All Crumbs locations were closed earlier this week.
Credit: Steph/flickr
Crumbs Bake Shop is no more. The sad news came Monday night when a manager for the Times Square outpost told CBS that the cupcake chain, once the largest in the country with 65 locations in 12 states, confirmed that all of its stores were closing.
What better describes our feelings about cupcakes than Crumbs’ tagline, “Made by hand, handled with love, baked with joy”? The cake may have often been a little bit dry, and the frosting a little bit sweet, but there sure were a lot to choose from whenever we needed to celebrate a birthday, or just get through the day. What are Met-goers supposed to do now when their blood sugar gets low between exhibits?
We’re going to miss feeling like we’d walked into a kinder, gentler Willy Wonka factory when faced with the two dozen-plus daily selection at Crumbs. Here are the dearly departed friends who will be remembered fondly.
Baba Booey cupcake.
Credit: m01229/flickr
Baba Booey
Amateur peanut butter lovers went straight for the Reese’s-topped cupcake, but this is the one they really wanted. Peanut butter-filled chocolate cake inside, peanut butter and chocolate cream cheese frosting on top, with a loving embrace of peanut butter chips. This was the one to save your calories for.
Cookies and Cream cupcakes.
Credit: Jeffrey Zeldman/flickr
Cookies and Cream
Double Stuff Oreos have always been the superior version of Oreo. But even they could always use more frosting, which is why this cupcake existed. The chocolate base was not too rich, lest it detract from the main event on top, which was a dense swirl of cookie and cream with a whole cookie stuck on top.
Blackout
This list seems to have a theme. Sorry, vanilla lovers, but cake just isn’t the vehicle for that flavor. Chocolate, meanwhile, not only pairs with everything but runs the taste gamut from sweet white to bitter dark.The fudge-like frosting inside was balanced with a lighter touch on top of the cupcake. Density was appropriate for inducing a blackout from fullness, if the sugar spike hadn’t taken care of that for you.
Caramel Apple
Fall brings many good things: carnivals, coat-and-scarf weather, changing leaves and Pumpkin Spice Lattes. But this year, our joy will be a little less without this treat. Served with a Crumbs-branded stick, the spice cake frosted with a thinner layer of maple cream cheese, then a coating of caramel to finish off the top and a dusting of crushed almonds along the edge.
Red Velvet cupcake at Crumbs.
Credit: Mr. TinDC/flickr
Red Velvet
When it came to this classic flavor, few did it like Crumbs. Food snob alert: Proper red velvet cake should have a hint of cocoa, and the icing should be cream cheese. Accept no substitutes. The white sprinkles were unnecessary, and the red velvet crumbs on top sometimes went places they shouldn’t (pro tip: Inhaling is hard.) but now we’re just nitpicking. It’s all about a cake that’s moist and fluffy, held together with dense icing, and this delivered.
And the one we’re going for next
The closing of a bakery poses a dilemma — who will supply the necessary supplies to eat away our sorrows? Just in time for summer,Magnolia Bakeryhas expanded its cupcake horizons with a strawberry variety, topped with strawberry meringue buttercream.
Magnolia Bakery’s strawberry cupcake is here for summer.
Credit: Provided
