No one needs an excuse, but if you’ve ever needed a reason to eat cheesecake every day for a month, Breads Bakery just handed you one. The beloved NYC bakery is bringing back its annual Cheesecake May from May 1–31, and this year’s lineup will make it hard to settle for just one slice.
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The month-long menu is a maximalist love letter to cream cheese in all its forms, whether folded into babka, piped into buns or baked into Basque-style rounds. Leading the charge is the Cheesecake Babka, a mash-up of two of the bakery’s signatures: its “Best of New York” babka swirled with classic cheesecake filling and finished with streusel. It’s joined by bite-sized Cheesecake Rugelach, which get a brûléed crunch on top, and a Basque Cheesecake available whole or by the slice, with that signature caramelized exterior giving way to a custardy center.
There are also a few options designed for peak spring. The Strawberry Cheesecake Bun piles jam and fresh strawberries onto a brioche base, while the Strawberry Matcha Cheesecake leans into the Basque style, blending matcha into the batter and topping it with berries. For something more portable, the Guava Cheesecake Jar layers silky filling with jam and crumble, essentially turning dessert into an on-the-run situation.
Not everything is sweet. Cheesecake May also dips into savory territory with a Cheese & Potato Pashtida, a crustless quiche with egg, onion, blue cheese and brie, and a New York Bagel Stick stuffed with smoked salmon and cream cheese.
Rounding out the lineup are a classic cheese danish, a fluffy milk bread bun filled with cheesecake cream and a few other pastries that blur the line between dessert and breakfast.
Breads Bakery, long known for its Israeli-inspired pastries and cult-favorite babka, has turned Cheesecake May into something of a yearly tradition. The limited-time menu will be available at locations across the city while supplies last—which, given the popularity of past years, may not be long. Consider this your warning; pacing yourself is optional.
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