Vegan New York bakery makes the move to Downtown L.A.

The holidays are over.

The tree is packed up, the pretty lights cleared away and Santa’s cookies are long gone. One thing still remains, however: The excess weight gained after a full month of indulgence. No wonder there are so many New Year resolutions to lose weight or eat healthier after the holiday season.

Au naturale · Babycakes NYC’s gluten-free carrot cupcake (top) and vegan, agave-sweetened cinnamon buns (bottom) are just a few of the shop’s tailored items. The bakery recently opened a location in Los Angeles. - Sophia Lee | Daily Trojan

Unfortunately, those resolutions fall short, because ­— try as we might — there is still nothing as comforting and satisfying as a decadent cupcake or chewy chocolate brownie.

Perhaps with this in mind, Babycakes NYC — a vegan bakery — opened a location in Downtown Los Angeles just three days after the New Year, offering hope for resolution-makers citywide with the promise that you actually can have your cake and eat it too.

Babycakes NYC first opened in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, providing those with certain allergies or nitpicky diets a bountiful array of sweet treats that are all-natural, organic, gluten-free, sugar-free, Kosher and vegan.

Setting its treats apart from others starts with the ingredients. The bakery uses agave nectar, an all-natural, low-glycemic sweetener derived from cactus, to sweeten most of its concoctions and uses only canola and cold-pressed virgin coconut oil in place of necessary fats. Rice flour or a garbanzo bean mix is used for Babycakes NYC’s popular gluten-free options and the coconut oil is unrefined and non-hydrogenated, boosting its health benefits.

If all that information made your head spin, you are probably only concerned with one key question: “Do they even taste good?”

The spelt carrot cupcake is small and sweet, but packed with flavor and spice. It comes layered with the perfect amount of sweet vanilla frosting, and the visible flakes of grated carrots within the cake guarantee that all the ingredients are fresh and real.

The agave-sweetened brownie is the size and shape of a mini-cupcake, with a tiny dollop of melted chocolate on top. It is altogether rich, dark and intense, satisfying every sinful chocolate craving in one luscious bite.

Surprisingly, also on the savory side is the gluten-free vegan cornbread. Soy-free and agave-sweetened, it is a dense, golden slice of cake that is both crumbly and crunchy. The bread is full of its namesake vegetable, with flecks of corn grits making for a very interesting and delicious contrast in textures.

The baked goods they sell are truly delicious and you would never have guessed it was dairy, egg and sugar-free. They are certainly better than cakes that are baked from a mix or packaged brownies bought from a grocery store, but the real reason behind the Babycakes NYC hype is simply the wonder that something that sounds like a chemical experiment can taste so familiarly good.

Unfortunately, as with all health products, every goodie sold in Babycakes NYC comes with a hefty price tag. The cupcakes, smaller than a fist, are $3.25-$4.25 each. A single chocolate chip cookie, which is only about two inches wide and a quarter of an inch thick, is $1.50. A cookie sandwich bumps up to $5. The cornbread, sold by the one-inch slice, is $3.50. Add a cookie, a cupcake and a brownie here and there and prices add up before you know it.

So is Babycakes NYC worth the trip? A single little cupcake may be out of many students’ price range, but the satisfaction of meeting your sweet cravings while sticking to your New Year health goals might be worth it.