The cupcakery where they ‘flour to empower’

Andrea Adleman

September 30 is National Bakery Day, a call to cupcakes if ever I heard one.

I mapped a field trip to the island — Long Island. My mission was to investigate New York cupcakes near and farther, beginning in Brooklyn en route to the cupcakery where they “flour to empower.”

The seasonal PB&J special at Ovenly.
The tres leches cupcake from Mia’s Brooklyn Bakery was delightful.

Then I journeyed east to Nassau County, Long Island. There I visited Special Sweets, a cupcakery staffed by young adults with autism. Many of the bakers went to high school together. Their former teachers assistant oversees the business, which recently moved into a commercial kitchen.

They call themselves the Cupcake Crew and their slogan is “we flour to empower.”
A hand-signed thank you note in the order bag.
During my visit, the menu included pumpkin spice, just the thing for today’s National Pumpkin Spice Day.

My final stop was the Pakistani chain Layers, whose first two overseas locations opened on Long Island this year. News reports said these were lighter and fluffier cupcakes, so field research was imperative. Matcha and lotus biscoff were a good first taste.

Another delicious metropolis examined, another cupcake mission accomplished.