4:35pm banana bread

While chocolate chip banana bread does not help a dairy-free diet, it is friendly to the nut allergies in the office. Between fruit allergies, dairy-free, vegans, vegetarians and nut allergies (but not peanuts!), making something to catch everyone's preference is not so evident.

4:29pm carrot cake

Is it Chef Shuna Lydon's legacy we should thank for the carrot cake today or has someone else already put their stamp on the desserts at Peel's? The carrot cake was good, really that correct amount of sweetness balanced with moistness that a carrot cake ought to have.
Peels, 325 Bowery, NY, NY 10003 (at 2nd St)

4:10pm banana bread

This crazy weather confuses me. One minute it's cool enough to bake, the next day too hot for anything but salads. M. made banana bread over the weekend, a lovely dense banana bread perfect for an afternoon munch.

4:50pm caramel bread

Croissants are not really dessert fare, although I wish they were, because caramel loafs are not Mille-feuille's forte. It was strangely dry yet overly moist with oil, so off in texture that while the flavor was delicious, most of the slice still remains on our desk uneaten. Next time we'll be sticking to the tarts. Or croissants.
Mille-feuille Bakery Cafe, 552 Laguardia Place, NY, NY 10012 (btwn 3rd and Bleecker) 

4:15pm pumpkin bread

The guy behind the counter at McNally Jackson gave us the largest slice of Pickle Petunia pumpkin bread, so large he could barely fit it in the bag. When we opened it up for dessert I thought, no way we're going to eat all of that in one sitting. Until I had a bite, then another. And another. I can't stop! It's so moist and the flavors are so nice, and I love the small bits of nuts in every bite.
McNally Jackson Cafe, 52 Prince St, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Lafayette and Mulberry)

4:18pm java cake

The first bite was dry, the second bite dry, the third bite, toward the bottom, was moist and delicious. The remainder of the java cake? Dry again. Totally disappointing. So much potential! Sadly wasted to the air.
Olive's, 120 Prince St, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Wooster and Greene)

4:40pm banana bread

It's October and we're craving the brown sugar pecan sticky bun from Oro but I haven't seen them around lately. (hint hint) It's ok, for now we make due with some damn good banana bread and sour cream chocolate frosting instead.
Oro Bakery, 375 Broome St, NY, NY 10013 (btwn Mulberry & Mott)

4:03pm walnut cake

When someone, anyone, says that a croissant trumps our two all time favorites, Ceci-Cela and Claude's, there is nothing to do but rush over to try. It was already afternoon by the time we got around to eating the Mille-Feuille croissant, and despite the late hour, it was extremely promising. A bit denser than Ceci-Cela, less buttery, with a taste reminiscent of Claude's, this is one we will have to go back for fresh. In the meantime the walnut cake M. also picked up was enjoyable although nothing as spectacular as that croissant promises to be.
Mille-Feuille, 552 LaGuardia Pl, NY, NY 10012 (btwn 3rd and Bleecker)

4:00pm lemon pound cake

Pound cake tends to be hit or miss and we tend to shy away from it. But after last time's deceptively delicious carrot cake, we were not afraid to try the lemon pound cake. Solid hit.
McNally Jackson Cafe, 52 Prince St, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Lafayette and Mulberry)

4:00pm lemon pound cake

I love that no matter how long Ceci-Cela has been around and no matter how beloved they are by the neighborhood, they continue to change and experiment with their selection of pastries. Lately mini pound cakes have been added to the display cases, and so we venture into the lemon today. Not bad although a bit too sweet and not enough tart lemon for our personal preferences.  
Ceci Cela Patisserie, 55 Spring St, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Lafayette and Mulberry)

4:00pm carrot cake

Despite how utterly simple, bordering on boring, this piece of carrot cake looks, it's surprisingly wonderful.  Moist and tasty, all things we adore in carrot cake. It is also quite large so plan on sharing.
McNally Jackson Cafe, 52 Prince St, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Lafayette and Mulberry)

4:00pm pound cake

It's difficult to make desserts from new recipes, especially when you're the type of person who likes not overly sweet sweets, as we are. Even Cook's Illustrated recipes, that most illustrious of sources, tends to produce desserts just this side of too sweet for us. And this after M. reduced the sugar from 1.5 cups to 1.25 cups! Everything else, though, was pretty perfect.

4:00pm pumpkin bread

Harney & Sons opened up a gigantic tea shop down the street from us and I went by today hopeful for some new dessert pickings. But the savory and sweet selection is meager, it is a tea shop after all. And even though the gluten free, milk free pumpkin bread was rather good, $6 is a bit too much for our daily dessert.
Harney & Sons Soho, 433 Broome St, NY, NY 10013 (btwn Crosby and Broadway)

4:00pm pumpkin bread

This is a highly irregular occurrence, but I completely forgot to post dessert yesterday! And for no real reason but absentmindedness. Samara made this delicious pumpkin bread for office potluck yesterday, so delicious that the 2 loaves she brought in rapidly disappeared until there is only one last small slice. And out of politeness it's likely to remain there for the rest of the day.

4:00pm walnut cake

It's our own damn fault for letting this walnut cake sit an extra day before consumption. Despite the wrapping it was a bit dry although the nuts were in abundance and lightly complimented by the cake.
Bakery M, 315 5th Ave, NY, NY 10016 (on 32nd St)

4:00pm banana bread

It really is so nice to have neighborhood bakeries where you know practically anything from the dessert display will be good. That kind of reliability means you can try anything and be assured they will delight.
Village Tart, 86 Kenmare St, NY, NY 10012 (at Mulberry)

4:00pm banana bread

This fine afternoon we are dreaming of playing hooky at the beach tomorrow, night ferries from Rønne to Gdansk that don't actually exist, gold summer flats and baby yellow sneakers.
Rather decent banana bread, courtesy of Fresh Direct.

4:00pm seville orange cake

It's been a busy couple of days as we put some finishing touches on Q-CITY, a work we developed for the Landscapes of Quarantine exhibit at the Storefront for Art and Architecture. By dessert time we all needed a break from the installation and where else to head but across the street to Village Tart? There we knew would be guaranteed goodness. Today it took the form of the seville orange pound cake, along with a built in break waiting for the hand dripped coffee.
The show opens tomorrow night at 7pm, free to everyone, and will run until April 17 - so if you're taking a lunch break then pop on by.
Village Tart, 86 Kenmare St, NY, NY 10012 (at Mulberry St)

4:00pm olive oil cake

Fellow food lover, Kathy, says of this olive oil pound cake "Wonderful, if not the best among Manhattan's collection of olive oil cakes." And we have to agree although hello they only charge $2 for a slice at the Lafayette St branch of La Colombe? We bought 2 on Church St and got charged $6!! I want my $2 dollars back.
La Colombe, 319 Church St, NY, NY 10013 (at Lispenard)

4:00pm lemon pound cake

We tend to shy away from lemon poundcake as it's often unreliable but McNally Jackson continues to bring happiness to our hearts. This one even looked potential dry but was surprisingly moist and had the taste of fresh tart lemons. If you haven't been by, please go! We have just newly renovated the cafe with flying books, the menu is revamped with delicious local treats, they're serving Stumptown coffee and an array of teas. And oh yes, it's the best independent bookstore around. That should be reason enough.
McNally Jackson Teahouse, 52 Prince St, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Lafayette and Mulberry)