Batch

Somehow I failed to receive the memo announcing that this place would be closing. So I wasted a perfectly good trip going over to the former location only to find the space being completely redone to become some other kind of business.
I blame Atif for failing to keep his cupcake shops list properly updated. Curse him!

Adorable décor.
Delicious, moist, sweet and creative cupcakes.
Interesting green chai.

Bacon on a cupcake? Definitely wins points for creativity.
The salted caramel carrot cupcake is good (albeit a little too salty with the large salt crystals on top), but the chocolate green tea cupcake was no good. The frosting was butter– tasteless butter with not enough sugar added– that actually melted by the time I got home. It’s all about the frosting for me, so I can’t comment on the cake, except that it was not very satisfying after I had scraped off the melted green butter.
I’ll come back for the caramel cupcake only. No branching out here. I’ve learned my lesson.

This is a very fancy bakery. The lighting and décor are all a little showy for a $ 3 cupcake, but I appreciated the thought (and $$) that went into it.
All the glittery little cupcakes look pretty smug in their case, and the flavors range from standard to quite exotic («drunken pear,» «green tea on chocolate,» etc. I opted for the «salted caramel carrot cake» which was surprisingly subtle in flavor. No one flavor overpowered the others… it was quite entertaining actually.
My only complaint is that the icing was kind of hard. Not sure if this was intentional but it wasn’t a huge deal either way. I also was a tiny bit confused about the «filling» in the cupcake– there was a little dollop of some kind of buttery cream in the middle. Good but unexpected.
It’s not really for when you have a sugar craving and want to gorge yourself on a hot mess of a sugar concoction. I’ll save Pinisi for that. Batch is a good bakery to impress a date with… to show them you’re classy and all ;)

Batch is different from many other cupcake bakeries in that it’s decidedly for adults. The flavors are not the ones you will find everywhere else, or often anywhere else, for that matter. I’m talking about passionfruit rice pudding or coconut cranberry cupcakes or drunken pear cupcakes or «The Velvet» (their version of red velvet, without the red dye).
My new addiction (three times in one week!) is their Lemon Yuzu Lemon cupcakes. Normally, I’m much more of a chocolate or vanilla girl, but this lemon is a perfect blend of tart and sweet, with lemon curd inside. The lemon isn’t overpowering but is still lemony and this is one of the only Batch cupcakes I’ve devoured in full by myself; often with the others half a cupcake is plenty (and by that I mean it’s filling in and of itself, not that I wouldn’t want to finish them). Still, I recommend visiting with friends and sharing. Flavors are experimental, like bacon/​caramel/​pumpkin and some are decorated with glitter. Owner Pichet Ong, who is often working behind the counter, will give you a rundown of exactly what’s in each item.
This is my must-​visit spot for cupcakes for out-​of-​towners because of its interesting flavors. These are not cupcakes to be shoveled in your mouth while walking down the street. They are to be savored and eaten slowly, and sometimes you need to take a few bites to really get what’s happening with them. That being said, die-​hard chocolate and vanilla fans will also find something to enjoy here. In addition to cupcakes, they offer cold beverages, tea, coffee, organic milk, an assortment of cookies, brownies, puddings, chocolates, slices of cake and assorted other treats.
For what they have to offer, the prices are very reasonable; $ 2.95 for cupcakes that are definitely good for sharing.
Batch also has wifi. It’s a tiny place so you aren’t guaranteed a seat, yet most of the times I’ve come here (usually weekends at various hours) I’ve been able to sit).

Somewhere between indulging in a deliciously crisp falafel from Taim and reaching the West 4^th train station I found myself at Batch.
I was walking briskly through the snow when my mind suddenly turned to dessert. I remembered that Batch was somewhere in the West Village but didn’t remember where. Knowing that the bf had his blackberry, I considered asking him to look it up. I debated whether I really needed those extra calories and reluctantly decided to do without them. So my tummy’s safe, right?
Nope. One block later there it is.
Me: «It’s Batch, we have to go.»
BF: «What?»
Me: «I was JUST thinking about this place and here it is.»
BF: «Ok.»
And that was that.
We went inside and I instantly found myself oggling at every cupcake inside the display case. SO. MANY. FLAVORS.
«Which would you like?»
«Umm…umm…they all look so good. Vanilla. No. I want to get the velvet cake but I haven’t even tried that flavor before.»
Counter girl who just popped up: It’s our most popular flavor.
I had known this from reading about Batch online so I decided to trust the popular sentiment and ordered a velvet cupcake. And then I noticed. Pichet Ong was right there taking my order! And here I was taking my sweet time staring with my head against the glass! I decided on trying the velvet cake and it sure was good.
[eyes lighting up] «OMG. this is so good.»
«Do you want to wrap it up or keep it for now? I don’t want to take it away from you.»
«Um. I’ll save it for later.» *takes another bite and puts it in Pichet Ong’s outstretched hand*
«And a vanilla for later, too.»
«Alrighty, that’s $ 9.» (I think that’s how much it was, could have been 8 and change or 9 and change)
«Thank you!»
And there it was, my first experience with Pichet Ong, Batch, and his really freakin good cupcakes.
**On the train I felt the need to continue eating my cupcake and made a huge mess with icing all over my hand and no napkins. So worth it.

Re: espresso and one small overpriced cookie –Known there as a walnut melt, aka (christmas cookie, russian tea cake) it was hard salty.
I really wanted to like this place and will absolutely come back to try the other deserts — which looked great. The workers were friendly and I liked how it was decorated not to mention how good everything looked.
The small latte plus round tiny cookie came out to be $ 6.18 — the coffee tasted like what a normal lavazza coffee (not espresso) would taste like but didn’t resemble an espresso at all.

Do you remember as a kid, some of the best desserts that one could purchase from a vending machine came in shrink wrapped packages with odd names that soon became commonplace, like ding-​dongs, ho-​hos, and Twinkies… and we mustn’t forget the glorious CUPCAKES! Until we grew up (some of us haven’t reach this pinnacle in adulthood yet) and learned how to read, and understood that half (if not over half) the ingredients in those sugary morsels of heaven were man-​made and probably would give us some sort of cancer somehow… we still revel in the moments of the perfect pairing of a cold glass of milk and a chocolate cream filled cupcake (it somewhat is on the same level of the pairing of beer and pizza).
Batch has both. Not the beer and pizza, but rather the milk and cupcakes. The sheer ingenuity of Pichet Ong to bring back the idea of a gooey center in a baked confection is a throw back to our childhood days. It is beyond just chocolate and vanilla… he’s smarter than just chocolate and vanilla (although at times that is one of the options). It’s strawberries and cream, chocolate and green tea, orange and lime, mango, flavors you could have never really fathomed that would be captures in its utmost cupcake essence.
Individuals have their cupcake preferences. Some like it soft and chewy. Some like it warm. Some like it stone cold. Some like the idea that the frosting is cold enough to maintain a solid presence until it has that moment where it is enveloped inside your mouth and melts slowly like the idea of sugar melting in a warm taste bud laden oven. Batch does just this to its perfection. While strangely enough my favorite local coffee establishments (Jack’s and Joes) close up shop before 8PM, this cupcake heaven is open until the last hours of the evening where it seems to be a reasonable time to consume a probable 400 calories and 50 grams of sugar (exaggerated estimate)…11PM.
Forget everywhere else in the village. The opening of the next cupcake shop in town has some pretty stiff competition, but Batch is far ahead of the rest that it probably doesn’t need to worry about competition… it is the competition.
Thank you and good night.

Cupcakes were dry and had odd fillings that did not compliment the batter or the icing. What the H?
Plus the guy helping us would not. stop. offering this cupcake or that cupcake or how about a drink or did we see the pudding? Jesus guy, yes. We saw all our options, made our decisions, then approached the counter. I understand trying to make a sale but after hearing «No, thanks» about 6 times might be a signal that we decided on our two items and are sticking with ‘em.
Luckily in this area there are plenty of other options.

Before I tried Batch, I thought that all cupcakes tasted the same. Magnolia vs. the boxed stuff? No difference to get excited about.
Batch changed that for me. Their cupcakes are demonstrably better than any other cupcake I’ve ever had. Maybe it’s jolt of pudding on the inside. .. maybe it’s because they don’t use frosting as a crutch. Maybe it’s just that the store is cute as h*ll.
The being said, Batch’s cupcake didn’t bring me to new cupcake heights, as Levain does for the cookie. It’ still a cupcake. Just, a good one.

Everyone knows that the best cupcakes in town are in West Village, right? But, few know that destination bakery is not the one serving cupcakes that make one weep as much as its namesake, female bonding flick: (Steel) Magnolia (s).
Batch, The name is Batch.
Shaken, or stirred?
Those Unilocalers who have followed my passionate advocacy of Sugar Sweet Sunshine over the years would, perhaps, be stunned to read this. S3B may be very dear to my heart, and STILL my favorite place to get banana pudding, but Batch is a better cupcakery!
A few weeks back I was amused to read a review where a Unilocaler had paraphrased my thoughts on cupcakes: given their simplicity, what’s all the fuss about? ‘Tis true. I find the continuing cupcake craze as bewildering. Much like the real estate bubble, the value assigned to them seems artificially inflated, sustained mainly by the media hype.
But, Batch makes genNext cupcakes. These cupcakes have: (1) innovative flavors, (2) surprise fillings; (3) a dense pound cake like interior (4) an evolving frosting to cupcake ratio. Since the time I started sampling them (May) they have increased the frosting, substantially. And, when the frosting is THAT good, one can have no complaints with getting more.
My favorite is the carrot cupcake with salted caramel frosting. The carrot cake is soft and moist, with a lime cream cheese filling and a caramel frosting made even better with a pinch of sea salt! Didn’t I say these aren’t your run-​of-​the-​Magnolia cupcakes?
Other uncommon flavors that work well include: Green tea (chocolate cupcake with strong matcha green tea frosting and a filling of apricot preserves); Strawberry Coconut (colorful, fruity, sweet, and tart — thanks to a moist coconut cake with strawberry frosting and Rhubarb Compote filling); Dragon Devil’s Food (buttermilk cake, Caramel filling, Valrhona Chocolate frosting, Valrhona chocolate pearls). Their velvet cake is a Beet-​Strawberry cake (no food coloring!) chocolate fudge filling, cream cheese frosting.
Now a word of caution: ALL the cupcakes are refrigerated and I would advise a wait of at least 30 minutes to an hour before consuming them. There I said it. There’s no more excuse for you not to like them. However, if you are unable to read and follow instructions, then I can only hope that you are registered to vote in Florida!
In case you have no self control (and are like me), no bakery makes better puddings than Batch. They are the most innovative, and MUCH MUCH superior to the other Southeast Asia-​meets-​West Dessert magician’s ‘mass productions’ at Chikalicious puddin’.
The Mango Thai Tea Pudding with Fresh Mango Purée, Mascarpone Sabayon, Thai Tea Soaked Sponge Cake, Lime Zest, and Chocolate shavings is excellent. I’ve loved it! Another exceptional choice is the Huckleberry Chevre Pudding: with walnut butter cookie, chevre «Cheesecake» and Huckleberry sauce. Smooth and tangy. It’s like having a creamy cheesecake in a cup!
I am not a big fan of the Ovaltine Pudding, even though it has many components that remind one of the wonders of childhood: ovaltine pudding, (caramelized) Rice Krispies, Chocolate ‘soil’, together with Vanilla bean Chantilly.
The ONE area where Batch performs abysmally is cookies. While they have the entire range: chocolate chip, sweet and salty peanut butter, Ginger raisin oatmeal, along with brownies, and blondies — I am not a fan. Not even of the much critically acclaimed Yuzu shortbread. I suspect that these items don’t see much turnover and so aren’t the freshest in the shop. Instead, the macarons placed in the shop by Pichet Ong’s friend, Hsing Chen, and selling under the name of Sweet Chick NYC are a much better option. They are a bit crumbly for my advocacy, but their flavors are true and their colors: vibrant.
Pichet Ong may finally have found the magical formula for commercial success that has eluded him since leaving Jean Georges’ kitchen. Many months back I had tried P*ong (limping along next door) with one of Unilocal’s most surgical reviewers, Tam N, and we had both been thoroughly disappointed with our experience.
However, Batch has home run written all over it. Do keep in mind: good things come to those who wait… for cupcakes to come to terms with the world around them :)

I had such high hope for Batch after hearing about it through Daily Candy. Okay — maybe not the best source but I was convinced by the description of the passion fruit rice pudding and coconut calamansi cake. So on my recent trip to New York, I stopped by for some goodies. I got the pudding, a slice of the coconut calamansi cake, a carrot cupcake and some macaroons. Except for the macaroons, everything fit in a rather small box and cost me $ 24.
The rice pudding was not good at all. The rice was sort of crunchy. like it wasn’t fully cooked, it wasn’t creamy and there wasn’t enough flavor. The cupcake was mediocre. The only redeeming part was the coconut calamansi cake. I liked the citrus flavor and the frosting was awesome. Tasted like it had crushed pieces of merengue in it. The candied kumquat was a nice treat — a common Asian candy. The macaroons were a gift so I didn’t try them.
For $ 24, it wasn’t worth it. I want my money back — or the rest of that coconut calamansi cake.

What a batch of crap.
I ain’t no expert on sweets, frozen yogurt, or the cupcake scene, but are cupcakes suppose to be that cold and displayed in a glass cooler like a sandwich deli?
I could have bought a pack of Hostess Cupcakes, put in my fridge for an hour, then ate ‘em for a couple bucks less.
Uh Oh, somebody drank their Haterade this morning.

I walked right past Magnolia and the line out its door and walked over to Batch, surprised to find it empty.
The guy behind the counter was very helpful; he patiently made honest recommendations & described what each cupcake had in it that contributed to the flavor to help me choose.
Chocolate Devil’s Food Cake: chocolate cake, chocolate frosting, caramel center. Dear. God.
Chocolate with Green Tea frosting has an apricot center (not mango, re: the comments of the reviewer below), which adds a nice sweetness to complement the green tea flavor. Loved it.
Lemon: I am saving for breakfast. Can’t. Wait.
I sat down to eat my chocolate cupcake right there and had the unsweetened Oolong Jade tea with my chocolate cupcake. Great choice. The guy who helped me (Gary, I assume) was nice enough to offer to keep the other two cupcakes I got in the fridge while I had my tongueasmic experience right there.
I can’t wait to go back.
(Don’t tell the Magnolia-​goers.)

Owned by the owner of P*ong. It’s delicate, nice creation of cupcakes using lemon yuzu and something else. See my photos. $ 3.00 for a cupcake, you be the judge.
Not enough seating area at all. Most people just buy and go.

This place must be good if Leonardo DiCaprio eats here, right? Pink walls and chandeliers… okay, I’m coming in but only for a cookie. Or two.
Like many tiny shops in the West Village, Batch is a cute surprise worth dropping in for if you’re around the area; but I did not have anything that impressed me despite the award winning jibba jabba.

The customer area was empty when I entered. Behind the counter, there were 4 to 5 Asian males, including Pichet Ong himself. I overlooked the Chocolate Dragon Devils’ Food Cupcakes, and ordered two Green Tea Chocolate Cupcakes. They were slightly small for their price tag of $ 2.95 each; but I guess that’s a deal considering P*ONG’s menu prices. The cupcake would have been very ordinary (chocolate cake with a bit of green tea frosting spread on top) if not for the embedded piece of mango in the center. Still, it does not call for a second try. Perhaps the devils food and some organic milk next time.

I went because it’s cheaper to have dinner at Batch than at P*ong. It’s pink and bright with chandeliers inside, and Gary, the manager, is very amicable. I took in the scene while enjoying my Ovaltine pudding. A woman asked if Passover macaroons would be available, and one of the owners said that they would think about it, even though they normally don’t do it. An elderly lady walked in commenting on how she had heard Pichet, the pastry chef, on the radio that morning, and was given a free cookie. Tourists from San Francisco had opted for Batch instead of Magnolia to avoid the long lines. My pudding was delicious, with banana, chocolate, and crunchie crispies, and the atmosphere was great. Very cute bakery.
Pros: Extremely cute, brand-​new bakery, run almost entirely by an Asian staff
Cons: Prices were higher than I liked, but then the treats were very delicious.

I thought I’d love this place… asian-​inspired desserts by supposedly one of the better pastry chefs in town. Sounds like a winning combo to me. I entered the cute storefront (reminds me a bit of Billy’s Bakery on crack… alot of pink and retro /​punk touches) and was a bit surprised by the totally different vibe in comparison to the ultra-​modern /​chic P*ong next door. I was greeted by a friendly man who seemed excited to sell me the overpriced desserts /​pastries before the shop closed for the day. I was going to dinner at my friend’s so decided to get a bunch of stuff that a few of us could try out. Here’s what I got:
— yuzu-​shortbread sandwiches: nice and tart… a bit dense and dry but decent… probably about ⁴⁄₅ stars
— Vietnamese coffee cake: i couldn’t taste this b/​c it had walnuts (i’m allergic)… but my friends said it was OK… a bit on the dry and bland side. i guess i didn’t miss out on much. sounded like ³⁄₅ stars
— vanilla cupcake: small cupcake with pretty good creamy icing… but doesn’t compare to the other cupcake shops in town… 3 stars
— ovaltine chocolate pudding w/​bananas and rice krispies: very nice… light and the toasted rice krispy bunches on top went perfectly well… 4 stars
— raspberry cream cake: probably my favorite as the raspberry cream was perfect… not too light, not too heavy. yum… but too thin of a slice esp for the $ 4.50 price point… 4 stars
I have no problem paying up for desserts and sweets (for example, i think most of the items at Bouchon Bakery is worth every penny)… but if I’m paying an average of $ 5 per piece of dessert (most are very small in portion) at a non-​sit down spot like this, I’m expecting better. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still totally committed to trying out Pinochet Ong’s restaurant next door as the menu looks quite interesting. But if the desserts at Batch are any indication, I may have to lower my expectations.

I have to pretty much agree with the other two reviews and say that Batch is one of the best new bakeries in all of New York.
Beautiful chandeliers and pink walls, along with that whole p*ong décor, complete the ensemble, while very nice men work behind the counter; the place is so new that even they have trouble with the cash register, but merely to amusing, not annoying effect.
I wanted everything, even a bite of the foie gras dog biscuit, but finally settled on the mango chai pudding, which reminded me of a tiramisu. It had a layer of mango, sponge cake, and chai cream topped with chocolate curls; it was out of this world and finished within minutes. My friend had a spicy brownie but alas, the spice was far too subtle and masked by the chocolate, and overall the brownie was a bit boring.
Another thing you might want to try is their huckleberry chevre pudding. Though the man whom I ordered from was one step away from incompetent, and the infamous Ong matron shouted «We not open yet!» despite the store being open for half an hour, this cheesecake-​in-​a-​cup was mouthwatering. It possessed a cakey crust that I couldn’t describe, and was topped with the smoothest, tangiest goat’s cheese I’d ever tasted. The huckleberries, like pint-​sized blueberries, added a great tartness, while the sprinkled-​on sea salt added that, how do you say? Jen-​nay-​say-​qua? Go for it.
They also have organic green tea, so you can enjoy your sweets at a small cushioned bench inside, complete with coffee table.