If I had to choose one dessert to eat for the rest of my life… Well, I couldn’t possibly do that. But two of the strongest contenders would be an Italian rainbow cookie and a chocolate covered cannoli. So, you can imagine my gleeful surprise when I discovered Cafe Belle in Nolita serves a hybrid of the two.
I wanted to buy my mom a birthday gift, and she loves Christmas, so I headed to Christmas in New York in Little Italy. I had Lady Gaga cranked in my headphones as I walked through the busy, tourist-filled streets like I owned the place. “Get out of my way, I’m walking here!” Wanting to get out of there as soon as possible, I swiftly headed toward Nolita, but I couldn’t shake the craving for an Italian pastry. It was a particularly hot day, and when I passed the tiny, unsuspecting Cafe Belle, which was just a ten-minute walk from prime Little Italy, I saw a woman leaving with what looked like a refreshing lemonade or iced tea. So, I popped in, hoping to follow her lead.
There were only a few tables in the small space, and two of them were occupied by women working on their laptops. I immediately made a mental note that Cafe Belle is a great place to get some work done. The refreshing drink I witnessed was one of their Arnold Palmer offerings, which comes in either plain, blood orange, strawberry or peach. I went for the blood orange, which I’m pleased to say was as refreshing as it sounds.
I then scanned the pastry case, and my heart nearly jumped out of my chest when I saw it: a rainbow cookie cannoli cake. It appeared to have a chocolate layer on the outside, followed by rainbow cookie colorful layers, and a center of cannoli cream. What kind of genius took two classic Italian desserts and decided to marry them?
Turns out, it was the Scala family. With roots in Naples, the Scala family made their way to the U.S. and ended up in Brooklyn. For the last three decades, they’ve had several bakeries in Brooklyn, Long Island and New Jersey. Their newest bakery baby is Café Belle, established in 2016, and all desserts are made in house with recipes from Giuseppe Scala, the first Scala in their family to make his way to the U.S.
The American Scalas add a modern twist with their rainbow cookie cannoli cake. I’ve frequented Naples, Italy throughout my life, and I can’t imagine seeing a rainbow cookie cannoli cake at any pasticceria there.
That’s not to say this inventive dessert doesn’t have a place in the world. I could hardly wait to take a bite of the sweet pastry, and when I finally did, I was met with that classic rainbow cookie flavor: fruity and subtly nutty, with a thin chocolate coating outside of the cake. The center layer of the cake is where the cannoli influence comes in, made of a ricotta cream studded with chocolate chips. It’s truly one of the best desserts I’ve had in some time.
My cannoli fix wasn’t quite satisfied, so I decided to order a few of those too — one to eat there and a few to go. All cannolis are filled fresh (a crucial requirement to maintain a crispy shell). I’m not sure if it’s because it was so excruciatingly hot out that day, but the filling was a little looser than what I’m accustomed to. However, it wasn’t runny by any means and still held its shape.
When I left Cafe Belle with my refreshing blood orange Arnold Palmer and box of cannolis to go, I called my dad who lives in Upstate New York, since he’s the only person I know who loves cannolis as much as I do.
“Dad, I just had the best dessert and I need to tell you about it,” I said as I headed south down Houston. “It was a marriage of a rainbow cookie and a cannoli.”
He laughed and begrudgingly said, “Thanks for telling me when I’m NOT in New York City. Was the point of this phone call to rub it in?”
Well, looks like I know where I’m taking my dad next time he’s in the city. Next time you have family in town or need a place to take a breather, I suggest you follow my lead: get out of Little Italy and head to Café Belle
- Address: 280 Mulberry St, New York, NY 10012
- Phone: (212) 837-1605
- Hours: Monday-Thursday 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Friday 9 a.m.-7 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
- Prices: All items range from $3.50-$20
- No delivery; takeout available; no reservations.
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