Move over, signature cocktails. New Yorkers looking for something unique to add to their celebrations are turning to custom desserts by some of the city’s top sweets makers.
"We can basically do anything," said Melissa Tavss, who owns Tipsy Scoop, a booze-infused ice cream company based in East Harlem.
At Doughnut Plant, clients can work to create custom details down to a specific color.
"We only use natural ingredients in our products, so it does take some artistry to match colors, but we can make almost any color," Zan Sabini, the bakery’s business development manager, said in an email. The shop has done events for corporate clients, as well as baby showers and weddings, Sabini added.
So instead of traditional layers of cake and buttercream at your next wedding or special event, try a doughnut wall with custom colored glazes or themed mini cupcakes.
Here are some custom creations you can make with NYC sweets destinations:
Edible cookie dough with DŌ
The sky’s the limit when it comes to customizing edible cookie dough flavors at DŌ‘s Greenwich Village flagship. Play with Kit Kat bars, Champagne or edible glitter, or color-coordinate mix-ins based on an event’s theme.
"We offer a range of 20 flavors on our regular menu, but beyond that we can customize and experiment with almost anything," said Kristen Tomlan, the founder and CEO of DŌ. "We’re here to make sure that everybody’s cookie dough craving doesn’t go unnoticed."
Tomlan said as long as the shop can source it, it can make it, including searching online for candy requests.
Pricing varies depending on how expensive and hard to come by the custom ingredients are. A minimum order is 12 cups, which are available in sizes as small as 2 ounces for $4 each.
Boozy ice cream with Tipsy Scoop
Turning a signature cocktail into an ice cream or sorbet is a popular request for the shop, said Tavss, recalling rainbow vodka pops and a chocolate negroni among custom orders.
But the customization possibilities don’t stop at turning drinks into dessert: Tavss said her company will also create a custom color profile, like when the shop dyed an ice cream base blue and created a blue toppings bar to go with it.
The custom flavor development costs $450, plus a minimum order of 24 pints at $12 each.
Doughnuts with Doughnut Plant
Need to spell out "Marry Me" in doughnuts? This citywide shop will do just that — and let you pick the flavor and the glaze (each letter doughnut is $4.25 each).
Doughnut Plant also offers custom 10-inch Ripple creations (that’s a three-layer doughnut) for $25; custom flavors (like a pumpkin spice liqueur glaze it made for a booze company); and will match any color to your heart’s content for $50. Want a custom shape? Just ask, though pricing can vary for that.
The bakery’s most popular option for weddings, Sabini said, is a doughnut wall — a peg board of sweet, doughy goodness.
Mini cupcakes with Baked by Melissa
Mix and match from 13 cake flavors, 11 different stuffings and dozens of icings and toppings to create the custom mini cupcake of your dreams at Baked by Melissa.
The bakery will put together any combination. Once, there was a Bat Mitzvah cupcake with purple vanilla cake, cookies and cream stuffing, pink sugar cookie icing, and a mini chocolate chip topping, a company spokeswoman said.
Another creation, this one for a wedding, featured chocolate cake, brownie batter stuffing, white vanilla icing and white chocolate shavings.
There is a minimum order of 250 mini cupcakes for custom flavors starting at $280, and it must be placed at least two weeks in advance.
