When I wrote "Babycakes" the cookbook, I thought my audience was strictly made up of hopeless allergy sufferers, die hard vegans and virtuous health-conscious eaters alone. Little did I know how many different walks of culinary life would embrace it. So it was to my (super stoked) surprise that "Babycakes" was one of the 16 cookbooks in Food52.Com's annual Piglet Tournament of Cookbooks! Especially because the books in the tournament were considered to be the best of the year.

Quick buzz kill: "Babycakes" lost to "Well Preserved", but in my mind I couldn't have been defeated by a better book. My ego was minimally damaged. So on to the party, right? Here's some details about the event from Food52.Com and Astor Center:

Is the cookbook as we know it still relevant? We think so. In fact, it may be in its prime. From now through November 5th, you can witness the proof: watch the action unfold in the Tournament of Cookbooks on food52.com as 16 of the year's best cookbooks go head to head in a bracketed competition, vying for the coveted Piglet Trophy. Once a winner has been declared, come raise a glass (or several) with both authors and judges as you feast on a variety of dishes from the contenders.

There will be an hour-long panel discussion beginning at 7 pm, moderated by Gail Simmons. Panelists will include Peter Kaminsky, Gabrielle Hamilton, Peter Meehan, Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirsheimer, and they will talk about the current state of cookbooks, as well as the direction they're headed. They'll ponder what makes a great cookbook, and how new technology is shaping both the medium and content of the culinary genre.

You can score tickets to the event here. I'll be there with frosted brownie bites if that sweetens the deal!

For the week of Thanksgiving (November 23rd through 25th), we will be making items from our specialized Thanksgiving Menu only. We will be shipping items from the Thanksgiving Menu through FedEx for arrival on Wednesday, November 18th; Thursday, November 19th; Friday, November 20th; Tuesday, November 24th; and Wednesday, November 25th.

We will be taking orders for pick-up in the bakery and Manhattan delivery for the days leading up to Thanksgiving as well. Please get your orders in early! Our holiday orders do book up quickly.

If you are unable to get your order in on time, all of the items on the Thanksgiving Menu will also be available for pick-up at the bakery on a first come, first served basis Monday, November 23rd through Wednesday, November 25th. Please note our special hours for the week of Thanksgiving:

And here it is...

To place an order, please give the bakery a call (212.677.5047) during office hours, Monday through Friday from 10a-5p. Our office staff will be happy to help you with any questions.

Hi everyone! This is Emily, the GM here at BabyCakes NYC and the resident Walt Disney World fanatic. I am excited to announce that this coming weekend, BabyCakes NYC is coming to Walt Disney World! Well, specifically, the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival.

Erin is honored to have been asked to participate in the Authors Without Borders series. She will be giving a brief talk about her cookbook, Babycakes followed by a book signing at the Wonders Theatre in the Wonders of Life Pavilion in Epcot. She is participating Friday, October 23rd; Saturday, October 24th; and Sunday, October 25th. The presentation is each day at 12 noon, immediately followed by a book signing at 12:45.

If you will be visiting the Orlando area this weekend, or if you live in central Florida we would love to see you there! For the complete event schedule,please click here.

Let me get right to it.

When I realized I couldn't tolerate wheat, dairy and sugar it wasn't because I had a blood test done or anything, it was by quitting cold turkey. After removing them from my diet, all my ailments went away. My skin cleared up, I had more energy, the stomach upsets were gone. I was a new girl. And oh-my-agave was I ever grateful.

Soon after this realization, not only did I stop eating wheat, dairy and sugar--I got really nit-picky about everything I ate and obsessed with digestion and overall health. The good news is that I learned a lot about nutrition and used the knowledge while creating my recipes for the bakery.The bad news was that I got all koo-koo crazy about every little thing I ate. My list of requirements read like the Odyssey. Is it organic? Are there preservatives? Hormones? Omega 3's? If I combine my rice with beans would it give me more energy then eating rice with nuts? When out to dinner, I was one of those girls. You know the one that's like, "What kind of oil do you use? Are your vegetables organic? Is your soy non-GMO? How do you make your tempeh?". I was real obnoxious and a total buzz kill for any dinner companion. Luckily, I've learned how to loosen up since then. I love food too much to agonize over the tiny things that I can't control and I have to say much happier with simply avoiding dairy, wheat, and sugar.

Now to the real talk. Last week I met my sisters for breakfast when I was in San Diego. They decided to meet at a bagel shop because that's what they and many normal people eat for breakfast. Now, I blame this partially on the fact that I was jet lagged, another partially on wanting to do what my sisters were doing and a final partially cause after all this time there's still a little voice in me that doesn't believe I can't digest wheat. So...I. Ate. A. Bagel. I know, gasp! gasp! I totally did it. And I was fine. For an hour. And then the pain began and let's just say I was not comfortable for the rest of the day. Why did I do this to myself? Was I insane? I guess I must have been temporarily but I learned my lesson. Wheat's sword is swift indeed. I guess I need to open a bagel shop next.

So instead of keeping this just my little secret, I thought I'd share my experience with y'all. Have any of you had a similar experience? Any war stories to share? You're in a safe place here!

Oh. No.

As if the girls at the bakery needed any help being adorable, now they're looking cuter then ever thanks to our new uniforms designed by In God We Trust. It's borderline obnoxious how perfect they are. We sorta want to roll our eyes at ourselves, it's that bad.

But these uniforms didn't come easy! Shana Tabor, the wizard behind the label, spent countless sessions with us to achieve the perfect material and fit to keep the girls comfy while they frost, bake, and gossip. In God We Trust employees judged the uniform's wear-ability by simulating bakery tasks like intense whisking, extreme flour lifting and turbo frosting. Countless revisions were made, endless samples trashed and many tears were shed. But in the end, it was all so worth it.

Thank you Shana and In God We Trust for transforming us from baking nerds into kool kids.

Oh, you guys are my favorites! Thank you, thank you everyone for posting really great comments and suggestions for the Fall menu.

At first, every comment was like, "Pumpkin chocolate chip!", "Pumpkin Chocolate Chip sounds good!", "What about Pumpkin Chocolate Chip?" and "Oh! Have you thought of pumpkin chocolate chip?!" I was beginning to think it was the only seasonal thing you guys were into, which was fine by me! But then a lot more ideas started rolling in and I want you to know that I've been playing around with the ingredient combos you guys suggested. It has been fun making things that I know will excite you and I'm not totally hating the flavors. Sorry! That's the best I can do with anything involving pumpkin.

Which leads me to my lunch today. I'm sitting at Le Pain Quotidien in the Village working on a secret project on my computer (details soon!) and take a glance at the menu. They have a gluten-free vegen quiche on the menu so I ordered it out of curiosity. Despite the fact that it has pureed pumpkin and a slight Thanksgiving-y finish on my palette, it's really good! I took a pic of it, like a total blogger to show you. It was definitely worth trying. I know there are a ton of small cafes and restaurants around the country that do gluten-free, vegan dishes but it's interesting to see a chain restaurant do it nicely. They have a number of locations that you can check out here .

Do you have a favorite spot for finds like this? I want to hear it! I'm traveling a lot lately and often find myself looking for options without any luck. So, let's hear it!

You guys, I have to tell you something but don't get all judge-y on me, ok? We are in a safe zone here, right?

Ok, here it is: I get really weird and bummed out at Fall. I know the leaves are beautiful, the cool breeze is more "comfortable" then the heat and that many of you can't wait to put on your new fall outfits (I'm talking to you scarf-in-68-degree-weather-wearers!). I get it. Maybe it's because I was raised in San Diego and even though the weather never dipped below a comfortable 65 degrees, me and my 7 sisters would gather around listing all the things that we didn't like about the season. Most of the list I'll warn you were things many people enjoy (sipping hot apple cider under a cozy blanket, listening to the rain tap on the windows while listening to jazz, cuddling...). But this is a part of me I can't let go.

My point? I need some help with suggestions for our Fall menu. Seeing that spices and pumpkins and other things of that nature epitomize fall, you can see where I may come up a little short in the inspiration department. So what'll it be, deers? I want to make what you want to eat. I'm willing to do this for you. Just don't make me do sweet potato pie, ok??? Thanks.

(By the way, that picture in the upper left hand corner makes me so bummed).

Oh thank God I didn't know about this sooner or I would most likely be a royal mess. Apparently Heathers bar in the east village sells gluten-free liquor and beer. I know I'm a wee bit late on this one since they've been open for years, but I guess I'm too busy baking and making dance videos that I don't get out much. Spread the word with me! Oh! You should definitely check out their live podcasts here too. I'm so into it!

Dear Dedicated BabyCakes Blog Reader,

These just came in and look how cute they are (Becca and Lizz too)!!! Get one now for $20! And yes, we do ship (for only $5)!

Hearts,

BabyCakes NYC

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Did you ever see the episode of Martha where Snoop Dog shows her how to make mashed potatoes? Well, I think it's the best bit of TV I have ever seen. I guess Martha agrees because it's up on her homepage right now being featured as one of her best moments of TV. And guess who else made the top 5??? Me. Me! You remember the time I showed her how to make the cookies? If not, you can watch it here. And don't skip the Snoop. It's a total must.

If you've been to the bakery on the weekend, you've seen how packed out it gets in here. We're so busy that every limb is in use (one hand to frost, one to mix batter, a foot to clean the floor, the other foot scratching records). Needless to say, we aren't able to take orders or set anything aside for anyone--not even Madonna.

A couple weeks ago, however, one of the counter girls took a call from a panicked boyfriend. He wanted to make his girlfriend's birthday extra special with some fresh donuts to follow dinner. Girlfriend was a celiac who had never tasted a donut in her life and he wanted to give her an experience she would never forget. I think that day we were all pissed at our boyfriends or something because we all got teary about it and I quickly waved our normal policy and had the girls pack a perfect box of donuts for him to pick up.

A couple days ago, we received this very exciting email:

Hi,

I have to say a million thank-yous to the chefs/bakers who created the
Gluten-Free doughnuts, as it made my evening on Saturday, August 29th
so very special. I had heard about the doughnuts and my boyfriend had
specially pre-ordered some for me on this Saturday to make sure I
would be able to eat them for dessert. As I sat outside, drinking
coffee and devouring the chocolate glazed, and then the raspberry
filled powered doughnut, my boyfriend surprised me once more, got down
on one knee, and proposed!!

I was so completely happy and thrilled your bakery became a key
element in our engagement.

We have promised to come back each year on the anniversary of this
engagement (which also happens to be close to my birthday) to eat GF
doughnuts and remember what an amazing proposal this became.

Thank you so much for being a part of my GF life in NYC.

I'll be forever grateful.

Best,
Rachel Friedman

We are so excited for you guys!! Congratulations! Oh, and I totally expect the first child to be called BabyCakes, ok?