Robicelli's

Flavors: Wednesday, December 14th

I know the Tumblr is crazy late today.  Last night I came home, collapsed into bed and just watched the lights on my Christmas tree.  Atticus was up, too.  He said he stayed up in his bed til I got home because he loves me and he misses me.  Of course, after he says this I start crying.  Then he starts petting my head and saying “It’s ok Mommy! Don’t cry- I’m right here! It’s ok!”.  

This, of course, makes me cry more.

With all the craziness of the holiday season- with the gift buying and running from market to market to dealing with extended family and making travel arrangements and whatever you start to think that the holidays are meant to kill you.  Then you have moments like that where you realize that the holidays are about nothing more than taking a little step back from the insanity of your life, looking around, and realizing not what you want, but what you already have.  And I am an incredibly lucky person.

Now to today’s flavors.  Today’s sort of special to me, because as we’ve made many cupcakes that touched on “traditional” Christmas flavors, most of those things were never found at my house growing up.  Now while those of us who were born and raised in Brooklyn know about American Christmas traditions from tv and pop culture, our neighborhoods were divided into ethnic enclaves where we held strong to the traditions of the old world, regardless of when our families arrived from there.

At my Sicilian grandmother’s house, I don’t think we ever had a turkey, or eggnog, or gingerbread.  But we DID have lasagna, red wine, orange flavored chocolates and panforte.  Panforte is a sort of chocolate fruitcake/candy hybrid that is not remotely like the fruitcakes we all joke about.  It’s so rich that only a small slice will do.  And it’s wonderful.

My mother’s parents came here to escape the Nazis in occupied Norway.  For Christmas, my bestemor made “Riskrem”- rice cream.  Now, the Persians and Mexicans and whomever else can talk about how great their rice pudding is, and yes, it’s delicious- but Norway OWNS rice pudding, and nobody realizes it.  The secret? Once they make the pudding, they fold in an equal amount of whipped cream.  And yes, it’s ever better than you’re thinking it is right now.

Riskrem is made in a giant pot, then one solitary almond is mixed in, and whomever gets it has good luck for an entire year, AND gets a marzipan pig! I got the pig when I was 8, and let me tell you, marizpan? Tastes like VICTORY.

Today we have a chocolate and mascarpone cake topped with a sliver of homemade panforte for you to try, and another topped with riskrem and some almonds so you’ll all have good luck in the New Year.  If you like them, maybe you can make them into traditions for your family in the years ahead.  

That was pretty much the best part of growing up in Brooklyn.  We had all our own cultures, but we got to have all our friends cultures, too.  And that was a lot more interesting than the tradition of holiday red velvet milk. (it’s red flavored!)

Clockwise from front: Chocolate Orange, Creme Brulee, Chocolate Panforte, Riskrem

NEW! Chocolate Panforte: Chocolate Cake, Mascarpone Buttercream, Homemade Italian Panforte

Riskrem: Vanilla cake, rice pudding buttercream, roasted almonds

Creme Brulee: Vanilla cake, vanilla custard buttercream, caramelized sugar

Chocolate Orange: Chocolate orange cake & buttercream, candied orange peel

Available at:

Robicelli’s at the Union Square Holiday Market: Booth Number C34

Robicelli’s at DeKalb Market: 138 Willoughby Street, Downtown Brooklyn

Hom: 88th & 3rd, Bay Ridge

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

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

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

Jem: Broadway off Franklin, TriBeCa

Battery Place Market: 77 Battery Place, Battery Park City

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

Brooklyneer: 220 West Houston Street, West Village

Red Hook Lobster Pound (whoopie pies only)

Flavors: Monday, September 26th

Sooo…..there’s no WiFi at Madison Square Eats. Meaning that I can’t spend all day screwing around on the internet and avoiding actual work! WTF!!!

The good news is this will force me to finish the proposal edits that I’ve been skirting around for weeks. I’m supposed to be writing the intro chapter that tells the whole story of Robicelli’s in a nutshell and have been totally, utterly, hopelessly stuck.  I mean- it’s just writing a concise version of my life story that will be on the record in print forever and ever for anyone to read, defining my entire marriage, career, and the 31 years I have been on the planet thusfar!  What could be remotely intimidating about that?!?!?!

Do me a favor- if you see me in the next week or so (which I hope you will)- kick my ass a little bit on this, will you? I’ve worked to hard to have a real shot to write a cookbook, and I can’t slack on my dreams because I’m scared or nervous.  Plus my family are all expecting copies for Christmas 2014, and if I don’t finish the book I’m actually going to have to BUY them stuff instead.

Also, with limited access to the internet, Facebook updates on the Robicelli’s page will be scarcer- but I’ll still have full access to Twitter through my Blackberry so you’ll be able to keep up with the goings on down on our corner of 25th and 5th. And I more than likely will not be posting the days flavors for Madison/DeKalb on Tumblr either, as I’m pretty much getting home each night and collapsing into bed, and spending any free time where I’m awake with my children, overcompensating for the fact I work too much and therefore believe I’m a terrible mother (I’m probably not terrible- but I’m a woman and therefore I can’t be happy with anything I do).  Just know the rotation is always going to be there, as well as other Robicelli’s signatures like whoopies and brownies.

Honestly- better than interacting with us on the internet? Interacting with us in person.  Come to Madison or DeKalb soon- we love meeting you guys.  And apologies if I fall asleep mid conversation- I honestly am drinking as much coffee as I possibly can to keep up with all of this.  I swear.

Clockwise from front: The Julia, Car Bomb, Coconut Bliss, Tres Leches

The Julia: Pear brandy cake, brandy buttercream, brandy snap cookie

Car Bomb: Chocolate Guinness stout cake, Bailey’s buttercream, Jameson whiskey ganache

Coconut Bliss: Coconut almond cake, coconut buttercream, roasted almond, ganache

Tres Leches: Three milk soaked brown butter cake, dulce de leche buttercream, caramel shards

Available at:

Robicelli’s at DeKalb Market:  Flatbush Avenue Extension & Willoughby Street, Downtown Brooklyn

Robicelli’s at Madison Square Eats: Corner of 25th Street & 5th Avenue

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

Aloha Grinds: 76th Street and 3rd Avenue, Bay Ridge

Bagel Schmagel: 76th Street and 3rd Avenue, Bay Ridge

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

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

Cake Shop: Ludlow Street btwn Stanton & Rivington, LES

Brooklyneer: 220 West Houston Street, West Village

Battery Place Market: 77 Battery Place, Battery Park City

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

Queen City Cupcakes (Closed Monday- Flavors for Tuesday):  62 West Main Street, Patchouge, Long Island 

Red Hook Lobster Pound: 284 Van Brunt Street, Red Hook (Whoopie Pies Only)