Since 1892, Ferrara Bakery & Cafe has made traditional Italian pastries and desserts at its family-owned pasticceria and espresso bar in New York City’s Little Italy. Now in its fifth generation, the bakery is known for fresh, hand-crafted specialties such as cannoli, sfogliatella and torrone, with recipes and techniques carried through the Lepore family. Ferrara also supplies wholesale orders, custom cakes and nationwide dessert shipments from its historic Grand Street bakery.
Vaccaro's Italian Pastry ShopFounded in Baltimore in 1956 by Palermo-born Gioacchino “Mr. Jimmy” Vaccaro, Vaccaro’s Italian Pastry Shop makes Sicilian pastries and other Italian desserts using the Old World recipes he brought from Italy. Now led by his son Nick, the family business has grown from its original shop into a pastry operation with a production facility, cafés across Greater Baltimore, and nationwide shipping. Cannoli and rum cake remain its signature Baltimore favorites.BALTIMORE, MD
Alfonso's Pastry ShoppeFounded by Alfonso in 1970 after he honed his craft in Italy and worked as a baker at New York’s Plaza Hotel, Alfonso’s Pastry Shoppe makes fresh Italian pastries, cakes and custom celebration cakes on Staten Island. The shop moved to Victory Boulevard in 1978, where Alfonso’s son Anthony Campitiello has preserved his father’s techniques while running the business since 1996 and expanding it to a second location. Traditional pastries share the counter with contemporary cake designs, including detailed specialty cakes made for weddings and family milestones.STATEN ISLAND, NY
Circo's Pastry ShopSince 1945, Circo’s Pastry Shop has been making Italian and French pastries, custom celebration cakes, and its famous cookies from its Bushwick bakery. The family business traces its craft to Nino Pierdipino, who came from Sicily and now runs the shop with his sons Salvatore and Anthony, both Culinary Institute of America graduates. Circo’s retains an old-neighborhood feel—one distinctive enough to attract movie crews—while shipping its baked goods nationwide.BROOKLYN, NY
Vaccaro's DessertsSince 1906, Vaccaro’s Desserts has made Italian pastries in the Washington, D.C., tradition, with its cannoli at the center of the family business. Now in its fourth generation, the company still uses John Vaccaro’s exact recipe and hand-rolls its shells, while producing and packaging everything in-house for foodservice customers and home orders. Vaccaro’s describes itself as the oldest in-house cannoli maker in the USA.SILVER SPRING, MD