Lulu Cake Boutique

I’ve brought my school Food Club here today, and it was a pretty good experience. The prices were reasonable, $ 2.75 for a cupcake and $ 4.50 for a slice of cake. The twinkies which I have heard so much about were a little on the sweet side for me. The inside was moist and delicious, but the white chocolate was too sweet. The service is pretty good though. The guy was really nice, even when twenty high school kids were jammed inside that tiny bakery and making a lot of noise. Overall, this is a nice place for a sweet snack; I’d definitely come here again.

Red Velvet Twinkie. Yum. That’s all I really need to say.

Thanks to Olivia S., I experienced the red velvet twinkie. I’m extremely picky with baked goods/​sweets, so the 5 stars really says it all.
Get the red velvet twinkie.

I do not fancy myself an expert on dessert shops in the city, nor do I stop at every single store with baked items in the window (of which New York City offers dozens in every neighborhood). However, when passing by Lulu’s on my way to a gym (yes, irony I know) I had to stop. The first thing that caught my eye was a funny looking multi-​tiered cake, with each tier being a «Kid Robot» inspired style head. Then I looked inside and saw a beautiful, modern and elegant space along with something called a «Pumpkin Twinkie». SOLD!
I headed inside and the staff was very friendly and good about answering questions which mostly amounted to «Ooooh, what is that? What’s in that?!» What I saw were much of what you’d expect such as cookies. However, they have a large assortment of what they call «Twinkies», which differ from the Hostess cake of the same name. Instead, these confections are dough that has a hardened glaze on the outside and a tasty filling on the inside. I noted they had a Red Velvet one, which was tempting — but Pumpkin anything will always get my attention first. They also make their own Snowballs, again not the «Hostess» variety, but they look very similar and were practically the size of my fist.
The Pumpkin Twinkie was absolutely different in texture than its «official» namesake. The outside is hard, the inside is soft and the cream in the middle balances out the two textures. The flavors were wonderful. There was a definite strong Pumpkin-​y flavor. It wasn’t particularly spicy in terms of cinnamon flavors you’d normally expect, but they were there in the background.
I’m looking forward to visiting Lulu again in hopes of trying some of their other «Twinkie» flavors and perhaps some of their cookies. For flavor, texture, creativity, elegance and beautiful designs these guys have earned a repeat visit!

What can I say that hasn’t already been said?
EVERY. SINGLE. BAKED. ITEM. IS. SIMPLY. DIVINE!!!
Passion fruit twinkies! Check!
Red Velvet twinkies! Check!
Coconut snowball which counteracted a nostalgic moment from my great grandparents grocery store circa 1984– check!
The staff is ever so patient and kind as you + your loves debate and change your order… more like keep adding to the order every 10 seconds!
I am very thankful I only visit NYC every couple of months for the simple fact I have no self control when it comes to LuLu’s! Hello daily pilates class!

If you’ve read any of my reviews, you know I adore desserts. When I heard about the Red Velvet Twinkie, I had to try it.
I decided to try some Twinkies and the Nutella Brownie that everyone on here has raved about. The brownie was decent but had a strange after taste. The Red Velvet Twinkie was tasty but nothing to write home about.
I’m sorry Lulu (despite the similarity to my name), I’m heading back to Crumbs tomorrow (I don’t care how commercial it has gotten, I still love those cupcakes!)

Mmm, their passionfruit cake was scrumptious!!! Light spoungey yellow cake with a deliciously, refreshing passion fruit curd in the middle, covered in white chocolate with some coconut flakes– very flavorful and moist! I am a fan!
Their red velet cake was pretty good too, but their coconut ball (chocolate cake covered in marshmellow fluff covered in coconut flakes) was not very good.

I don’t care what municipal boundaries dictate… far as I’m concerned, this is not MePa.
A casual atmosphere presides over the space, the front of house manned by some friendly, hip-​looking fellas; unfortunately, I found service to be too lax, as I was helped after a considerable wait despite only one customer ahead of me placing a small order. I passed on the Passionately Kissed Twinkie (might be a twinkie with a small «t», not sure) and opted for a makeshift trio (2+.5+.5) of assorted sweets: a snowball, vanilla/​lemon crème & peanut butter sandwich cookies, and an 8^th Avenue cookie. The snowball was tasty but didn’t rise above the prepackaged bodega variety enough to warrant the exorbitant price tag again. The mini sammies were heavy on the dough and light on the crème. The 8^th Avenue Cookie, however, was pretty phenomenal and felt as healthful as a cookie could get, a substantial albeit sometimes-​mealy conglomerate of almond flour studded with dried fruit & nuts.
I initially found the $ 20/​lb price tags for cookies and quasi-​unlabeled displays pretty offputting (and ended up paying a whopping $ 9.62 for 3 items), so prices would certainly prohibit my return.

Came back here after work to pick up some twinkies and cupcakes. Got 3 cupcakes, 4 twinkies, a snowball, and a Nutella cornflake brownie.
The cupcakes and snowball were okay, I’m not a fan of buttercream frosting but the cake was moist and the filling was good. I’ve never had a snowball so that was mainly just to try; I learned I don’t like them much. Most of the twinkies were good (red velvet, passionfruit, lemon, and blackout), but the standout was the Nutella cornflake brownie. I loved it! Will be back for this and a twinkie.

This is my new favorite bake shop, just because Two Little Red Hens has raked in soooo much cash up on the UES and I really don’t know what they do with it. Might as well throw my dice in with someone else for awhile! I love that they have cool things like homemade twinkies and snowballs.
I’ve only had their vanilla cupcake, but it was wonderful. I look forward to trying more over time. I also figure that sooner or later they will succumb to the groupon beast, and then I can sample it all at once!
P. S. The one suggestion I have is to put a small table or two. There’s too much space and it would encourage people to linger and fill it up a little.

If you love Carrot Cake as much as I do, you will understand this review:
When I have a sweet craving I just need the right fix.
The first time I went here I bought a slice of the Red Velvet Cake, because there was no Carrot Cake, but it was nothing special.
My second time I went there was no Carrot Cake again because a worker said it was sold out, so then I said I am not going to get anything.
So my third time I went and again no Carrot Cake. This time I had to ask, a worker once again, when should I come for Carrot Cake? Morning, Afternoon, Weekends? All he said was they don’t have it on rotation and recommended a carrot muffin. I was sad…

I stopped by this bakeshop today to buy some goods for a friend & ended up getting a cupcake for myself as well. WOW, I was NOT disappointed!
I bought my friends some twinkies (red velvet, blackout & this coconut one whose name I can’t exactly remember…) since I was going to visit them after work. I bought myself the vanilla cupcake w/​hazelnut buttercream topped w/​hazelnut bits. Oh. My. God. The cupcake was not only moist but the frosting is one of the best I’ve ever tried! I think the hazelnut bits just put it over the top.
The place itself is a cute bakeshop/​The staff was extremely friendly & helpful. I’m definitely making more visits here while I’m still working in the neighborhood!

OK, before I get into why I LOVE this place, let’s discuss why I didn’t give it five stars (or four for that matter) — which unfortunately has nothing to do with this location, but does have to do with the Lulu company (they also have a location in Scarsdale)
So for my birthday, I asked for a very specific kind of cake, which I knew for a fact that they had the ingredients for. My mother called Lulu’s in Scarsdale to order my cake (red velvet with passion fruit curd and cream cheese frosting) and spoke with the manager. My mother later told me that he was rude to her and flatly refused to make the cake, saying that it would taste disgusting and that he wouldn’t put his name or reputation on something terrible.
Let’s forget for a second the #1 rule of customer service — how dare he be rude to my mother, or presume to state what does and does not suit someone’s palate. I was totally turned off and immediately cancelled the order … and I was incredibly lucky that Lauri from Cake Alchemy is AWESOME and was willing to make my cake with two days notice (more of that on Cake Alchemy’s review).
Aside from this incident with the Scarsdale manager, I do love Lulu’s desserts. The desserts at the West Village location are incredible — I’m obsessed with the red velvet twinkies (they are so sinfully delicious, it’s not to be believed) and the Nutella brownie and (unlike their Scarsdale manager), the staff is very friendly there. They have a great selection of cakes, cupakes and rugelach … as well as throwback desserts, like homemade Yodels, Snowballs and Twinkies.

I walked by and stopped in. The guy working was super sweet. I decided on a red velvet twinkie. Let me tell you I am so coming back for one everytime I am in NYC!
Super super super moist and oh so flavorful red velvet cake, with delicious not too sweet cream cheese frosting in the middle and then enrobed in perfect white chocolate! I don’t even like white chocolate!
This cutie was 2.50 I think… so worth it!

The red velvet cupcake is ON POINT. So deliciously soft, creamy, and it just melts in your mouth. Ahhhhhhh…
I’ve also tried their dulce de leche cupcake and it was a bit dry for me. But still, 5 stars for rocking the red velvet :)

This place didn’t do it for me.
Aesthetically, it was impressive and probably that’s what lured me in.
But once again, don’t judge a book by its cover.
I have a serious problem. I am addicted to sweets. It is like my heroin.
So of course when I came here, the junkie in me came out. Junkies know their drugs. And in my case, glucose is my drug.
I bought a slice of sweet n salty cake, a dulce de leche cupcake and ½ pound of cookies.
The dulce de leche cookies, chocolate cookies and vanilla cookies were good, but I should’ve gone to my usual dealer.
The sweet n salty cake is dark chocolate, salty caramel chocolate ganache, and fleur de sel. It was good but unfortunately didn’t give me my usual high.
The dulce de leche cupcake was awful. Dry and with no flavor. The icing tasted like chalk. Yuck. Man, I was having a bad trip off this one.
OK…it is now time to get back to rehab. And when I come out, I am going back to my usual dealer.

A little bit of this, a little bit of that. Rugelach (Jewish pastry), chocolate chip and walnut cookies, raspberry and apricot (walnut) thumbprints, chocolate twinkies, cupcakes, shortbread cookies, brownies, slices of German chocolate cake, duche de leche, chocolate eclairs.
While I initially had my heart set on a cupcake, the delicate cakery I was expecting to find was replaced by a few mediocre ones that seemed to have seen better days. It just so happened that the girl in front of me had placed her order with a know-​how, give-​me-​the-​goods attitude. I exchanged a few words with her and a short few minutes later my friend and I both had in hand the nutella cornflakes brownie! I almost never go for the brownie, but this girl was very persuasive.
The brownie is a sandwich of chocolate with two layers of nutella, a rich and thick upper layer that’s moist and with a texture slightly denser than frosting but not quite as hearty as fudge. The thin lower layer has the same texture, emphasizing the taste of chocolatey delight with each bite without an overpowering essence of nutella. The middle layer, which might seem like peanut butter, is actually not. I suppose it’s the «brownie» part, although it doesn’t lend the brownie as substantial of a bite as you’d expect from a typical brownie baked from say, Betty Crocker mix. With each mouthful you get the soft fudge bar aspect of chocolate with scattered bits of crispy cornflakes that makes for such an interesting treat!
Side note: why are chairs, sofas, love seats, stools, and benches in small places so difficult to find in NYC, may that be cafes, bakeries, cakeries, or coffee joints? (besides the fact that these are small places with small spaces. and even so, these spots can usually accomodate a few extra seats.) I had to enjoy my brownie next to the trashcan. Erg.

Wonderfully decadent. Lulu’s is my favorite bakery. The cupcakes are simply devine and the staff so helpful and warm. I freaking love this place.

Even though I’m sometimes socially inept, or maybe it’s my strong desire to be liked… I like to splurge on small surprises for my officemates sometimes.
The other day on the fringes of my lunchtime meanderings, I stumbled into this all glass front, immaculate bakery, that had these giant snow balls that caught my eye. (please no corny compliments regarding giant balls, or the fact that this is in Chelsea… lol) These were coconut, covered, cake, wrapped around chilled and firm coconut custard.
I had a third of one when I got back to the office, and that was more than enough. So good. Unique.
My other treasure, that I threw to my co-​workers, was a small graham cracker crust cheesecake. They raved about it.
This place also had sooo many other things on display. I’ll be back… soon.

You never forget your first one.
«Dessert lovers unite! Great reviews»! That was my first compliment on Unilocal,from my first Unilocal friend, Lex C. She immediately came to mind when I scanned Unilocal for reviews after reading the New York Times recommendation by Flo Fab on Lulu as «worth a detour». I read Lex’s review with a lot of nostalgia, for she no longer Unilocal.
«Why do people rave so much about these cakes and cupcakes? I just do not see the appeal. They look absolutely gorgeous, no question. But these are cakes made to be looked at and not eaten… I have tried a number of cupcakes and cake slices from Lulu and I was not impressed. In fact, I was downright disappointed.»
It was almost a year to the day when she wrote the above about the Scarsdale location of Lulu Cake Boutique and it still holds true after one year for the newly opened Manhattan location. With apologies, Flo Fab, but I would like to see you finish, joyously, a whole cupcake in front of my eyes (they are cold chunks of butter, even after waiting 30 minutes) — before I accept a recommendation from you.
A sad looking Red Velvet (vanilla bean buttercream!!) at Lulu reminded me of the wonderful Ameena G, who searched the city high and low for her mission Red Velvet –and is now devoted to a life of teaching. The Peanut butter cupcake reminded me of LA Unilocaler and friend Diana H, who puts peanut butter in her oatmeal, but would not have the patience to wait for the amount of time it takes to bring the cupcakes to life. 30 minutes is too long, and an hour’s wait (as notified) is just an infinity
The one exception (shared by Lex C) to the disappointments was the excellent chocolate chunk cookie, with huge melted chunks of Valrhona chocolate and caramel mixed in the batter. The chewy, buttery cookie with a well defined crisp edge was in a different plane altogether and worthy of the lofty placement it enjoys at Lulu, above all other confections.
So, my 300^th review is dedicated to the memory of all the wonderful friends who are no longer at Unilocal,but who made Unilocal such a joyous experience that I’ve been hooked since my first review on 11÷4÷2006. It is tinged with the sadness of loss… but with hope that the future will bring more sunshine for all!
Speaking of Sunshine, I search for the chocolate cupcake, which I know cannot compete with (Bob at) Sugar Sweet, and the many cupcakes that were consumed amidst laughter and witty banter with dear friend, Rod. But, I cannot find it. I wonder whether it got misplaced, or if someone ate it while I was distracted by the charms of the texturally complex chocolate cookie.
I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart.
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updated (May 2011): Review and rating revised downward to 2 stars to account for consistently poor quality coffee and cupcakes. Most of the baked goods look more appetizing than they taste. My opinion is at variance with the glowing praise that Serious Eaters bestow upon Lulu.