot Cupcake
Hudson Valley Dessert Company is a sweet haven in Saugerties, so it only makes sense that the cupcakes there are to-die-for. If the decorated cookies and cakes don’t tempt you from the start, hold out for the artfully adorned cupcakes, which come topped with everything from succulents to Star Wars décor. P.S. They taste pretty great, too.
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Last Call 4 Cupcakes
Harriman
Order: Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcake
Disclaimer: You need to be 21 and up if you want a cupcake from Last Call. The Harriman sweet shop specializes in alcohol-infused cakes, turning everyone’s favorite boozy flavors into confections so decadent it’s almost sinful. Love Bailey’s? Go for the Oreo Shot. All about rum? The Banana Pudding, with vanilla, banana, and white rum, is for you. Like it spicy? Try the aptly-named Cinnamon Toast Crunch, which infuses Fireball and RumChata into one swoon-worthy cake.
Peace, Love & Cupcakes
Woodstock
Order: Tie-Dye Cupcake
No trip to Woodstock would be complete without a stop by Peace, Love & Cupcakes. The shop may be pint-sized, but that doesn’t stop massive lines from snaking out the door. Go for the technicolor tie-dye treat for an authentic Woodstock experience, or check out whichever unique flavors are specials for the day.
Studio Cupcakes by Twisted Soul Food Concepts
Poughkeepsie
Order: Black & White Cupcake
An offshoot of Twisted Soul Food Concepts in Poughkeepsie, Studio Cupcakes is a dream for cupcake lovers in Dutchess County. Find the cakes at Twisted Soul or order them for catering or pickup. As for what makes the cupcakes unique, that would have to be the hidden fillings inside them. The Black & White, for instance, looks like a regular chocolate cake with vanilla bean frosting. In the heart of it, however, lies a pocket of dulce de leche that is downright impossible to resist. For sweet teeth with allergies, Studio Cupcakes also offers gluten-free and vegan varieties.
Whipped Cupcakes
Maybrook
Order: Chubby Hubby Cupcake
What started as a retro, micro-sized food truck has turned into a brick-and-mortar storefront in Maybrook. On the flavor front, the mother-and-daughter duo behind the confectionery offer a solution for every kind of craving. Chubby Hubby, a moist chocolate cake filled with salted caramel and topped with peanut buttercream and a chocolate-covered pretzel, is a must, while Strawberry Cheesecake, a vanilla bean cake with cheesecake filling that comes topped with strawberry buttercream and graham cracker crumbs, is a fun twist on the classic dessert.
