Robicelli's

We’re 6 days away from Googa Mooga, which will be all sorts of amazing and will change your life and whatnot. I, of course, will not be posting about that today, because I have an incredibly messed up sense of priorities.

What will we be talking about today?

The Simpsons Tapped Out, a game for iPhone/Android that advertises itself as “Life Ruiningly Fun!”. And you know what? It IS life ruiningly fun. It’s been ruining my life since last October and I can’t stop it.

I’m not really sure how to describe the point of this game as, well, there is no point. You’re building and designing your own Springfield, so it’s sort of like owning a dollhouse. Except less expensive, you can keep it in your pocket, and you never need to dust it. Also unlike a dollhouse, this one has a 24 hour animation of Hans Moleman getting hit by a football in the groin.

Ahhhh! My groin!

This has been the #1 game on iTunes for a while now, so I don’t doubt that many of our readers are also addicted. And that means that you’re all in the same boat as I am- desperately collecting as many eggs as you can before “Whacking Day” ends at some point this Thursday.  

Me, I’m desperate. I had to take a few day off the game to “do my job”, then the developers server problems locked me out for a bit, and there was lots of bad luck with the snake/egg ratio.  Point is, now I’m far behind the pace I need to get the Sleep Eazy Motel and Miss Springfield.  So what can I do about this?

I can intimidate entice you all to give me your snake eggs.

In the event you’re actually still reading what can only be described as the most shameless blog post in the history of this company- remember that bit about Googa Mooga in the beginning? The giant music/food festival which sold out in like 20 seconds? Well guess who has a bunch of free freaking tickets to hold over your head to make you dance like cheese eating surrender monkeys?

My user name is AllisonF718. You give me your eggs, you let me know who you are and how many you have me over on Twitter or Facebook, and whoever gives me the most gets 2 general admission tickets to Saturday’s Googa, featuring Sharon Van Etten, Matt & Kim and more.

“But that’s not fair!” you say! “I was smart enough not to get sucked into that massive timewasting orgy of pointless phone tapping! Where are MY free tickets!” you say! Well don’t worry- I’ve set aside a few for bribes, but I still have more to give away to our devoted fans. You NEED  to pay attention to our Twitter over the next few days, because that’s where I’m going to be doing it. What’s it going to entail? No freaking idea.  I’m doing this the same way I make all my important decisions- I’m downing a few bourbons and then making some crap up. I’ve got a .631 average in good decision making that way, which is WAY better than most!

Now as I didn’t get sent a picture of today’s cupcakes from the kitchen last night, here’s random picture of Phyllis Diller.

Cupcakes would have looked better.

McFadden: Victorian lemonade cake made with Pimm’s, lemon ginger buttercream, candied lemon zest

German Chocolate: Chocolate cake, salted caramel buttercream, roasted coconut

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp: Brown sugar oat cake, vanilla buttercream, strawberry rhubarb compote, oat crisp

Hazelnut Kiss: Chocolate hazelnut cake, Nutella buttercream, roasted hazelnuts

We had so much fun this past Tuesday at Choice Eats, and hope all of you who came did too! Now that this one is in the books, it means that we have officially kicked off the food event season for 2013, and you need to start planning which ones you’re going to spend your hard earned money on. And OF COURSE you guys are most interested in the ones Matt and I will be appearing at….RIGHT?!?!?!?!

First up:

We’ll be back for our third installment of Tasting Brooklyn on April 16th at the Green Building. If you’re kicking yourself over missing the awesomeness that Choice Eats brought, this is just the event to get you over that.  In addition to us, there will be food & drinks from Allswell, The Clover Club, Fletchers BBQ, Stone Park Cafe and more- including two of my all time personal favorites, ALC Alimentari and Tchoup Shop.  There’s only a few tickets that are still available, so I would order them immediately. IMMEDIATELY I SAY! Like right this very second!

Next one that I can officially announce is….

We are returning to Tasting Table’s Lobster Roll Rumble! We did this one two years ago and are so so SOOOOOOO unbelievably stoked to be back.  This one is a little “pricey” (God I hate that word so much), but it’s worth every single damn penny. If you’re looking for the most epic friend’s night out or can’t afford to party in the Hamptons this summer, this is your next best bet. Because:

1. You get all the damn lobster rolls you can eat for two whole hours. TWO WHOLE HOURS. And we’re not just talking local favorites Red Hook Lobster Pound or Lure Fishbar either. We’re talking lobster rolls from Maine (The Clam Shack, Cousin’s Fresh Maine Lobster and more), Boston (B&G), out east (Lunch Lobster Shack), Virginia (Ford’s), Chicago (Little Market)……even San Francisco (Waterbar). If you have ever had a dream where you were trapped in a clam shack and could eat all the lobster you could possibly dream of- that dream has come true.

2. You can drink all you want for THREE whole hours! Because what goes better with getting yourself sick off lobster than getting completely stinking drunk!

3. You can eat all the desserts you want to counteract all the alcohol you’ve drank, including whoopie pies from yours truly.

****************************************************************************

We’ve also got several more events coming up which are going to change your entire damn life, but I’m saving those for another post. It’s HARD coming up with new material for these blogs every day out of just cupcakes and brownies and whatnot! I can’t be writing about just them and otters all the damn time!

Banoffee: Banana cake, toffee pudding, mascarpone buttercream, toffee shards

Tiramisu: Espresso soaked cake, espresso ganache, mascarpone buttercream, cocoa powder

Blueberry Cobbler: Vanilla cake, blueberry syrup, vanilla buttercream, blueberry compote, brown sugar streusel

Hazelnut Kiss: Chocolate hazelnut cake, Nutella buttercream, roasted hazelnuts

We’re done with all our Thansgiving leftovers and have cracked open the eggnog, we’ve put carols on the stereo and put up our tree, and our Small Business Saturday sale has come and gone. This can only mean one thing……

IT’S CYBER MONDAY!!!!

Also our holiday flavors are back. This can only mean TWO things, then!

I know today we all love shopping in our underpants, but post-Sandy we also realize how important it is to support NYC based businesses rather than simply hand all our money right over to Amazon, just so they can run off and send that money right over to China.

image: the epoch times

As strong and resilient as New York City is, we’re in a lot of trouble right now. Many hit hardest by Sandy were not even eligible for flood insurance post-Katrina, and the ones who did manage to obtain it are having their claims denied for various reasons. Insurers are also denying business interruption claims in Manhattan, claiming the blackout wasn’t the result of a hurricane but rather “flooding”, meaning they will not pay anything.  FEMA only offers businesses loans to recover, which no one wants to take for fear they won’t be able to pay them back if our local economy doesn’t rebound and our businesses fail regardless of aid packages. 

The amount of money it costs to keep a business afloat in NYC in unconscionable- even a single weekend of lost revenue can mean the difference between staying open or shutting your doors forever. The reality of post-Sandy New York is that there are literally tens of thousands of businesses on the verge of closing forever. And if those business close, they will take hundreds of thousands of jobs with them. 

This is not what you want to hear about on Cyber Monday. You want to spend 30 minutes on the internet and get all your holiday shopping done.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could do something to help New York City rebuild, to keep Americans from losing their jobs, to keep fellow citizens from going bankrupt after the worst natural disaster in our city’s history, instead of spending all of your holiday cash at companies who send our money overseas?

WELL MAYBE WE FIGURED OUT A WAY TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN.

A few weeks ago, I went out for egg creams with some associates where we discussed how people from all over America wanted to find a way to help in a way they were sure the money actually got to the people who needed it. We talked about how it would be great if there was a website like Amazon where you could shop for anything, but the goods wouldn’t come from a giant warehouse in the middle of nowhere -they would come from small businesses and manufacturers right here in New York City, made by American hands.

Ladies and gentlemen, on this Cyber Monday I am proud to present this link to the official Made In NYC Online Shopping Portal! On the page you are about to view, you will find gifts for everyone you know: food, clothing, jewelry, home decor, cosmetics and lotions, gadgets, gizmos- and all of it made right here in New York City! We’re not talking the mass produced stuff you’ll find in any megamart- you’ll find bespoke, unique pieces that many people have never seen the likes of before, things that will be cherished and remembered for years to come. Do your shopping with NYC this year, and you’ll be doing a lot more than just giving everyone you know the most original gifts on earth- you’ll be helping your neighbor, helping save jobs. Is there anything that exemplifies the holiday spirit more than that?

Of course, we’re featured on the site (full disclosure as we had a hand in creating it).  Not only are the orders you guys have been placing with us helping us rebound, but we’re even hoping that if we get busy enough with our new online store that we’ll be able to bring on another employee. Straight from the horses mouth- the money you spend with us and other small businesses helps us more than anything else.

Being that it’s Cyber Monday, you all want more than just shopping from your computer when you’re technically supposed to be working- you also want big savings. Well, we’re a small business and can’t really afford to offer the steep discounts the big guys do. But in the interest of getting you to the Made In NYC site to poke around: Enter Promocode “CyberMonday” at checkout today only, and you’ll get 20% off EVERYTHING. Brownies, cakes, hot cocoa- all of it is on sale (and delicious!), and we can ship your gifts anywhere you want in the continental United States (including your house if you feel like buying a gift for yourself as well). Then buy from the some of the many other independent fashion designers, mom & pop food companies and more- there’s some amazing stuff on this site, and something for everyone!

Alas, cupcakes are not in our webstore, but if you’re in NYC you should go out and snag them because, well, like I said: holiday flavors are starting to come back, starting with Hot Buttered Rum. And also fall flavors are dying a slow death, with the Pumpkin Caramel making it’s final appearance this week til next year. Go tell it you love it before it’s too late.

Pumpkin Caramel: Pumpkin cake, salted caramel buttercream, candied pumpkin seeds

Hot Butter Rum: Rum butterscotch soaked cake, hot buttered rum buttercream and drizzle

Hazelnut Kiss: Chocolate hazelnut cake, Nutella buttercream, roasted hazelnuts

Cookies & Cream: Chocolate cake, mascarpone and crushed cookie buttercream, chopped chocolate cookies

I survived the first day of school. Meaning that I successfully woke my ass up at 7am to drive my son there, and didn’t crash into a single thing. I’m a night owl, which may be why I was drawn to the kitchen in the first place. For the last few years, my workday ends somewhere between 2 and 4 am.

To put this into reference for you nine-to-fivers, imagine waking up at 3:00 in the morning to take your kids to school. That’s where I’m at right now, and SWEET JESUS THIS HURTS SO BAD. 

I didn’t bite the principal or anyone else, so I’ve got that going for me. For the moment.

Clockwise from front: Butterbeer, Ebinger, Hazelnut Kiss, Apple Peanut Butter

Butterbeer: Butterscotch soaked cake, butterscotch buttercream, gold dust

Ebinger: Chocolate cake, chocolate custard buttercream, chocolate fudge, chocolate cake crumbs

Hazelnut Kiss: Chocolate hazelnut cake, Nutella buttercream, roasted hazelnuts

Apple Peanut Butter: Apple cake, peanut butter buttercream, peanut brittle

What EVER will calm your nerves after that thrilling cliffhanger?!!?! How about stress eating! And these are good for that!

For Part II of This Riveting Episode, CLICK HERE

(Also check in later this afternoon- we’ve got a bunch of new locations we’ll be announcing, plus some news about “Chicken”, “Waffles”, and “This Weekend”)

Clockwise from front: Strawberry Shortcake, Apricot Chardonnay, S’Mores, Hazelnut Kiss

Strawberry Shortcake: Vanilla cake, strawberry syrup, mascarpone buttercream, strawberry compote, cake crumbs

Apricot Chardonnay: Apricot chardonnay cake, vanilla buttercream, chardonnay simmered apricot

S’More: Chocolate cake, speculoos pudding, toasted marshmallow buttercream, ganache, graham cracker crumbs

Hazelnut Kiss: Chocolate hazelnut cake, Nutella buttercream, roasted hazelnuts

PREVIOUS EPISODES OF “LET’S BAKE THE WHOLE THING OFF”

Episode #1: “Pilot”

Episode #2: “Holiday Special

Episode #3: “Ice Cream Oopsies”

Things you learn when your back is out:

1. It is really, really hard to type with one hand while lying flat on your back, using your other arm to hold your laptop in the air where you can see it.

2. Your husband COULD help you by holding the laptop for you, but instead will think it’s a far better idea to sit across the room pointing and laughing.

3. Husband obviously has forgotten that my back will not be out forever, and once I’ve healed, I’m going to slapbox the living crap out of him and revenge will be mine.

It will be ever so delicious. Much like these cupcakes you see here.

Clockwise from front: Hazelnut Kiss, The Pickett, Wild Maine Blueberry Cobbler, Creamsicle

Hazelnut Kiss: Chocolate hazelnut cake, Nutella buttercream, roasted hazelnuts

The Pickett: Vanilla cake, vanilla custard buttercream, feuilletine (crunchy puff pastry), ganache

Wild Maine Blueberry Cobbler: Vanilla cake, blueberry syrup, vanilla buttercream, blueberry compote, brown sugar streusel

Creamsicle: Orange cake, vanilla buttercream, hand candied orange zest

Robicelli’s at DeKalb Market is closed Monday, but will reopen with these flavors at noon on Tuesday. You can find these today at select Robicelli’s retail partners.

You now have SEVEN DAYS TIL MOTHER’S DAY.

I know, like 5 days ago we were talking about Easter and Valentine’s, and this one totally creeped up on us. Hell, I AM a mother and I had no clue until the end of last week when I went to pick my kids up from preschool, and they both handed me invitations they handmade for this Friday’s “If You Give Your Mommy a Muffin” teaparty.

Did I cry like a 4 year old girl? Ooooohhhh yeeeaaahhhh…….

So, as a certified mother myself, this is what your mom/wife/partner/babymamma wants:

1. Cupcakes, Brownies, and/or Whoopie Pies. Of course I was going to say this! What did you think I was going to suggest- another vase? Listen, I love my kids, I’ll love anything they get me because it’s from them, but I do not need another thing in this house that I need to dust, wash, worry the cat’s going to knock over, or generally take care of. Speaking of that…

2. Don’t Get Her a Plant. I know we’re only two entries into this list and already we’ve gotten completely off-topic, but any regular readers of this blog totally saw this happening. And if you’re a new reader, welcome, and I apologize in advance.

Getting back to plants- I take care of two kids, two cats, and a husband. I have to do dishes, laundry, and clean the house just enough before the cleaning lady gets here so she doesn’t think I’m some sort of savage beast. If anyone gives me a plant- aka, the gift of “more responsibility”- I’m going to be angry.

Not only that, but the plant WILL end up dying. Matt knows about me and plants so he once got me a cactus after a big fight. Guess how THAT turned out.

Ricardo “El Bandito” Robicelli: January 26 2012-Febuary 4 2012

The last thing I need is to explain to two heartbroken little boys why the “love plant” they gave me is gone, and does the fact it’s dead mean that I don’t love them. This hasn’t even actually happened and already I’m getting stressed out over it. So, no plants. Now we can get back to the list.

3. Clean the house. Or if you don’t want to do it, pay someone for the day. And I mean CLLLEEEAAAANNN the house, especially the kitchen and bathroom. If I got to sit on the couch stuffing my face full of the aforementioned whoopie pies with the knowledge that I did not have to stick my hand inside the toilet for a good long while, I would be freaking thrilled.

4. Take her outside. Anywhere. It doesn’t even need to be “brunch”- in fact, I’d prefer it if I never had to go to a crowded pre-fixe Mother’s Day brunch with my family. Go to a museum, a movie, mini-golf, a scavenger hunt, a walking tour, bowling, shopping at DeKalb Market (hint hint)- anywhere.

The best Mother’s Day I ever had, we went to the kid’s museum, a duck pond, the playground, and then had Denino’s pizza and ices from Ralph’s. Yes, it sounds like more of a day for the boys, but the truth is the only thing that I really ever want, more than a clean bathroom, more than shiny things, more than a robot that does the robot, is to be with the three guys I love more than anything in the entire world.

Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t also get her some cupcakes,though. She’ll just love you more for that.

Clockwise from front: Hazelnut Kiss, PB&J, S’Mores, Wild Maine Blueberry Cobbler

Hazelnut Kiss: Chocolate hazelnut cake, Nutella buttercream, roasted hazelnuts

PB&J: Vanilla cake, grape jelly, peanut butter buttercream, roasted peanuts

S’Mores: Chocolate cake, speculoos pudding, toasted marshmallow buttercream, ganache, graham cracker crumbs

Wild Maine Blueberry Cobbler: Vanilla cake, blueberry syrup, vanilla buttercream, wild Maine blueberry compote, brown sugar streusel

__________________________________________

Cupcakes Available At:

Robicelli’s at DeKalb Market: 138 Willoughby Street, Downtown Brooklyn (CLOSED MONDAYS- come visit us on Tuesday for “2 for $5 Tuesday”!)

Aloha Grinds: 77th & 3rd Ave, Bay Ridge

Crespella: 7th Avenue off 9th Street, Park Slope

Tazza: Clark Street off Henry AND Henry Street off Atlantic, Brooklyn Heights

Cake Shop: 152 Ludlow St, Lower East Side

Simon Sips: Hidden inside 1185 6th Avenue, Midtown

Battery Place Markets: 240 Murray Street, Goldman Sachs Building, Financial District

Joe Columbia University: West 120th btwn Broadway & Amsterdam, Morningside Heights

Queen City Cupcakes: 62 West Main Street, Patchogue, Long Island

___________________________________

Whoopie Pies Available At:

Robicelli’s at DeKalb Market

Red Hook Lobster Pound: 284 Van Brunt Street, Red Hook

Tazza: Clark Street off Henry AND Henry Street off Atlantic, Brooklyn Heights

Queen City Cupcakes: 62 West Main Street, Patchogue, Long Island

___________________________________

Brownies:

Robicelli’s at DeKalb Market

Simon Sips: Hidden inside 1185 6th Avenue, Midtown

Oaxaca Tacos: 250 4th Avenue- Park Slope Brooklyn; 251 Smith Street Cobble Hill Brooklyn; 16 Extra Place, LES Manhattan; 48 Greenwich Avenue, West Village Manhattan

Queen City Cupcakes: 62 West Main Street, Patchogue, Long Island

Ok, remember how I was a total jerk on Friday saying I had news that I couldn’t tell you? Well I can finally start telling you a bit of it……….

Image courtesy of Free Food Boston

…..BROWNIES! You know- the ones that we kept selling out of like crazy at DeKalb and Madison Square Eats and Union Square…..as of this very second, we’re finally wholesaling them!  (We hired more people to keep up with demand) WOOT WOOT!  

If you haven’t had the opportunity to try them yet, you need to get to this.  Brownies were one of the top sellers at our original store before we closed it to go wholesale over 2 years ago, and were the #1 most requested item from all our original fans.  As you might have noticed, Matt and I are perfectionists when it comes to what we do, and we have no desire to release a product unless we can consider it as one of the absolute best that we have ever tasted (and trust me, we’ve tasted a LOT of brownies.  For, um, research. Yeah….that’s it….research). So until we had enough hands on deck to make sure we could produce these in large enough quantities where the quality would be flawless and none of our other products would suffer- they were left on the back burner.  And now, their day has come! Huzzah to that! 

What differentiates our brownies from the rest of the pack? Ultra chocolatey Valrhona cocoa, plenty of eggs and butter, and copious amounts of melted chocolate.  It’s not cakey, and not exactly fudgy- it’s just wrong, in a very, very right way.

You can find them at current Robicelli’s retail partners Crespella (Park Slope) and Queen City Cupcakes (Patchogue Long Island), and our NEW LOCATION:

Oaxaca Tacos!  With three locations in Brooklyn, and one on Extra Place in Manhattan (you know, that alley behind CB’s. And YES, it will always be CB’s, and I will acknowledge it as the John Varvartous whatever store over my cold dead body).  You can get our “Fany” brownie on their dessert menu: rich chocolate swirled with cinnamon and cajeta from Fat Toad Farms in Vermont.  And if you’re curious about the name, it’s names for one of my best friends and the grand dame of Mexican pastry- Fany Gerson.  And if someone I admire as much as Fany loves them, I know they’re good!

We’re going to start pounding the pavement and trying to bring these brownies to more shops around NYC soon- if there’s a place near you that you’d like us to hit, let us know!  And I am swearing in front of you all at this very moment- these brownies WILL SHIP IN 2012.  Super-duper-ultra-infinity promise.  

Even though we’re letting brownies finally have their moment in the sun after playing third fiddle to our other products, there are still cupcakes that are going to stores and need to be eaten to fulfill their cupcakey destiny.  Back from the vault today- The McFadden! Lemony delicious with just a splash of Pimm’s- this one’s a huge cult classic, and worth searching out.

Clockwise from front: S’Mores, McFadden, Hazelnut Kiss, Pecan French Toast

S’Mores: Chocolate cake, speculoos pudding, toasted marshmallow buttercream, ganache, graham cracker crumbs

McFadden: Victorian lemonade cake and buttercream with lemon, ginger and a splash of Pimm’s, candied lemon peel

Hazelnut Kiss: Chocolate hazelnut cake, Nutella buttercream, roasted hazelnuts

Pecan French Toast: Maple custard soaked cinnamon cake, maple-cinnamon buttercream, maple glazed pecans

______________________________

Cupcakes Available at:

Cafe at Sam’s Bakery:  94th off 3rd, Bay Ridge

Aloha Grinds: 77th and 3rd, Bay Ridge

Bagel Schmagel: 76th and 3rd, Bay Ridge

Crespella: 7th Ave off 9th Street, Park Slope

Tazza Cafes: Clark off Henry AND Henry off Atlantic, Brooklyn Heights

Cake Shop: Ludlow btwn Stanton & Rivington, LES

Queen City Cupcakes: West Main Street, Patchogue, Long Island

Whoopie Pies Available At:

Red Hook Lobster Pound: 284 Van Brunt Street, Red Hook

Tazza Cafes: Clark off Henry AND Henry off Atlantic, Brooklyn Heights

Queen City Cupcakes: West Main Street, Patchogue, Long Island

Brownies Available At:

Crespella: 7th Ave off 9th Street, Park Slope

Queen City Cupcakes: West Main Street, Patchogue, Long Island

Oaxaca Tacos: 250 4th Avenue- Park Slope Brooklyn; 251 Smith Street Cobble Hill Brooklyn; 16 Extra Place, LES Manhattan

Well here we are: OPENING DAY OF THE 2011 UNION SQUARE HOLIDAY MARKET!!!

We have soooo many exciting things we’ll be bringing out over the coming weeks, but I won’t tell you any just yet so I can save some material for upcoming blog posts (it is HARD thinking of stuff to write about three times a week when I’m exhausted).  But here’s the first surprise: aside from our usual offerings, we’ll also have:

Salted caramel coconut macaroons from Danny Macaroons!  If you follow me on Twitter you’d know that Dan & I are BFF 4evah+infinity, so this really isn’t shocking to you.  We’ll also be carrying the macs at DeKalb soon, and gift bags of them as we get closer to the Holidays.  

So now with the macaroons, the cupcakes, the brownies AND the whoopie pies, I bet you want to go down there RIGHT NOW.  And I can’t wait to see you!  But you need to be warned- this thing is huge. HUUUUUGE.  I know Union Square doesn’t seem that big the rest of the year, but you put a labyrinth of booths down there and you’ll be surprised how many times you can get lost (my personal record: nine times in one day).  We’re on the southeast part of the square, in the first row, close to the upside down elephant.

That makes sense, right?

For those of you without a compass or a seaman’s sense of direction, I drew you a map.  Because it’s been a few weeks since I busted out my MS Paint skills for you guys, and I just know that you missed them real bad.

Print that out, stick it in your pocket and come see me!  I’ll be waiting!  With these cupcakes you see…….waaaaiiiittt a second……

HAVE YOU ORDERED YOUR THANKSGIVING CUPCAKES YET?!?!?!

And you guys thought for a second I was going to forget to nag you there, didn’t you?  We’re taking orders through Monday, so this was going to be the second to last time for me to do it and I nearly missed it! This is what I get for switching from coffee to tea!

Ok, where were we.  Come to Union Square!  I’ll be waiting for you there with these!

Clockwise from front: Caramel Macchiato, Hazelnut Kiss, Pear Cardamom Ginger, Butternut Spice

Caramel Macchiato: Chocoalate espresso cake, caramel macchiato buttercream, crushed chocolate covered espresso beans, espresso ganache, caramel drizzle

Pear Cardamom Ginger: Pear cardamom cake, honey spice buttercream, candied ginger

Hazelnut Kiss: Chocolate hazelnut cake, Nutella buttercream, roasted hazelnuts

Butternut Spice: Butternut squash cake, vanilla buttercream, candied pumpkin seeds, butternut squash seed oil

Available at:

Robicelli’s at Union Square Holiday Market

Robicelli’s at DeKalb Market: Corner of Flatbush & Willoughby, Downtown Brooklyn

Cafe at Sam’s Bakery: 94th Street off Third Avenue, Bay Ridge

Aloha Grinds: 76th and Third Ave, Bay Ridge

Bagel Schmagel: 76th and Third Ave, Bay Ridge

Crespella: Seventh Ave off 9th Street, Park Slope

Tazza: Clark Street off Henry AND Henry off Atlantic, Brooklyn Heights

Blue Apron Foods: Union Street off 7th Avenue, Park Slope

Court Street Grocers: Court Street off Luquer, Carroll Gardens

Eastern District: Manhattan Ave off Eagle Street, Greenpoint

Brooklyn Standard: Nassau & Jewel, Greenpoint

The Brooklyneer: 220 West Houston St, West Village

JEM: Broadway off Franklin Street, TriBeCa

Cake Shop: Ludlow St btwn Stanton & Rivington, LES

Sons of Essex: Essex St btwn Stanton & Rivington, LES

Joe Columbia University: West 120th btwn Broadway & Amsterdam, Morningside Heights

Queen City Cupcakes: 62 West Main Street, Patchogue, Long Island 

Red Hook Lobster Pound: Van Brunt Street, Red Hook; Brooklyn Flea; Smorgasburg; Roving Food Truck (Whoopie Pies Only)

This is Mikey. He’s the son of an old friend of Matt’s and the nephew of a friend of mine from high school.  He is five years old, loves Sesame Street, the color orange, and football.

Mikey has cancer.  He was diagnosed with an unidentifiable form that causes tumors to grow on his brain and spine, and although they’ve sent the pathology to everywhere from Memorial Sloan Kettering to Johns Hopkins, no one can figure out what the tumors are, or how to cure them.

Sorry for bumming you out so early on a Monday morning.  There’s really, REALLY important stuff coming up, I promise.  Just stick with me for a bit.

Anyway, Mikey’s family has been very active in a charity called St. Baldrick’s, which helps communities and volunteers create local fundraisers to benefit kids with cancer.  Recently they’ve been working on a fundraising drive to raise $20,000, culminating in a head-shaving event near their home in Rockaway on September 17th.

Now you’re about to go from being sad to being really, REALLY angry. Like, desk punching, screaming out loud angry.  Warn your coworkers.

Matt saw a post on Facebook about someone stealing some of the money raised for St. Baldrick’s. He reached out to Mikey’s mom, Christine, to find out what happened, and this is part of what she emailed us back:

“Natalie, our Hope is in the (h)Air treasurer, was on the other line. Her dad was doing a great thing today. He was standing outside (in Donagan Hills, SI) collecting donations in a jug for our event, he had bags of stuffed animals and was manning a ‘Take a Toy, Make a Donation’ table! The jug was labeled & had Mikey’s picture on it so everyone knew where the money was going.

He went in the backyard to grab something for a minute and as he was coming out a woman in a car was stuffing both the bags of toys and the donation jug in her car! He started running but she pulled away too quickly! Then she had the nerve to, not only keep the toys and money but to throw the jug with Mikey’s picture and story and our event information out the window like it’s garbage.”

Let’s recap!  This woman:

A) SAW that this was a fundraiser for a kid with cancer

B) Stole all the money from said kid with cancer

C) Stole all the merchandise to ensure that there would be no more raising money for those greedy kids with cancer that day!

D) Felt the need to discard the fundraising information AND the picture of the poor kid who’s dying from incurable cancer because it was obviously taking up WAY too much room in her car, room that could eventually be filled with fur coats made from kittens or black market kidneys.  PLUS the woman discarded these things by

E) Littering.

NOW you guys can punch something! And once you get done with your emotional issues, this is what we’re all going to do:

PHASE #1:  This entire week, Matt and I are donating 50 cents of every cupcake sold at DeKalb Market and 25 cents of every cupcake sold wholesale to the Lograno family’s Hope Is In The (h)Air fundraiser benefiting Mikey and two other local kids who are fighting cancer.

PHASE #2: Every day from now until September 17th, we’ll feature one cupcake at DeKalb that will have 100% of its profits donated to Mikey.

PHASE #3: I’m going to be making calls and asking lots of friends to either contribute a portion of their sales or make a donation to Mikey. So far, Nachos NY has agreed to contribute a portion of their internet sales to the cause.  When I can convince more, I’ll let you know either via Twitter or Facebook, or in my weekly blog posts.

***UPDATE*** Pastry chef extraordinaire Fany Gerson of La Newyorkina will be donated a portion of all her August profits to St. Baldrick’s & Mikey! Go visit her on the Highline or at Hester Street Fair!

***UPDATE*** Granola Lab will be donating bags of their amazing granola for us to sell at DeKalb this weekend, with 100% of the profits going to Mikey’s St. Baldrick’s fundraiser!

PHASE #4: GET INVOLVED. St. Baldrick’s is a volunteer driven charity, meaning they not only will they help you organize a bake sale/supper club/head shavathon/dance-off/fundraiser, but they NEED you to.  Click here to see where the money you can raise will go.

PHASE #5: Help us get the word out about this!  Learn more about Mikey here, here and here.  Mikey and his family need our support, and the entire world needs to know that it’s NOT COOL to steal money and stuffed animals from children with cancer!  Boundaries, people!!!!

I never ask for retweets, reblogs, or anything like that.  But today, I am begging you all.  Help us make this go viral. It is way more important that most of the stuff you’ll be mindlessly clicking through all day.

Today’s special “Cupcake for Mikey” at DeKalb is Chocolate Cashew- chocolate cake with cashew buttercream, roasted cashews and ganache.  Below are the cupcakes that are going to our retail partners.  Please shop, contribute, or do whatever small bit you can from your corner of the world.

And please, the next moment you have, hug your kids or loved ones as tight as you possibly can, and never forget for a single moment just how lucky you really are.

Clockwise from front: The Bluth, Peach Cobbler, Hazelnut Kiss, Estelle Getty

The Bluth: Chocolate banana cake, chocolate buttercream, roasted walnuts, ganache

Peach Cobbler: Peach cake, vanilla buttercream, peach compote, streusel topping

Hazelnut Kiss: Chocolate hazelnut cake, Nutella buttercream, roasted hazelnuts, chocolate chips

Estelle Getty: Almond cake, cheesecake buttercream, crushed Amaretti cookies

AVAILABLE AT:

ROBICELLI’S AT DEKALB MARKET: Flatbush Ave Extension & Willoughby Street, Downtown Brooklyn

CAFE AT SAM’S BAKERY- 94th Street off 3rd Ave, Bay Ridge

BAGEL SCHMAGEL:  Third Avenue btwn Bay Ridge Pkway & 76th Street, Bay Ridge

ALOHA GRINDS: Third Avenue and 77th Street, Bay Ridge

THE CUPCAKE STAND: Fifth Avenue between 60th and 61st, Sunset Park

CRESPELLA CREPE & ESPRESSO BAR- 321 7th Avenue at 9th Street, Park Slope

TAZZA CAFES- Henry off Atlantic and Clark off Henry, Brooklyn Heights

RADISH- Bedford Ave off N8th, Williamsburg

RED HOOK LOBSTER POUND: 284 Van Brunt Street, Red Hook and Roving Food Truck *Whoopie Pies only*

CAKESHOP- Ludlow btwn Stanton & Rivington, Lower East Side 

BATTERY PLACE MARKET:  77 Battery Place, Battery Park City

JOE: COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: West 120th btwn Broadway & Amsterdam, Morningside Heights

Also Available At DeKalb Market:

Cupcakes: Chocolate Cashew (cupcake for Mikey), Bananas Foster, McFadden, Breucklen, Dom DeLuise, All Rotation Flavors

Whoopie Pies: Classic, Pecan Bourbon Butterscotch

Brownies: Classic Sea Salt, Maltz (bourbon-bacon), Moverley (Scotch whiskey espresso walnut), L’Orange Noir (Grand Mariner)

Six days until opening!!!!  Ninety degree weather with 100% humidity and thunderstorms during the last week of buildout!  Heh heh heh heh heh……..I’M NOT FREAKING OUT AT ALL!!!!  HAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!  HA!! HA!!! HA!!!! HAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!

Clockwise from front: Hazelnut Kiss, Coconut Custard, Boston Cream, Strawberry Shortcake

Hazelnut Kiss: Chocolate hazelnut cake, Nutella buttercream, roasted hazelnuts

Coconut Custard: Coconut cake, vanilla custard buttercream, roasted coconut

Boston Cream: Vanilla cake, vanilla custard buttercream, chocolate fudge glaze

Strawberry Shortcake: Vanilla cake, strawberry syrup, mascarpone buttercream, fresh strawberry compote

Available at:

CAFE AT SAM’S BAKERY- 94th Street off 3rd Ave, Bay Ridge

BAGEL SCHMAGEL:  Third Avenue btwn Bay Ridge Pkway & 76th Street, Bay Ridge

CRESPELLA CREPE & ESPRESSO BAR- 321  7th Avenue at 9th Street, Park Slope

TAZZA CAFES- Henry off Atlantic and Clark off Henry, Brooklyn Heights

RADISH- Bedford Ave off N8th, Williamsburg

RED HOOK LOBSTER POUND: 284 Van Brunt Street, Red Hook and Roving Food Truck *Whoopie Pies only*

CAKESHOP- Ludlow btwn Stanton & Rivington, Lower East Side 

BATTERY PLACE MARKET:  77 Battery Place, Battery Park City

JOE: COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY-  W. 120th btwn Broadway & Amsterdam Avenue

We didn’t make our goal.  We were $220 short. (You get to keep the money you raised on IndieGoGo- it’s not like that Kickstarter “All or Nothing” stuff. We are ecstatic right about now)

I am so overcome with emotion and full of words, and when I try to write them down for you all they get all crazy and jumbled and hysterical.  Sure, I get away with that with just about all my posts, but what I need to say to you guys now is just too important for half asleep rambling after a long hard day of work. 

I need a bit for my head to catch up to my heart- it’s having trouble processing it all.  Right now, I’m going to go give my kids one last kiss goodnight, crawl into the arms of the man I love, and fall asleep knowing I have thousands of angels watching over my family.  And tomorrow morning, once Matt goes out on deliveries, the kids are playing with their toys, the coffee has been made and I have taken all of this in to the point where I can articulate it better, then I’m going to write about this weekend. I’ll announce on Twitter and Facebook when it’s up.

In the meantime- it’s Monday morning, so get your asses to work! And maybe pick up one of these flavors if you need a pick me up.

Love you guys. :)

Clockwise from front: Rue McClanahan, Hazelnut Kiss, Pecan French Toast, S’Mores

RUE MCCLANAHAN:  Peach cake, cheesecake buttercream, spiced peach compote

HAZELNUT KISS:  Chocolate hazelnut cake, Nutella buttercream, roasted hazelnuts

PECAN FRENCH TOAST:  Maple custard soaked cinnamon cake, maple-cinnamon buttercream, candied pecans

S’MORES:  Chocolate cake, speculoos pudding, toasted marshmallow buttercream, ganache, crushed graham crackers

SIDE NOTE: Good news! The refrigeration at Qathra has been repaired, meaning we’re back, Ditmas Park!!!!

AVAILABLE AT

Cafe at Sam’s Bakery: 94th street off Third Avenue, Bay Ridge

Tazza Cafes: Clark Street off Henry AND Henry St off Atlantic, Brooklyn Heights

Crespella: Seventh Avenue off 9th Street, Park Slope

The Cupcake Stand: Fifth Avenue between 60th and 61st, Sunset Park

Qathra:  1112 Cortelyou Road, Ditmas Park

Radish: Bedford Avenue off N. 8th, Williamsburg

Cake Shop: Ludlow Street between Stanton and Rivington, Lower East Side

Schnitzel and Things: Third Avenue between 44th and 45th, Midtown

Joe- Columbia: Broadway & 120th Street, Morningside Heights

*Note: Not all locations receive all flavors.  The flavors recieved are determined by each store’s management, not by us.  If there’s something in the upcoming rotation you want to see, let them know directly

Rue has come back from the vault!!!  As you may have noticed, I love the Golden Girls to the point where I truly have no words to describe it.  And even thought it’s a new flavor week, I’m leading with Rue so I could put a picture of her up at the top of the page.  My GOD she is just phenomenally stunning- I should be so lucky to be that gorgeous as I grow older.  Our Bea Arthur is one of our oldest and most popular cupcakes, but I feel we really haven’t brought the Rue out enough to give it the love it deserves- odd since Blanche is my hero.  I hope Matt lives to be a million, but if by chance I do one day find myself a widow, after a proper length of mourning I hope to be banging as many hot, wealthy cardiologists as I possibly can.

And yes- it’s a NEW FLAVOR WEEK!!!  Introducing the Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel: our moist chocolate cake topped with velvety peanut butter buttercream, rolled in a mixture of crushed up pretzels and peanuts.  We sneak-previewed this one at Park Here a few weekends ago and sold out in a matter of hours, with some people coming back for boxes of them to take home.  This ones a winner, folks.  Hope you all enjoy it.  :)

Clockwise from front: Wild Maine Blueberry Cobbler, Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel, Hazelnut Kiss, Rue McClanahan

FLAVORS:

NEW!!!! CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER PRETZEL:  Chocolate cake, peanut butter buttercream, crushed pretzels and peanuts

RUE MCCLANAHAN:  Peach cake, cheesecake buttercream, peach compote

WILD MAINE BLUEBERRY COBBLER:  Vanilla cake, blueberry syrup, vanilla buttercream, wild Maine blueberries, cobbler crumbs

HAZELNUT KISS:  Chocolate hazelnut cake, Nutella buttercream, roasted hazelnuts

______________________________

Available Thursday at:

CAFE AT SAM’S BAKERY- 94th Street off 3rd Ave, Bay Ridge

HOM- Third Avenue & 88th Street, Bay Ridge

BLUE APRON FOODS- Union St. off 7th Ave, Park Slope

CRESPELLA CREPE & ESPRESSO BAR- 321  7th Avenue at 9th Street, Park Slope

MARKET- Cortelyou Road btwn Westminster & Argyle, Ditmas Park

FARMACY- Corner of Henry & Sackett Streets, Carroll Gardens

FLYING SAUCER CAFE- Atlantic Ave btwn 3rd Ave & Nevins St, Boerum Hill

TAZZA CAFES- Henry off Atlantic and Clark off Henry, Brooklyn Heights

BEDFORD HILL:  Corner of Franklin & Greene, Bed Stuy/Clinton Hill

______________________________

Available Friday at:

RADISH- Bedford Ave off N8th, Williamsburg

EASTERN DISTRICT- Manhattan Ave off N8th Eagle St, Greenpoint

BROOKLYN STANDARD:  Nassau Ave & Jewel St, Greenpoint

CAKESHOP- Ludlow btwn Stanton & Rivington, Lower East Side

LILY O’BRIEN’S AT BRYANT PARK-  E40th btwn 5th and 6th, Midtown

THE BROOKLYNEER-  220 West Houston btwn 6th & 7th Avenues, West Village

Also: Wild Maine Blueberry Cupcakes available at

Red Hook Lobster Pound

284 Van Brunt Street -AND- The Brooklyn Flea @ One Hanson Place

Clockwise from bottom left:  The Bluth, Tiramisu, Hazelnut Kiss, PB & Strawberry J

Oh boy, news!  Lots of stuff going on!  So much content!  Brain shorting out!  ACK! Cliff Notes version before bed- extensive posts to come!

Valentine’s Day:  Note the tab up at the top of the page- our Valentine’s menu is up!  Haven’t typed up all the details yet because I’ve been mad short on time this week, but the flavors are posted.  We’re doing a limited number of in-person deliveries that day since we’re doing a wedding that night, so early bird gets the worm on private orders!  You can also preorder either dozens or smaller amounts through all our Monday retail partners (Sam’s, Market, Crespella, Tazza, Lily’s, Cakeshop & Radish)

Hot Josh:  If you follow us on Twitter (which we know you do because that’s where all the cool kids hang out), you would have seen the ridiculous cupcake we developed over the weekend, “The Hot Josh”, aka the Buffalo chicken cupcake.  Our longtime fans will recognize it as the cupcake Matt and I have been arguing over since October of ‘09, newer fans may recognize it from it’s mention in our Food Curated video.  Well, it’s finally coming, at our………….

Pop-Up Shop: We’ll be back this Saturday from 11-6 for the closing weekend of Park Here (201 Mulberry Street).  Once again we’ll be pulling out some of our favorite flavors that we don’t send to stores, including our infamous Chicken n’Waffles.

FAQS:  We’ve finally added an FAQ tab to the top of the page.  If there’s a question you’d like to ask us, just shoot us an email and we’ll add it!

And finally…………FLAVORS!

The Bluth:  Chocolate banana cake, chocolate buttercream, ganache, roasted walnuts

Tiramisu:  Espresso soaked cake, espresso ganache, mascarpone buttercream, cocoa powder

Hazelnut Kiss:  Chocolate hazelnut cake, Nutella buttercream, roasted hazelnuts

PB & Strawberry J:  Vanilla cake, strawberry jam, peanut butter buttercream, roasted peanuts

AVAILABLE MONDAY AT:

Crespella:  7th Ave off 9th St, Park Slope

Market:  Cortelyou Road btwn Westminster & Arglye, Ditmas Park

Tazza Cafes:  Clark St off Henry AND Henry St off Atlantic, Brooklyn Heights

Radish:  N8th & Bedford Ave, Williamsburg

Cake Shop:  152 Ludlow St, Lower East Side

Lily O’Brien’s at Bryant Park:  E. 40th St btwn 5th & 6th Ave, Midtown Manhattan

I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year’s, and that you’re already succeeding at your resolutions!  Except if that resolution was to eat fewer sweets, in which case we hope you fail miserably, or at least make an exception for our cupcakes. 

On the topic of weight loss and cupcakes, here’s a totally true story.  One of our oldest customers happens to a regional director for Weight Watchers, and used to come into our old store every weekend with her family for a cupcake.  We were actually really surprised when we found out where she worked, because quite frankly, she was one of our best customers and most enthusiastic supporters when we began to do cupcakes.  Then she shared something we found quite suprising- our cupcakes helped keep her ON her diet.  It was a treat she looked forward to every week, and knowing that our flavors changed every week, she had to come in and try each one when it was released.  Any time she’d be tempted to eat mindlessly- a few packaged cookies or a cheap packaged cake- she’d remind herself that she could either eat those or save the “points” for one of our cupcakes that weekend.  And she said that the wait every week was totally worth it.

One Saturday, she walked in with her husband and daughters, sat at a table and watched them all buy cupcakes while she just scowled.  Then her family proceeded to eat them in front of her, exclaiming “Oh my God!  This is the best flavor ever! ” while she began to scowl even more (I think it actually went from scowling to full-on glowering).  We asked her where her cupcake was, she looked at us with the most pathetic puppy dog eyes we’d ever seen, and said “I had a handful of chips on Tuesday!”. 

From then on, we saw her every weekend with cupcake in hand, and then once the store closed she’s been getting a cupcake at Hom every Thursday.  And she’s lost 20 lbs and kept it off.  I never thought we’d be part of someone’s diet regiment, but there you are.  It fits perfectly into our philosophy- all good things, but in moderation.  And if you are going to invest the calories into a dessert, that dessert better be worth it.  Do you really want to spend your calories on something reduced fat that you’re going to forget you ate in five minutes, or want to forget you ate?  If you’re bothering going in, go ALL IN.

Now-flavors!  Fall and holiday flavors have returned to the vault for another year, so we’re back to classics!

Dark Chocolate Dulce:  Dark chocolate cake, dulce de leche buttercream, dark chocolate ganache, Maldon sea salt

PB & Grape J:  Vanilla cake, grape jelly, peanut butter buttercream, roasted peanuts

Bananas Foster:  Banana cake, rum-salted caramel buttercream & drizzle

Hazelnut Kiss:  Chocolate hazelnut cake, Nutella buttercream, roasted hazelnuts

AVAILABLE MONDAY AT:

Market:  1211 Cortelyou Roast, Ditmas Park

Crespella:  7th Ave off 9th St, Park Slope

Tazza Cafes:  Clark St off Henry AND Henry St off Atlantic, Brooklyn Heights

Radish:  N8th & Bedford Ave, Williamsburg

Cake Shop:  152 Ludlow St, Lower East Side

Lily O’Brien’s at Bryant Park:  E. 40th St btwn 5th & 6th Ave, Midtown Manhattan