The mixing bowl: Kelli Bernard

Amai Tea & Bake House landed in my neighborhood last fall. Which is a good and bad thing. It's good because Kelli Bernard and her crew are super friendly and talented... which is bad because it's way too tempting to stop by for a morning croissant, afternoon cupcake or anytime brownie.

Growing up, my favorite sweet was:
Brownies. Rich, dense, chewy chocolate. It can’t get any better than that as a kid.

My favorite sweet now is:
Anything that someone else makes for me. And brownies.

My personal Amai favorite:
In the morning, it is our chocolate and walnut scone. In the afternoon, it’s our matcha (green tea) cupcake. Many people think that the green tea cupcake has chocolate and/or food coloring in it, which isn’t true. The cake and buttercream are flavored entirely with a really nice matcha.

What I love about Gramercy is:
The people. Everyone is so down to earth and friendly, and they really appreciate quality. It has a very neighborhood feeling to it. Many residents have lived in the area for 10+ years, and there is a wide range of ages and types of people that come in the store. The East and West Villages get a lot of attention, which draws tourists, but Gramercy is for the locals.

Truffles or pralines:
Truffles

White, milk or dark:
Dark

Caramel, ganache or cream:
Ganache

The perfect pairing:
Malty assam tea and a plum almond tart.

I'd love to create a flavor for:
Kids. Most Amai customers are adults, and it would be fun to spend some time making all-natural sweets for children.

Kitchen essentials:
Bowl and bench scrapers and, of course, a Kitchen Aid (6qt+).

Style essentials:
Simplicity. Clean lines and smooth edges. Natural materials.

Pastry chefs I admire:
All pastry chefs who start their own business.

I'm most inspired when:
I have slept a full 8 hours.

How much is too much?
Always leave wanting more.

Favorite movie snack:
Kettle corn. I love sweet and salty.

Guilty pleasure:
Chikalicious Dessert Club’s S'mores cupcake. It is one of the best I’ve ever had!

Other favorites:
My favorite city is Lucerne, Switzerland. Lakes, hills, charming streets...it’s so relaxing.

Sweet tarts

Basil marshmallows?

Yes, and they're delicious.

It all started when Three Tarts' Sandra Palmer and Kiyomi Toda-Burke made a chocolate banana parfait. The sweet little dish called for marshmallow sauce and mini marshmallows for the top, which the pastry chefs made themselves. “We thought, ‘Oh, we can make all sorts of flavors,’” Sandra explains. So they took the marshmallow project into a six-month test kitchen period and now have more than a half dozen gorgeous flavors.

“Most people go with vanilla because that’s what they’re most familiar with,” Sandra points out. Indeed, the vanilla marshmallow takes you back to camp days when you scarfed down handfuls of these things.

But the other flavors are where the Tarts’ marshmallows get interesting. The mango pops with high tropical flavor. The yuzu is sharp and tart. And the basil is like a nice summer day: herbaceous, light, and frothy. Still to taste: chocolate, raspberry and passion fruit.

164 Ninth Avenue at 20th
212.462.4392

Obsesssion of the week: Unusual pairings

I haven’t been able to get Batch off my mind and only wish I made a commission for every Sweet Freak I sent to the bakery. Pichet is the master of sweet-savory concoctions. Who else would marry salted caramel frosting with carrot cake?

Then there’s the sweet-salty combo of Mast Brothers’ Fleur de Sel chocolate bar. It’s 81% cacao infused with flecks of salt, awakening taste buds all over the tongue.

And while lavender might make you think of potpourri and chamomile, granny tea, when the two flavors are put together as they are in Amai’s cupcake, it makes for a lovely-weather indulgence.

Japanese for "sweet"

“It changes all the time,” warns Kelli Bernard of Amai Tea & Bake House.

Spoken like a true Sweet Freak, it’s just not that easy to declare one — or three or five — favorites from the menu. And it doesn’t help that she has a selection that’s as meandering as it is delicious. But here, she does her very best to steer us towards her must-eats:

1) “I have to say the green tea cupcakes because those are crazy popular. They’re bright, so they’re perfect for spring.” But don’t shrug off the lavender chamomile or chocolate & peanut butter options.

2) “People come in all the time just for our croissants. A lot of bakeries buy the dough for their croissants, but we make ours from scratch.” I had a chocolate croissant: indeed, insanely buttery and decadent.

3) “Tea cookies are our specialty. We have seven different kinds, and those are really good.” Made from tea leaves and spices: green tea, earl grey & currant, hojicha & sesame, lemongrass & ginger, white tea & strawberry, chai almond and rooibys & vanilla.

I can’t help but feel we’re neglecting a lot of really great stuff though. What else?

“It’s hard to pick because it’s whatever you’re in the mood for!” But just to show you how eclectic and irresistible the menu is, she rattles off a few more sweets you should try: mango & pineapple parfait, mandarin brownies and the green tea muffins.

171 Third Avenue
212.863.1696

Patriotism is a Cupcake

Homemade Bakeshop by Kitchenette
383 Amsterdam
212.799.2253