Memorable | One of the Best
B & W Bakery
Review by: Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle
What to eat at B & W Bakery
The Truly Ultimate Crumb Cake
Have you had New Jersey-style heavy crumb cake? If you’re not from the Northeast it’s likely you haven’t. Once you do taste it, you likely will find that the standard issue crumb cake you’ve always enjoyed just doesn’t do it for you anymore. New Jersey bakeries turn the crumb cake concept on its head. Crumbs star; cake serves as a supporting player. One half inch of pastry supports at least two inches of sweet crumbs. Entenmann’s simply cannot compete.
Many northern New Jerseyans look to the B & W Bakery to satisfy their crumb cake cravings. Some Jersey cakes use a pound cake-like base. B & W builds its “heavy crumb cake” (their words) upon a lightly sweet yeasted pastry, like a Danish. A waist-deep pile of large crumbs, some crunchy and others soft, sits atop the cake. They’ll satisfy a sweet tooth, but they do not cloy. This crumb cake just cries out for a pot of coffee and a lazy morning.
Get Donuts, Too
B&W Bakery goes beyond heavy crumb cake. They call a plain old-fashioned donut a cruller, but who cares about the label. Its faintly crisp shell contains barely sweet pastry with a gentle flavor. You taste none of the astringency typical of poorly-made chain doughnuts. Cool pastry cream fills the Boston cream donut. Dark, thick chocolate icing covers its top. What they call iced crullers turn out to be what we consider true crullers — like sweetened eggy popovers twisted into a circle, topped with sweet chocolate or vanilla icing.
Hard to Choose
B & W Bakery attracts lots of customers any time of day. Women who work the counter deal apply patience and friendliness to the occasional tumult. Show any indecision and other customers are sure to cheerfully chime in with their recommendations. Many folks swear by the variety of Danish and pecan rings. A tray of sticky buns whispers our name whenever we visit. We’ve not yet answered their call, but suspect that once they’re tasted, resistance will be futile.
Directions & Hours
Information
| Price | $$ |
| Seasons | All |
| Meals Served | Dessert |
| Credit Cards Accepted | No |
| Alcohol Served | No |
| Outdoor Seating | No |
What To Eat
B & W Bakery Recipes
Discuss
What do you think of B & W Bakery?
3 Responses to “B & W Bakery”
Carol Calkari
March 25th, 2023
Picked up one of their crumb cakes yesterday and it wasn’t good at all. Wondering if the bakery has changed hands. I’ve been buying their crumb cakes for nany, many years and never been disappointed. I also purchased their black & white cookies and they were stale. Very disappointing!
Bakery Boxes
November 16th, 2021
These boxes are great But if someone want more attractive boxes with good quality then I will recommend. OBT Packaging’s they can help you by making unique Bakery Boxes for you.
Mike Zearfaus
April 8th, 2008
I had heard about their famous crumb cake for years but never got around to trying it. I was on the way to work and hit traffic so I turned off the highway and was able to detour my way over to B&W Bakery. This is the first time I was glad there was traffic. I stopped in about 7:15am. I bought a dozen doughnuts and sheet of crumb cake. I wrote it off for work and fed the entire office.
This is the ultimate crumb cake. There is so much crumb on top of a great moist cake. My least favorite part of crumb cake is the cake itself (usually dry); this was the total opposite. I almost like the cake as much as the crumb. They have other cakes and pastries, all calling me to come back again. I will be sure not to take so long to get there again.