DINING OUT: How sweet it is at Little Cupcake Bakeshop!

At The Little Cupcake Bakeshop, the cupcakes are just one part -albeit a huge, deliciously creamy and addictive one – of theallure.

For over six years, owners Salvatore, Luigi and Massimo Lobuglioand their creative staff have specialized in using freshingredients and flavors in new and traditional combinations tocreate an array of cupcakes, mining their own imaginations as wellas those of their loyal customers to concoct over a dozen of themost irrefutably indulgence-worthy of sweets (andnot-too-sweets).

Development [of a flavor] just takes a lot of people. Each onetakes about a week and we test it on customers, said GeneralManager Rada Vilnits, who has been with the Third Avenue and 91stStreet confectionary since 2006. Customers always recommendflavors, too.

From apples, berries and coconut to graham crackers, peanutbutter and Nutella, nearly anything you can imagine can go intoeach cake, be it little ($2.50 each) or big ($5 per slice, $30 for7-inch cake, $44 for 9-inch cake).

A perennial favorite, the Southern Red Velvet Cupcake providesboth a visual and a gustatory counterpoint, the creamy white icingdramatically setting off the cranberry-colored cake both to the eyeand on the palate. The Blue Velvet Cupcake is a vibrant and juicyalternative, made with blueberry buttermilk cake mixed with freshblueberries and iced with cream cheese frosting.

The German Chocolate Cupcake combines a chocolate-y cake withtoasted-coconut-flecked icing, providing a pleasing contrast thatwe found particularly appealing.

Another delight for chocoholics is the seasonal S’mores flavor,each warming bite full of graham cracker crust, a layer ofchocolate chunks and moist chocolate cake, topped with more crackercrumbs and a toasted marshmallow icing/topping.

The Mott Street – named for the jewel box of an eatery’ssister-shop in Manhattan – combines the flavors of the Italiandessert favorite, Tiramisu, in a cupcake whose creamy mascarponecream cheese and cocoa powder topping elegantly echoes theespresso-soaked ladyfingers treat.

Nostalgia also has a place here, with the Peanut Butter andJelly Cupcake bringing the childhood favorite to decadent life inthe form of tastes-like-home chunky peanut butter cake with peanutbutter cream cheese icing – all drizzled with grape jelly.

Despite its name, Little Cupcake also offers pies of varioussizes ($10 for a 6-inch, $19 for a 9-inch, and $3.75 for a cobbler)in flavors that change seasonally such as pecan, apple crumb,blueberry crumb, pumpkin, strawberry rhubarb and key lime.

The Granny Smith Apple Pie is pleasingly tart and sweet, theapple mixture hidden beneath a crumb topping. There is also aWhoopie Pie ($3.50), a cookie-pie crossover that hints of the rangeof cookies ($2 each) also available at Little Cupcake.

Cheesecake and chocolate-lovers will rejoice when sampling theOreo Cheesecake ($5 mini, $18 for a 7-inch cake, $27 for a 9-inchcake), a dense New York-style filling flecked with cookie bitselegantly arranged on an Oreo cookie disk.

Vilnits admitted that her personal favorite is the three-layerDreaming Princess Cake and for good reason. It’s a soul-soothingcombination of meringue icing, almond-flavored cake, raspberrypreserves and vanilla buttercream filling topped by a sprinkle ofsliced almonds – the stuff from which the sweetest dreams aremade.

Besides cakes, Little Cupcake also sells homemade ice cream(outside in the summer, in pints during the winter), puddings(black forest, old fashioned banana; $4 for 10 ounces, $5.50 for 16ounces, and $22 for 64 ounces), coffee and teas ($1.75 to $4.75),and breakfast items – muffins, buns and croissants. We recommend apalate-cleaning Harney & Sons tea and the wonderfully foamycappuccino or espresso made with illy coffee beans – staff memberswent through rigorous training to make these.

Whatever you get at Little Cupcake, you will leave more than alittle satisfied and relaxed.

LITTLE CUPCAKE BAKESHOP

9103 Third Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11209

718-680-4465

www.littlecupcakebakeshop.com

Open on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.; weekends from 8 a.m. to11 p.m.

Catering and phone orders available.

Delivery within walking-distance.