{"id":324715,"date":"2025-10-22T20:36:24","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T20:36:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/324715\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T20:36:24","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T20:36:24","slug":"these-jewish-baked-goods-made-the-new-york-times-list-of-25-essential-pastries-in-nyc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/324715\/","title":{"rendered":"These Jewish baked goods made the New York Times\u2019 list of \u201825 Essential Pastries’ in NYC"},"content":{"rendered":"

Inspired by the \u201cbakery renaissance<\/a>\u201d that\u2019s currently underway across New York City \u2014\u00a0if you spot a line somewhere, there\u2019s a very good chance there are baked goods at the end of it \u2014 T: The New York Times Style Magazine has assembled a list of \u201cThe 25 Essential Pastries to Eat in New York City.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

Among those on the list are several Jewish treats, including a buttery, chocolatey babka that\u2019s made New Yorkers\u2019 mouths water since 2013 and a tiny knish filled with sauerkraut and dill from a buzzy new bakery on the Lower East Side.<\/p>\n

To assemble their of list 25 standout pastries \u2014 a tough task, we imagine \u2014 the magazine assembled a panel of renowned bakers: pastry chef and writer Tanya Bush; pastry chef Camari Mick; chef and Milk Bar founder Christina Tosi; B\u00e1nh by Lauren founder and pastry chef Lauren Tran; Shaun Velez, executive pastry chef at Daniel; and baker and cookbook author Melissa Weller.<\/p>\n

Among the panel\u2019s picks are some beloved old-school sweets like Lloyd\u2019s Carrot Cake and the sour cream glazed doughnut from Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop; upscale creations like the Lysee mousse cake from Lysee and four Jewish-inspired desserts. Keep scrolling to see, in alphabetical order, which Jewish pastries are on the Times\u2019 list.<\/p>\n

1. Agi\u2019s Counter\u2019s cheesecake<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opened in 2021 by Brooklyn-based Jewish chef Jeremy Salamon, Agi\u2019s Counter (818 Franklin Ave.) was inspired by Salamon\u2019s grandmother, Agi, a Hungarian Jew and a Holocaust survivor.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people, when they hear Hungarian, if they have any idea the first thing that comes to mind is probably paprika or goulash \u2014 maybe chicken paprik\u00e1s,\u201d Salamon, a James Beard Award-nominated chef, told the New York Jewish Week last summer<\/a>. \u201cThe concept is so limited.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cheesecake at Agi\u2019s Counter has been on offer since the restaurant opened \u2014 in fact, for a while, it was the only dessert on the menu. \u201cA riff on the dense, creamy New York style often credited to Arnold Reuben, who made it a century ago at his Jewish diner, Reuben\u2019s Restaurant in Midtown, and later popularized at diners like Junior\u2019s, which first opened in 1950 in Downtown Brooklyn, Salamon\u2019s version is a thick wedge made with Philadelphia cream cheese on a crushed graham cracker crust,\u201d the magazine describes.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The cheesecake at Agi\u2019s Counter with a blueberry compote. (Screenshot via Agi\u2019s Counter Instagram)<\/p>\n

At Agi\u2019s Counter, the \u201cwell-executed take on a classic\u201d is served topped with extra virgin olive oil, Maldon salt and a lemon wedge during dinner service. As part of the weekend brunch menu, it is topped with a blueberry and coriander compote.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like $18, and I was there for lunch, so the dessert was actually the most expensive part,\u201d said Tran. \u201cI thought, \u2018Oh, bold.\u2019 And then I was blown away.\u201d<\/p>\n

While you\u2019re there, don\u2019t miss Agi\u2019s Counter\u2019s tuna melt, which features \u201coily, slow-cooked tuna, alpine Cheddar, pickled peppers, celery, dill and Kewpie mayo. Last year, it was one of 11 Jewish sandwiches on the New York Times\u2019 list<\/a> of \u201c57 Sandwiches That Define New York City.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. Breads\u2019 chocolate babka<\/strong><\/p>\n

The chocolatey, buttery, braided babka at Breads Bakery has been delighting New Yorkers since 2013, when the Israeli-inspired spot first opened near Union Square.<\/p>\n

Breads\u2019 buttery, laminated dough \u2014 \u201ccrispy-edged, springy and oozing with a Nutella-and-chocolate filling\u201d per the Times \u2014 reignited the popularity of this Ashkenazi dessert across the city<\/a> (and eventually in Paris,<\/a> too.)<\/p>\n

Today, Breads has six locations around the city, and its babka has become a New York icon \u2014 the bakery reportedly sells over 1,000 babkas a day during the winter holidays, per the Times. Co-founder and owner Gadi Peleg refers to his baker as \u201cthe house that babka built.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to panelist Weller, Breads \u201cstarted a trend of babka, and also the trend of laminated doughs being used in different ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

Added Tosi: \u201cHe really defied the odds of how much chocolate one could put in babka.\u201d<\/p>\n

3. Elbow Bread\u2019s potato sauerkraut knish<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Lower East Side\u2019s buzzy Elbow Bread (1 Ludlow St.) opened last October, where baker\u00a0 Zo\u00eb Kanan has been busy creating old-school Jewish baked goods with a modern twist.<\/p>\n

Backed by partners Eric Finkelstein and Matt Ross, the founders of the popular Flatiron Jewish luncheonette S&P<\/a>, Kanan \u2014 who\u2019s been called \u201ca baker\u2019s baker\u201d by New York Magazine \u2014\u00a0turns out delicacies like bialys and rugelach, as well as contemporary hybrids like a challah honey bun, which is part croissant, part challah and \u201cour sweetest ooey, gooey item,\u201d Kanan told the New York Jewish Week<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere aren\u2019t many Jewish bakeries here anymore,\u201d Kanan said. \u201cI saw an opportunity to do something here [on the Lower East Side], in a location with so much Jewish history, and bringing my own personal style to it, which borrows from a lot of different techniques and ingredients. I love the classics and tradition is important, but what I find myself thinking about is ways to reinterpret.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pastry that made the T Magazine list is a savory one: a tiny sauerkraut knish, made of flaky laminated pastry wrapped around mashed Yukon Gold potatoes \u201cflecked with crunchy salt and flavored with sauerkraut, onions, sour cream and fresh dill.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKnish was this thing that you just didn\u2019t want,\u201d panelist Weller said of the small pastry. \u201cI love that she decided to reinvent it. Because it needed that.\u201d<\/p>\n

4. Fan-Fan Doughnuts\u2019 guava and cheese fan-fan<\/strong><\/p>\n

After successfully launching the NYC mini-chain Dough Doughnuts and ice pop company La Newyorkina in 2010, Mexican-Jewish pastry chef Fany Gerson opened her Brooklyn doughnut shop Fan-Fan Doughnuts (448 Lafayette Ave.) in the fall of 2020. Despite launching during the pandemic, lines formed out the door.<\/p>\n

In her work, as in her life, Gerson enjoys reflecting on the richness of her Jewish and Mexican heritages. \u201cI feel like through time I\u2019ve explored it through food and I\u2019m kind of bridging the two worlds<\/a>,\u201d Gerson told the New York Jewish Week in 2021.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A close-up of the guava and cheese fan-fans at Fan-Fan Doughnuts. (Screenshot via Fan-Fan Doughnuts Instagram)<\/p>\n

During Hanukkah, Gerson sells delicious and inventive sufganiyot, which are traditionally fried, round jelly-filled doughnuts that are enjoyed during the holiday. But the pastry that made the Times\u2019 list can be enjoyed year-round: an \u00e9clair-inspired doughnut, known as a fan-fan, that\u2019s filled with cream cheese, glazed with guava and topped by a brown butter walnut cookie crumble.<\/p>\n

The treat is \u201cinspired by the guava cheese roll from one of her favorite Mexico City bakeries,\u201d according to the Times.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the thing about food, it\u2019s not ephemeral,\u201d Gerson told us. \u201cHow many memories are tied to food? A smell can take you back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\tJewish stories matter, and so does your support.\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Inspired by the \u201cbakery renaissance\u201d that\u2019s currently underway across New York City \u2014\u00a0if you spot a line somewhere,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":324716,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,990,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-324715","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-food","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-city","12":"tag-newyork","13":"tag-newyorkcity","14":"tag-ny","15":"tag-nyc","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-united-states-of-america","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","20":"tag-us","21":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115419742017057909","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=324715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324715\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/324716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=324715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=324715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=324715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}