Los Angeles - January 06, 2010

Agave and Receive

BabyCakes NYC Bakery Arrives in Los Angeles

Reporting live from the summit of sweets, where talks have gotten heated between the health nuts and the tastemakers.

All hopes for amicable conclusion lie with mediator BabyCakes, which has arrived from New York.

Using holistic ingredients like coconut oil, flax, and agave nectar, founder Erin McKenna manages to make gluten-, soy-, and dairy-free baked goods taste decadent enough to please the sugar and butter worshippers.

Up for debate are lemon cupcakes, brownies, and dainty crumb cakes.

The morning agenda includes baked donuts in rotating flavors like toasted coconut, chocolate dipped, and cinnamon sugar. Break midday for frosting shots and mint-filled chocolate chip cookie sandwiches.

The bakery keeps things cool with ’70s-era wallpaper and burgundy and pink pin-striped uniforms for the staff.

There’s no sugarcoating here.

BabyCakes LA, 130 East Sixth Street, between South Main and South Los Angeles Streets, Downtown (213-623-5555 or babycakesnyc.com).

Photo: Horacio Salinas