Black Hound

Symphony Cup- Chocolate teacup with bavarian cream and fresh berries

I have been going to Black Hound for as long as I can remember.  Typically, I prefer my dessert with less embellishment and fanfare, but Black Hound manages to create beautiful, sophisticated-looking cakes and tarts without being fussy. More importantly, they do not sacrifice taste or quality for appearance.

Black Hound has an extensive selection of full-size and miniature cakes and tarts available at the store, and you can always special order something if you know you’ll need it in advance. The miniatures are perfect for sharing between two or three people.

Mini Bee Cake- Chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, almond cake,
almond marzipan, almond liqueur, and chocolate ganache

The Mini Bee cake is one of Black Hound’s top sellers. With its marzipan filling and chocolate ganache coating, it is like a marzipan bonbon morphed into a cake.

Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake- Thin layer of chocolate cake, bittersweet, milk,
and white chocolate mousses, chocolate ganache.

The classic Triple Chocolate Mousse features thick layers of the lighter milk and white chocolate mousses, complimenting the dark, rich chocolate ganache.

Chocolate Gianduja Cake- Chocolate cake, gianduja (hazelnut) buttercream,
chocolate buttercream, crushed pralines, and marzipan flowers

The Chocolate Gianduja is excellent if you like a chocolate-hazelnut pairing. I am not in love with this frosting, though. It has a pleasant, strong hazelnut flavor, but the texture is a tad too buttery.

Almond Apricot Cake- Almond cake, Grand Marnier liqueur, apricot preserves,
white chocolate buttercream and almond petals

Black Hound does almond-flavored confections well. The Almond Apricot cake is a good choice if you prefer almond rather than marzipan. It is a lighter option overall than several of the chocolate or nut-based options.

Black Hound excels at citrus flavors. Berries and lemon are one of my favorite flavor combinations. The Mixed Berry tart, second from left in the photo below, combines fresh berries with a tart lemon mousse on top of a buttery shortbread crust. It is absolutely divine. If you prefer a berry tart without lemon, the Lotsaberry Tart uses a vanilla pastry cream in place of the lemon mousse. The Key Lime Cheesecake is dense, creamy and tart and enveloped by a sweet crumb crust. They also make an orange cheesecake with a chocolate crumb crust.

In addition to cakes and tarts, Black Hound offers brownies, miniature pies, dessert “balls” pictured below, chocolates, and brittles. You can purchase a custom selection of chocolates, or choose from elegantly boxed truffles in various sizes.

Black Hound makes charming, light butter cookies and shortbreads that are sold by the pound. The sandwich hearts, made with thick shortbread cookies that you can sink your teeth into, are one of the best and are available made with raspberry or apricot preserves.

A final note to all you FreeFooders out there, Black Hound is that rare gem of a business that never fails to have something out for sampling, be it cake, cheesecake, chocolates or cookies. If you are in the neighborhood, it is the perfect opportunity to try out Black Hound’s confections for yourself and help you select from their vast array of options.

Black Hound is located on second avenue between 10th and 11th streets in Manhattan. If you do not live nearby, Black Hound ships their cakes and confections by overnight priority mail. You can place an order and view a full list of offerings on their website.

More cake in New York:
Baked
Lulu Cake Boutique
Momofuku Milk Bar
Two Little Red Hens

Black Hound
170 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10003