NYC: Best Pumpkin Cakes
Daytime (415 Graham Avenue)
Daytime is a neighborhood cafe in Williamsburg serving homemade pastries, sandwiches, salads, and more. I haven’t tried any of the savory food here, but I was blown away by their seasonal pumpkin bundt cake with brown butter frosting.
Red Gate Bakery (68 E 1st St.)
Red Gate Bakery is a tiny, charming, small-batch bakery on the Lower East Side with a constantly rotating menu of cookies, cakes, bars, cinnamon rolls and more. Their seasonal olive oil pumpkin loaf cake with apple cider frosting and pumpkin seed brittle was impeccable. The cake itself is soft and well-spiced, the frosting is sweet, and the pumpkin seed brittle adds the perfect crunch.
From Lucie (263 E 10th St.)
From Lucie is a charming bakery inspired by the French countryside located in The East Village. They’re best known for their floral cakes which are as beautiful as they are delicious, but in my (possibly unpopular) opinion, the other baked goods here are somehow even more impressive. Their seasonal pumpkin loaf cake is no exception. It’s incredibly soft and well spiced, and is topped with a sweet chai frosting, pumpkin seeds, and an edible flower. It happens to be vegan, although you’d never know it, and was one of the best pumpkin cakes It tried this fall.
Little Cupcake Bakeshop (30 Prince Street)
Little Cupcake Bakeshop is an American bakery serving classic treats like cakes, cupcakes, and brownies with locations in Soho, Bushwick, and Prospect Heights. They don’t offer many seasonal specials, but the ones they do are special. From roughly September-December, they bake a Pumpkin Spice layer cake that’s sold by the slice. It’s incredibly soft, filled with warm fall spiced, and is generously frosted with a maple cinnamon buttercream. I’ve tried nearly every one of the 15+ layer cake flavors here, and the pumpkin spice is my favorite, along with the cookie dough.
Levain Bakery (multiple locations)
Levain Bakery is best known for their cookies, but don’t sleep on their seasonal pumpkin ginger loaf cake! It’s a thick slice of soft pumpkin cake made from pumpkin puree, and packed ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. It’s sold by the slice, half loaf, or full loaf, and can be enjoyed with your morning coffee, or for dessert!
JM Bakery (601 W 26th St.)
JM Bakery is a French bakery with Asian and American influence that serves some of the best pastries in NYC. Their seasonal pumpkin cake has a tender crumb, and is packed with dried cranberries and nuts. I intended to try one little bite, and polished off the entire slice. They’re located inside Olly Olly Market food hall in Chelsea, and while it’s a bit off the beaten path, it’s worth going out of your way for!
Baby Blues Luncheonette (97 Montrose Ave)
Baby Blues Luncheonette is a greek diner in Williamsburg serving breakfast and lunch seven days a week. This fall, they offered a delicious pumpkin bread special that was griddled and topped with honey, butter, and pumpkin seeds. It had crispy edges and a soft center. The cake itself was subtly spiced, and my only complaint is that this isn’t a year-round menu offering!