There’s nothing quite like remembering a Saturday morning as a kid, watching your mom pull out a freshly baked coffee cake straight from the oven, the smell beckoning your siblings from their rooms to the kitchen—oh, wait, that doesn’t sound familiar?
If your mom (like mine) wasn’t quite Betty Crocker, more than likely she probably just cracked opened an Entenmann’s box.
The legendary brand defined the grocery store baked goods section for families across America and even inspired some loyal celebrity clients (including Frank Sinatra) along the way.
While we’re all still mourning the fact that the company ceased their 100-year-old, Long Island-based baking operation back in July 2014, there’s still time to get your hands on the last remaining bites of Entenmann’s.
When you’re out scouring for the final crumbs of fluffy sweetness, make sure to grab one of these greatest hits before they—smh—vanish forever.
10. Thick Fudge-Iced Golden Cake
Photo: F&F Sports
What is it: A classic square cake featuring fudge icing and yellow cake.
Why we love it: Yellow cake is often incredibly yawn-worthy, but somehow reaches next level-status here with a crumbly texture and richer taste than most of its mass-produced cohorts on the market today. It’s the fudge-like icing at almost a 1/3″ thick, though, that really steals the show. The combination of buttery batter and a candy-coated top is nothing to complain about.
9. Corn Muffins
Photo: Walmart
What is it: A glazed, slightly sweetened corn muffin.
Why we love it: One of the only forays into quasi-savory from the Entenmann’s line up, the corn muffins surprise with a complex, maple-like glaze sugarcoating the muffin’s top, and a spongy texture that walks the line between cornbread and cake.
8. Marble Loaf Cake
Photo: Walmart
What is it: A classic loaf cake with chocolate and vanilla flavors.
Why we love it: The all-butter loaf cake (read: pound cake) might be a classic, but the chocolate marble is what gives this cake next-level status. Plus, it’s visually appealing in the kind of swirly, art deco style that makes all marble cakes seem like a feat of culinary magic.
7. Louisiana Crunch Cake
Photo: Walmart
What is it: Yellow cake topped with a “crunch”-flecked coconut glaze.
Why we love it: Why Entenmann’s set out to make a “Louisiana” inspired cake, we may never know. And does it really capture any flavors associated with the state anyway? Not really. But the result is a nutty, almond-scented cake with a crunchy coconut glaze that’s irresistible.
6. Chocolate Chip Iced Cake
Photo: Entenmann’s
What is it: A yellow cake studded with chocolate chips, topped with mocha icing, then sprinkled with more chocolate chips and powdered sugar.
Why we love it: This might seem like something a kid with no baking experience would dream up in the kitchen, but in reality the cake has a surprisingly complex flavor profile thanks to a super-charged mocha icing. The chocolate chips add a welcome bit of melty, textural bite to an otherwise run-of-the-mill (but always enjoyable) fluffy cake interior.
5. Banana Cake
Photo: YouTube
What is it: A banana-flavored cake with a chocolate swirl (with or without crunch bits).
Why we love it: The banana cake (with its hypnotically fluid, wave-like icing design) combines dense, banana-flavored cake with chocolate-and-banana frosting that’s completely strange but somehow eclipses regular ol’ banana bread by a mile. The cake comes in both a regular and “crunch” version that have rotated in and out of the market over the years—the “crunch” one set apart by the addition of a fine layer of crumbs soaked into the cake’s icing. Either way, it’s lack of Laffy Taffy-style fake banana flavoring and consistently tender interior texture make it the best store bought banana cake on the market.
4. Raspberry Danish Twist
Photo: Entenmann’s
What is it: A classic, cake-like danish with raspberry jam, a drizzling of vanilla icing, and crunchy crumb topping.
Why we love it: Yeah, they might not be the raspberries just plucked from the bush, but the fruity kick really takes this danish to the next level. The raspberries add a tartness that’s refreshing compared to other fruit-focused danish offerings (like cherry) that can skew painfully sweet. It’s almost like eating raspberry cheesecake for your first meal of the day, and who can argue with that?
3. Crumb Cake Coffeecake
Photo: Entenmann’s
What is it: Crumb cake coffeecake was basically a mash-up before the world was ready for mash-ups. Cronut, meet your grandfather.
Why we love it: This was Sinatra’s favorite Entenmann’s item, and like the legend that he is, kept a standing order for it on file at all times. It is able to combine the best parts of crumb cake (the crumbs) with the best part of coffeecake (the slightly cinnamon kick) into one delicious treat. If it’s good enough for the Chairman of the Board, it’s good enough for us.
2. Pecan Danish Twist
Photo: Entenmann’s
What is it: Twisted, slightly-flaky danish drizzled with sticky icing and dappled with hunks of pecans.
Why we love it: Sticky, gooey, and nutty, the pecan danish twist was a late-in-life addition to the Entenmann’s roster, so it might not conjure up the same nostalgic memories. However, one bite and it’s easy to see why it makes the “best of” list.
1. New York-Style Crumb Cake
Photo: Blondie and Brownie
What is it: A crumb-focused crumb cake that pays homage to the city’s corner bakeries.
Why we love it: Yes, New York-style crumb cake takes the (er) cake as the best, most true-to-its-roots of all the Entenmann’s products. While there are many plays on the company’s crumb cake (cheese-filled, chocolate), with its big orbs of crumb, slightly lemon-tinged flavor, and strong cake-to-crumb ratio, New York-style reigns supreme.