Billy's Cupcakes

Here's a cupcake for your Easter weekend. I worked Oscar night with a few other lucky souls, and one of them brought in cupcakes for us. It's a good thing because I needed a serious sugar boost at three o'clock in the morning. When I asked my co-worker where the pastel-frosted masses were from, she said with gusto, "Billy's!"

"Billy's? Wow! I've never heard of it," I responded.

"Are you serious?" she asked with her neck jutting out incredulously.

"Yes?" I answered sheepishly. I decided to leave out the part about my food blog.

I know it's silly. I run this blog, but I often find I'm the last to hear about a good thing. Maybe because I work in the news business, and when I leave the office I avoid the news for the little free time I have. If you ask me a current events question, like what's the name of the female British soldier who was held captive by the Iranians, I'll tell you, along with the names of the other fourteen soldiers. But ask me what restaurants are opening and closing each day and I'll give you a blank look. I'm trying to get better at this (see Morandi below), but it's taking a little time.

Billy's cupcake was excellent. It was fluffy but dense. It was moist and the frosting was just right - I didn't feel like I was biting into sugar cubes. If you put a Magnolia, Buttercup and Billy's cupcake in front of me, I'd be hard-pressed to differentiate one from the other. It seems like the birthday cupcakes of my youth have been replaced by the sweet sensation of these three cupcakes.

I checked out Billy's website and learned it serves everything from carrot cake to my favorite red velvet cake, to cookies and muffins and an icebox cake that would make my mom weep. I look forward to trying more of Billy's sweet offerings, and maybe next time I'll be able to enjoy it when the sun's still shining.

Happy Easter to all of you, though it certainly doesn't feel very Easter-y outside. What is your favorite New York City cupcake?

184 9TH Ave., between 21st and 22nd St.
(212) 647-9956