A new Williamsburg cupcakery offers unique flavors like flan and guava con queso to tres leches, inspiration drawn from the owners' Latin-and-Italian family background.
Brooklynites looking to satiate a nagging sweet tooth need to look no further than the Brooklyn Cupcake. Opened on July 28, the Latin-and-Italian mixed family-owned and operated bakeshop 
offers flavors ranging from flan and guava con queso to tres leches (filled with three kinds of milk) and tiramisu.
Carmen Rodriguez, who opened the Williamsburg-based cup-cakery with the help of her sister, cousin, and some additional contributing family members, says she didn't realize that the variety of "culturally-inspired" flavors made her business unique.
"They were home flavors," Rodriguez says. "Flan is a traditional custard that we eat, like crème brulee. It is a dessert that has been around forever."
Even now that her business is booming, Rodriguez still likes to take traditional foods and reinvent them in cupcake form. One example is the popular Italian rainbow cookie. After searching for the perfect tri-colored cake recipe, Rodriguez found her full-sized cake fell victim to uneven sides—but the cupcake prevailed. Now, rainbow-cookie-lovers unite and bond over the rainbow cupcake.
And there is another benefit: "You can eat a ton of rainbow cookies, but cupcakes are the perfect size. You feel pretty satisfied after one," Rodriguez says.
The Brooklyn Cupcake is located at 335 Union Avenue in Williamsburg. For more information, call 347-762-2253 or visit brooklyncupcake.com.
