If you find yourself on an early morning stroll through the East Village, take solace from the brisk wind and warm up with a cinnamon roll fresh out of the oven. In a modern store with sophisticated light fixtures and muted green ceilings are some of the best cinnamon rolls you’ll find in the city. When the sensual combination of spice and sugar hits your nose, you will know that you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
A new bakery dedicated entirely to unique cinnamon roll flavors has opened up shop in the middle of Alphabet City on the corner of East Third Street and Avenue B. Having opened in late January, Sunday Morning complements a minimalistic and warm design with innovative flavors, boasting a long line of anticipatory customers in front of their shop daily.
Co-owners Armando Litiatco and Ahmet Kiranbay also own Rana Fifteen, an Aegean restaurant in Brooklyn specializing in Western Turkish cuisine. The chefs have since decided to take on the popular breakfast dessert and have made it their goal to create tasty cinnamon rolls that use less sugar.
While the classic and glazed rolls are $8, for $8.50 you can choose from the many unique flavor combinations that Sunday Morning has to offer. Past renditions have included Bananas Foster, Caramel Pecan and even Ube Macapuno. However, Sunday Morning’s standout flavors are easily Strawberry Earl Grey and Blueberry Lemon Curd.
A feast for the eyes just as much as the stomach, the Earl Grey strawberry bun’s base is a golden-brown swirl of cinnamon dough, coated with a light layer of cream cheese frosting with tea leaves and a generous dollop of shimmering strawberry preserves. Each bite is well balanced, with a delicate hint of bergamot from the Earl Grey and fruitiness from the strawberry jam. This delicious blend of flavors is woven into the layers of the roll, ensuring that every bite is a tasty one.
The Blueberry Lemon Curd is a lighter, more refreshing spin on the traditionally dense pastry, exuding the vibrancy of a warm summer day — perfect for a cold March morning. It starts off with the same fluffy cinnamon dough base and cream cheese frosting, but is instead topped with bright yellow curd and blueberries sprinkled on top. Juice from the blueberries leaves purple streaks in the lemon custard that make it almost too beautiful to eat. Blueberry and lemon are known to make a nice pairing, but I would’ve liked to see more blueberries to balance out the sourness of the lemon.
Sunday Morning is the place to step out of your cinnamon-roll comfort zone and enjoy an experimental batch of flavors. Don’t be afraid to sit down on one of their bohemian chairs and deliciously start your slow weekend mornings with a warm, gooey cinnamon roll.
Contact Christobelle Rudes at [email protected].
