Robicelli's

I’ve been intending to write more blog posts about the behind-the-scenes goings on regarding our upcoming cookbook for a while, since I’m asked so many questions about how it all comes together (it’s actually incredibly interesting, which makes you wonder why I haven’t spoken about this earlier and rather have posted an ungodly amount of cute animal photos instead. Then again who needs to question baby animals on the internet- those are always appropriate!).

One thing I’ve been terrified about is making a mistake. I’ve got hundreds of cookbooks in my collection, and I’d say nearly all of them have a typo, or  an accidental omission, or some other sort of error. I never understood how or why this would happen- you figure that the people at major publishing houses are some sort of insane type-A sorcerers who would make sure these things would never happen, right? And certainly many of you out there must feel the same way- go look up some cookbooks on Amazon and read the anonymous customer reviews. So many frowny face emoticons!

Well that sure as hell isn’t going to happen to OUR book! I went over our book with a fine toothed comb, as did the good people at Penguin/Viking Studio, and then finally our copyeditor. After all of that, it was sent back to me for a once over before we go to print.  This is what I got in the mail:

Yep. A year of writing and editing, followed by months of more edits, re-reads, revisions, and there she is- our cookbook! To get a better scope of this:

Two hundred and seventy five pages. That’s what a lot of coffee and not sleeping for weeks on end will get you.  And with all the work we all did, those pages came back flawless, right?

Blurred to keep you in suspense! And also to keep this blog PG- there’s some drawings of boobs in the margins.

Two hundred and seventy five pages of corrections, edits, and “other”. This leads me to understand one thing- copyeditors are superheroes. I must have been over this manuscript about 50 times, my agent has been over it, and many, many hands have touched it over at Penguin, namely my editor and her amazing assistant. And still, we find things to tweak here and there- ways to make instructions clearer, jokes funnier, stories tighter. 

What’s even more amazing to me is that with all the hard work I put into this book, how hard I tried to make it perfect, it STILL ended up being 275 pages riddled with little mistakes.  Invisible to Matt, myself- probably everyone except our superhuman copyeditor, and of course to the worlds absolutely highest authority- anyone who would have inevitably reviewed it on Amazon. 

Lesson learned: cut all the cookbooks in my collection some slack, because this crap is HARD. I didn’t even take into account getting an agent, or writing a proposal, or shopping the book around, or writing the book, or rewriting it after I decided the first draft sucked, or developing the recipes, or photographing and styling the cupcakes, or any of the other stuff I know I’m forgetting.  I’m basing this all on the past 8 hours sitting over a cup of coffee with this manuscript, pouring over small print, reading and rereading every single word, wondering why they don’t just go ahead and start serving bourbon at Starbucks already because people like me would gladly triple their stock value off that fact alone.

So I forgive you, all the cookbooks I’ve been mean to! I didn’t know how rough you had it! And all of you out there- go forgive some of your cookbooks, too. Tell them you know they’re doing their best. Then maybe go leave them a nice little something over on Amazon- that peanut gallery can be pretty brutal.

But before any of that, go grab cupcakes- it’s the first appearance of our seasonal spring cupcake Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp! And personal favorite Blueberry Blintz is back from the vault as well for the first time in what feels like ages - I should put that on the menu more often. Mental note made. If you have other suggestions what should go on our menu for the next few months, hit me up on Facebook and let me know!

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

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

Bananas Foster: Banana cake, salted caramel rum buttercream and drizzle

Blueberry Blintz: Brown sugar cake, sour cream bavarian filling and buttercream, blueberries, toasted almonds

IT’S SAINT PATRICK’S WEEKEND!

Down here in Bay Ridge this is pretty much our biggest holiday of the year- so much we block off two entire weekends to celebrate it (come see our parade on the 24th!). Matt and I will be celebrating in the most traditional way possible:

OLD SKOOL PEOPLE. Reppin’ for the LES 1890 what what!!!

If that’s to X-TREME for you, we’ve got soda bread in select stores (call first) and are offering it on mail order all month long. We’ve also got our annual St. Patty’s cupcake menu out there, as always filled with booze, because the Scotch-Irish one of us loves promoting stereotypes.

Before you all go running out into the street like madmen scooping them all up, let’s take a moment to enjoy a traditional Irish tune:

Drink responsibly everyone! And have a very happy St. Patty’s! We’ll see you back here on Monday to start talking about Easter/Passover ordering.

Soda Bread: Soda bread cupcake, clotted cream buttercream, Drambuie soaked golden raisins

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

Irish Coffee: Bailey’s espresso cake and buttercream, crushed chocolate espresso beans

Brooklyn Brown Ale: Brown ale cupcake, ale and toffee buttercream, crueshed chocolate espresso beans (made with Brooklyn Brewery Brown Ale)

THE WORLD IS GOING TO END!!!! EVERYBODY GO OUT AND BUY ALL THE BOTTLED WATER, BATTERIES, CUPCAKES AND BOURBON YOU CAN!!!!

Thank you, New York Daily News, for reminding us about the trye potential horrors of this storm- FROZEN SQUIRRELS.

Because we want to make sure that if you have cupcakes to keep you happy while you’re trapped inside during the Snowtorious B.I.G. or whatever ridiculous thing they’re calling it on Foursquare at this point, we are hitting the road before dawn today, meaning as you read this there are more than likely cupcakes close to you right now. And other people could be out there stocking up on them, and by the time you get to the store all that will be left is canned mushrooms and expired Tang. Moral of the story is that you should totally blow off your job right now and start panicking, because we need to have PRIORITIES at a time like this!

Know what’s going to make this blizzard extra special? It ALSO happens to be Chinese New Year. Meaning that two of the cupcakes out today are of the once a year, get them before someone else does because you won’t see them again til the Year of the Horse flavors. Come Monday we get to our once a year Mardi Gras flavors, then Valentine’s Day with more limited edition flavors and our one night only dessert pop-up at the Owl’s Head. You should probably be planning your upcoming menus around all that news while you’re trying to figure out what to make with the 14 jars of relish and dried beans that are left at the supermarket.

NOW BACK TO PANICKING, AND FLAVORS!!!

Green Tea Mandarin: Mandarin orange cake, matcha buttercream, honey glazed mandarin orange

The Francis Lam: Black sesame cake, vanilla buttercream, white and dark sesame seeds

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

Oatmeal Cream Pie: Brown sugar oat cake, marshmallow buttercream, oat crisp

I’ve been sorta crappy at my life these past few weeks as my book deadline has approached- not sleeping, eating tons of junk, ignoring my kids, half-assing the blog, not acting like an idiot on Twitter. It’s been all stress and writing all the time, with occasional breaks to go to the doctor.

Most of all, I’ve been bummed that I haven’t been able to do more for Sandy Relief since this book has totally owned me (and you guys BETTER buy it with what I’ve been through! [shakes fist]), and I’ve been physically rehabbing from the accident in October. I know I’m one person, I’m not superhuman, that some people have told me that I’ve done enough, but I still don’t feel like it. I still feel sad and worthless against Sandy, still feel heartbroken for all my friends I see on Facebook struggling every single day.  We own a bakery- we’re not saving the world. 

Then good people like you give me perspective and remind me why we do this in the first place. We’re featured again on Fab.com this week- we’re selling hot cocoa, not rebuilding houses or counseling people. Last night I got this letter:

That’s the nicest letter anyone has ever sent me. I know how much food means to me- how every time I miss my grandmother I go have linguine at New Corner and don’t feel sad anymore, or how my heart is totally broken over the news that Hinsch’s is closing for good and will probably become something awful like an Arby’s, or how I ate a cake a day during the holidays because they were KILLING ME.  I got into food to make people happy, and sometimes between all the invoices and paperwork and other glamorous stuff, I forget we are actually responsible for some of those amazing moments ourselves. 

So now- let’s stop being sad and start being awesome again!

This Saturday, there’s TWO things you can do. First is a series of walks in Sandy-affected neighborhoods- “rallies”, really- that are raising awareness of how badly the government has failed our neighbors, and pleading for support. You can participate in Brooklyn (Coney & Gerritsen), Queens (Rockaway), Staten Island, Long Island, and four spots in New Jersey. Click on the flyer above to go to their Facebook page and learn more!

The second event Matt and I will be in attendance for- Shame on Sandy at Highline Stages. Tickets are expensive (and almost gone), BUT you’ll be eating food from Mario Batali, Michael White, April Bloomfield, Daniel Boulud, Eric Ripert, Jonathan Waxman and more of the best chefs in all of America. It’s a bargain when you think of it that way, AND 100% of the proceeds are going to the Mayor’s Fund. 

And today, go get some cupcakes or hot cocoa or brownies, and make yourself happy. You probably deserve it- I’m sure of it.

Oatmeal Cream Pie: Brown sugar oat cake, marshmallow buttercream, oat crisp

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

Butterbrew: Butterscotch soaked cake, butterscotch buttercream, edible gold dust

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

I had a great post written up, talking about the future and it’s potential, the tenacity of the human spirit and what we can accomplish, and the great things we all have coming to us in 2013- FAR better than the things we had in 2012.

Then I found out Kim Kardashian is pregnant with Kanye West’s baby. Huh. So, um, Happy New Year? Go America? 

May this year be better than the last. U-S-A! U-S-A!

Flavors: 

I already posted this on our Facebook page, but I wanted to make sure EVERYONE saw it, because it’s just so goshdarn charming.

I (Allison) have been the defacto voice of this company for ages, since I’m the one who writes the Tumblr and the Twitter and answers all the emails. And yes, people think I’m just hilariously brilliant (Oh, STOP it! No, really, STOOOOP it….you’re too much!), but oftentimes they don’t realize that Matt is just as hilarious. In fact, that’s what made me fall in love with him in the first place- and makes me fall in love with him even more every day we’re together, almost 8 years later.

After our film was shown at the Food Film Festival Matt got up and talked for a minute, and charmed the pants out of everyone in the room. And no, this isn’t a routine- this is just my husband. My funny, brilliant, handsome husband.

I don’t blame you if you’re jealous.

And he bakes, too! Tonight he made brownies, whoopie pies, loaf cakes and these cupcakes you see here!

Clockwise from front: Car Bomb, Pecan Pie, Pecan Potato Chip, Tarte Bourdaloue

Tarte Bourdeloue: Pear cake, almond buttercream, white wine poached pear, roasted almonds

Pecan Pie: Pecan molasses cake, vanilla buttercream, molasses glazed pecans

Pecan Potato Chip: Potato chip cake, vanilla buttercream, roasted pecans, potato chips, salted butterscotch

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

WE WON “BEST MADE IN NY FILM” AT THE FOOD FILM FESTIVAL! AHHHHH!

Well, actually, WE didn’t win it. The filmmaker Alison Grasso won it, since she “did all the work” or something like that. 

Considering there were so many amazing NYC based films presented this weekend, this is an INSANE honor- especially that now there’s been a film about us featured two years running.  We love that so many of you enjoy watching us be idiots (and eat sandwiches) on camera, that you sold out the screening, and you’ve chosen us for the prestigious Slooted Spoon Award.

It’s BEAUTIFUL!

In total seriousness, the AMC Village Cinemas was a big hangout for my back in the 90s when I was in high school. Thinking that one day they would be showing a film about me and my future husband, that the movie would sell out the entire theater, AND that it would win an award over the hundreds of other films submitted? Do you understand how utterly surreal this is for me? I am so incredibly grateful for all of this.

If anyone wants to make a film about us for the 2013 Food Film Festival just let us know - apparently we’re good luck! Maybe we can finally get someone to animate Let’s Bake the Whole Thing Off.

If you didn’t get to the festival this weekend to see the film- well, it’s not up on the internet yet, but I promise you I’ll post it the second it becomes available.

And now……FLAVORS! The much lusted after Car Bomb has returned- go get your before they’re all gone!

Clockwise from front: Blueberry Cobbler, Pecan Potato Chip, Car Bomb, Sweet Potato Pie

Pecan Potato Chip: Potato chip cake, vanilla buttercream, roasted pecans, potato chips, salted butterscotch

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

Sweet Potato Pie: Sweet potato cake, vanilla buttercream, glazed pecans

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

I totally spazzed on writing the Tumblr Wednesday, and even though my last post was about us crossing the 30k mark I figured nobody would notice. Then I called my mom today and the first thing she says is “WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TUMBLR?!?!!”. So, I’m sorry. And all of you can sleep easy now that you know that my mom is totally on top of this.

Why did I skip writing the Tumblr? Because I was working on getting our Thanksgiving ordering together. Yes, THANKSGIVING. I know we’re barely out of September, but over here at the Robicelli’s camp we need to plan ahead. Right now, we’re putting the finishing touches on our hot cocoa packaging so it’ll be ready for store shelves when the temperature drops, designing new loaf cake flavors for the holidays (and debating the legality of our fruitcake since it’s 5% fruit and 95% bourbon), and getting our baked goods packaged for the holiday markets (yup! Just because we’re not personally going to be there doesn’t mean our stuff won’t be- stay tuned for news on that!).

I’ve already started listening to Christmas music on Pandora to sort of get me amped up for all of this, which I could potentially be a very dumb move as I’ll be sick of it before Columbus Day. I find it hard to believe that with over 100 years of popular music, and far longer with traditional music, there are exactly 10 Christmas songs that are played over and over and over again. Luckily for me, through the power of Facebook, this past year I got to reconnect with an old friend from Stuyvesant High School- Liz Chan.

Back in high school Liz was the only 15 year old I knew with a major label record deal. She grew up not to be a musician, but a media executive. And while most people would envy a girl who ended up being an exec at places like MTV and Conde Nast, she always regretted not following her dream- writing a world famous Christmas song.  

Isn’t that the best dream ever? Creating something that will make people smile year after year? I mean, Matt’s #1 lifelong dream was to eat at a real Pizza Hut with a full salad bar. I really wish I was joking about that.

Aaaaannnnd this is a pretty spot-on representation of how I felt through the fulfilling of said lifelong dream.

Last September, Liz managed to snag a spot on Failure Club, the web documentary from genre-master Morgan Spurlock. In the past year, she committed to writing a Christmas song every single day, quit her job at Conde to follow her dream (seriously), and this week, released her first five songs on iTunes.

Am I plugging this project just because she’s an old friend? No. I’m plugging it because I listened to track one, “A Christmas Song”, and I CAN’T GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD. And it would be nice if you all knew the song, because then I won’t look so crazy for singing it incessantly.

Also, if it becomes a hit, then maybe we’ll convince the radio to start playing it instead of that infernal “Christmas Shoes”. Oh man, I hate that song so freaking much. Christmas should be a time of love, compassion and good feelings- not a time where I think of tracking down whatever suck-ass band wrote that song and breaking their kneecaps. 

Go check out Liz’s vastly superior Christmas carol, then check out these cupcakes. They’re perfect for when you want to eat your feelings because you thought about a song where they kill a little boys mom just so some self centered jerk can learn the true meaning of Christmas.

*sniff*

Clockwise from front: S’Mores, Pumpkin Spice Latte, Pecan Pie, Car Bomb

Pumpkin Spice Latte: Pumpkin cake, espresso mascarpone buttercream, fall spiced ground chocolate covered espresso beans

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

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

Pecan Pie: Pecan molasses cake, vanilla buttercream, glazed pecans

I’m actually going to talk about stuff that pertains to the business today!

I’m super serious, Shut Up Cat! And I’ve missed you. It’s been a while.

Seriously, this cat needs to learn to watch his friggin mouth otherwise I’m going to start blogging with manatees or otters or something. I’ve already got two cats at home that look at me like I’m an idiot on a daily basis, I don’t need a third.

Now that I’ve effectively threatened a picture of a cat, we can move onto talking about the business.  Which I know is the real reason we now have over 16,000 direct subscribers- FACTS and SOLID CONTENT. Not crap like this.

#1: We’ve been asked to join Food Network’s NYC Food & Wine Festival this year! Friday, October 12th, we’ll be presenting various cupcakes, whoopie pies, brownies and more at SWEET, hosted by Sandra Lee. Tickets to this event sell out quickly every year, so get yours as soon as you possibly can!

#2: Like food events, but think SWEET is just too, well, sweet? Maybe you want to spend your hard earned cash on something that can only be described as the single most awesome food event that has ever existed?!?! 

For the third straight year, we are super stoked to be a part of MEATOPIA! We will more than likely once again be in the VIP section, providing the all important service of giving people a sweets break to cleanse their palate, thereby allowing them to eat MORE MEAT.

Seriously, we do lots of great events- but this one always, hands down, is my favorite. Rodney Scott is going to be there, and that man could seriously change your life with the awesome power of barbecue. I still have sexy dreams about the pig he slow roasted last year. Very, very sexy dreams. Fortunately, my husband is totally cool with my choosing slow roasted meats over him, which is why our marriage works.

Tickets go on sale next week, and cost quite a bit, but are so unbelievably worth it. Make some calls, get some friends together, and make plans to see us there. As a bonus, it would be a really spectacular Father’s Day gift if you don’t have one yet. Or….

#3: You can come to our shop at DeKalb Market on Sunday, where we’ll have a limited amount of both our Bourbon Bacon brownies AND our Sixpoint Brownstone Ale brownies. We’re baking them Saturday and will have them in the shop the moment they’re ready, so keep your eye on Twitter and Facebook to find out when they’ve arrived.  You can also email me at allison at robicellis dot com if you want to preorder some for pick-up.  AND we’ve also got the Sixpoint cupcake in stock this weekend as well as the Car Bombs, which are without question two of our top-five manliest cupcakes. The others are the Elvis, the Chicken n’Waffles, and the Bea Arthur. Dudes freaking LOVE Bea Arthur.

I mean, who wouldn’t?

#4: Now sad news: Bergdorf Goodman is doing some renovations, meaning that Bar 5F is closing, meaning today is the last day you’ll be able to get our cupcakes there for a while. We’ll hopefully be returning to another part of the store soon and of course will let you all know when it happens. In the meantime, head on up there and say your final goodbyes to Bar 5F! *sniff* We’ll miss you!

#5: It’s now time for me to write the rotation schedule for July, so get your requests into me either on Twitter or Facebook by the end of today! I always do my best to make all of you happy. Like with these four you requested last month!

Clockwise from front: Pecan Potato Chip, Car Bomb, Sixpoint Brownstone, Blueberry Blintz

Blueberry Blintz: Brown sugar cake, sour cream bavarian filling and buttercream, blueberries, roasted almonds

Pecan Potato Chip: Potato chip cake, vanilla buttercream, roasted pecans, potato chips, salted butterscotch

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

Sixpoint Brownstone: Sixpoint brownstone ale cake, Sixpoint toffee buttercream, crushed chocolate espresso beans

Short post today, because I have to be at a conference at 8:30am tomorrow. I seriously don’t know how your morning people do it. I also don’t know what good can come of me talking business to anyone at 8:30am. I don’t speak in anything but low growls til at least 10am, and there’s always a chance of me biting someone before noon. Why can’t more people want to meet up at 3am when I’m doing my best work? 

Wanted to quickly share something with all of you though, because it’s a new discovery that I’m super stoked about. The first customer at DeKalb yesterday was a sitcom writer, who’s credits include such classics as Will and Grace and SAVED BY THE FREAKING BELL. We started talking about comedy, and both agreed that the funniest show on television right now by far is Phineas and Ferb (if you don’t know, now you know).  

She informed me the reason it’s so amazing is because Disney is intentionally giving comedy writers almost complete creative freedom to push boundaries and make really brilliant, quirky stuff, and is attracting the best writers in the business for their future programming (who knew?). Then she told me about this show debuting Friday called “Gravity Falls”, which she said is one of the funniest things she’s ever seen on tv, and described it as Twin Peaks meets Monty Python-esque absurdism in cartoon form.  

Obviously this sounds like the greatest thing I’ve ever heard of in my entire life and I needed all of you to know, because if this is even 5% as awesome as I’m expecting I’m going to be quoting it incessantly and want you all to be able to understand what I’m talking about.  I’ve been making obscure Simpsons references for ages now, and suddenly I’m encountering “adults” who don’t remember the golden age of that show BECAUSE THEY WERE THREE WHEN IT HAPPENED. Perhaps by hitching my wagon to this Gravity Falls number I’ll seem a bit more “hip” and “with it”.

So let’s all get excited together- maybe we can live-tweet it this Friday? I mean, you guys sit home on Friday nights to watch cartoons too, right? 

Clockwise from front: Banana Cream Pie, Butterbeer, Blueberry Blintz, Car Bomb

Banana Cream Pie: Banana cake, vanilla custard, custard buttercream, banana chip, graham cracker crumbs

Butterbeer: Butterscotch soaked cake, butterscotch buttercream, edible gold dust

Blueberry Blintz: Brown sugar cake, sour cream bavarian filling and buttercream, blueberries, slivered almonds

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

I’ve got no blogging juju today guys. Sorry. The weather’s just been so humid and gross that I can’t spare one precious brain cell for writing, because I need every single one focusing on keeping my hair from looking incredibly stupid. If I get distracted for even a second, I will go straight from sleek sophisticated woman-about-town directly to “homeless electrocuted poodle”. And no one wants to see that.

To make it up to you, here’s a video of Steve Martin playing the banjo on the Muppet Show. 

And in case that wasn’t enough to make it up to you, how about these cupcakes right here? Will they do?

Clockwise from front: Car Bomb, Creamsicle, Banana Cream Pie, Strawberry Shortcake

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

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

Banana Cream Pie: Banana cake, vanilla custard, custard buttercream, banana chip, graham cracker crumbs

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

Visit our store at DeKalb Market, or find a Robicelli’s Retail Partner nearest you.

You know happens after “Allison Gets No Sleep Week” comes to an end? Day one, you wake up and don’t leave the bed for two hours. Then you pull yourself out of bed and move six feet to the couch, where you proceed to spend the entire afternoon watching the Ranger game, eating a huuuuge bag of Doritos, and then fitting in a quick nap before heading to DeKalb Market (ok, I needed to get a little work in. I couldn’t help it). Then following another DeKalb dance party by sleeping til 1pm for the first time in, well, YEARS, followed by screwing around on my brand new iPhone, then another nap, then Chinese food while hanging out with the kids.

Usually I hate doing nothing, but Sweet Jesus that was freaking outstanding.

Speaking of new iPhones, now that I’m out of Blackberry hell I’m finally able to download aps that are actually functional, meaning that our Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram pages are going to get a lot more active. Which also means that much like our Twitter and Tumblr (already here) pages, it’s going to start off with food pics and well-intentioned attempts at professionalism, and then very quickly spiral into total nonsense (my signature!). Will the tangents I go off on be about small dogs in stupid outfits? My thoughts on the later seasons of Boy Meets World? Pictures of random portions of my apartment as I figure out how to work this stupid camera? Only time will tell!

In the meantime, go ahead and enjoy THIS picture of today’s cupcakes, which doesn’t include shots of my pillow or the side of my thumb.

Clockwise from front: Banana Cream Pie, The CPB, Boston Cream, Car Bomb

Banana Cream Pie: Banana cake, vanilla pudding, vanilla custard buttercream, banana chip, graham cracker crumbs

The CPB: Chocolate cake, peanut butter buttercream, ganache, peanuts

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

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

Note: To make my life slightly simpler (and to stop cutting into my sleep time), I will no longer be posting the entire list of locations at the end of every post. I will just be putting a link to our locations tab for you to reference. Please note that inventory, rotations and quantity is up to our retail partners and not us, so please call ahead if you’re looking for something specific or want to ensure availability.

ACHTUNG!!!!

I am about to type the single most awesome thing that has ever been typed on this website. You all should probably sit down. Well, you’re probably already sitting down if you’re on a computer, but some of you might be reading this on your phones while walking. In that case, you should probably stop reading so you can watch where you’re going. And also because you really will need to sit, because your mind is about to be blown.

Ready? *ahem*

Tomorrow, Saturday the 14th, THERE IS A ROBOT FESTIVAL AT DEKALB MARKET.

What exactly is a robot festival, you ask? I HAVE NO FREAKING IDEA, AND I HONESTLY DON’T CARE.

And YES, I know I mentioned it briefly on Wednesday, but it seems no one believed me. Which is understandable. I mean, I still don’t really believe it, but I saw our event producer Jen Lyon yesterday and she swears to me that this is totally real. I mean, even if it turns out there’s only one guy DOING the robot, I’d still think it’s absolutely the greatest thing ever.

So what are we doing for Robot Saturday? A robot cupcake would have been nice, but we couldn’t find any Jagged Metal Krusty-Os to use for toppings. So we’re doing the next best thing and doing WAY TOO MUCH. You can expect both our classic and Nutella whoopie pies, two types of brownies, marshmallows, coconut macaroons, and no fewer than sixteen types of cupcakes. Chicken n’Waffles, Elvis, Romeo y Juliette, Matzoh Toffee, Tiramisu, Coconut Cream Pie and more…..including THESE!

Clockwise from front: Bananas Foster, Car Bomb, Blueberry Blintz, Pickett

NEW! The Pickett: Vanilla cake, vanilla custard buttercream, feiulletine, chocolate sauce

NEW! Blueberry Blintz: Brown sugar cake filled with sour cream bavarian, sour cream custard buttercream, blueberries, candied almonds

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

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

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Cupcakes Available at:

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

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

Bagel Schmagel: 76th & 3rd Ave, Bay Ridge

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

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

Eastern District: Manhattan Ave off Eagle, Greenpoint

Brooklyn Standard: Nassau Street off Jewel, Greenpoint

Battery Place Market: 240 Murray Street, Financial District

Cake Shop: Ludlow btwn Stanton & Rivington, LES

Bar 5F at Bergdorf Goodman: 5th Avenue & 58th Street, 5th Floor, Manhattan

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

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Whoopie Pies Available At:

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

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

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

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Brownies Available At:

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

Queen City Cupcakes: 62 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; 48 Greenwich Avenue, West Village, Manhattan

Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone! Ok fine, it’s not technically til tomorrow, but tomorrow’s Saturday, meaning that you can’t use “It’s Saint Patrick’s Day” as an excuse of being drunk on the job. And I know how much being sober at work is killing you all.

But fear not! We have made extra super special boozy cupcakes today, so you can at least enjoy the flavor of hooch without passing out face down on your office’s copier. Because I know all you responsible citizens are truly only imbibing for flavor.

May I also remind you, our Soda Bread cupcake ONLY gets released on St. Patrick’s Day. So there’s only a limited amount of these puppies out there in the world right now, eagerly awaiting the moment when you come find them and put them in your bellies. And once they’re gone, it will be another 364 days before they appear again. Just like Brigadoon (that’s was in Ireland right? No? Scotland? DAMNIT! That would have been a good tie-in). I also need to remind you that I love this cupcake, AND it has raisins in it. Yup. So good, it transcends my violent hatred of raisins.

Speaking of “Limited Edition Flavors We Only Make For Holidays & Then Cruelly Yank Off The Rotation For An Entire Calendar Year”, it is three weeks until Easter/Passover. Meaning I’ve got three exciting things to share with you:

1. It’s also only 3 weeks until DeKalb Market reopens for 2012! WEEEEE! And it will be open every single day for the rest of the year! MORE WEEEEEEEE!

2. We’ve put up ordering info for Easter/Passover, and now with the shop back open you can also pick up if you don’t need enough to warrant a delivery!

3. YES, I said ordering for Passover. Our cupcakes will still be made with flour and leavening so they’re still out, BUT we are making our rich, decadent sea salt brownies especially for Passover! All ingredients used are certified Kosher-D, there is no leavening used, and we’ve replaced all flour with Streit’s matzo cake meal. They’re not technically kosher because our kitchen is not kosher, nor do we have rabbinical supervision, but they’re as kosher as anything that would be made in the home kitchen of someone who doesn’t keep kosher 365 days a year. Also, Matt and I have backgrounds in kosher catering and law, meaning that we’re inspecting our eggs, using clean bowls, not sharing an oven with meat products, etc.  We will also be stocking our DeKalb shop with Danny Macaroons, which are produced to the same standards. He’s also taking Passover Orders for those of you who’d like delivery.

And now…….here’s our St. Patty’s Day cupcakes!

Clockwise from front: Irish Coffee, Car Bomb, Soda Bread, Sixpoint Brownstone

Soda Bread: Soda bread cake, clotted cream buttercream, Drambuie soaked golden raisins

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

Sixpoint Brownstone: Sixpoint Brownstone ale cake, Brownstone ale toffee buttercream, crushed chocolate espresso beans

Irish Coffee: Bailey’s espresso cake & buttercream, white and dark chocolate chips

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Cupcakes Available at:

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

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

Bagel Schmagel: 76th & 3rd Ave, Bay Ridge

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

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

Double Windsor: Windsor Place & Prospect Park West, Windson Terrace

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

Eastern District: Manhattan Ave off Eagle, Greenpoint

Brooklyn Standard: Nassau Street off Jewel, Greenpoint

Cake Shop: Ludlow btwn Stanton & Rivington, LES

Brooklyneer: 220 West Houston Street, West Village

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

Bar 5F at Bergdorf Goodman: 5th Avenue & 58th Street, 5th Floor, Manhattan

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

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Whoopie Pies Available At:

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

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

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

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Brownies Available At:

Queen City Cupcakes: 62 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

I ate too much at Choice Eats and now I think I might die. Or I might just pass out on my keyboard. I really need to learn to pace myself better, instead of just shoving things into my mouth while screaming “OOOOH! FREE MEAT!”.

I ate so much, our station was directly across from Doughnut Plant and I was too full to eat a doughnut. How messed up is that?

Thank you so much to everyone who stopped by - and I’m sorry if I didn’t have enough time to stop and chat with you. These things get pretty crazy and once the doors open up its total insanity for Matt and I to make sure that everyone is fed and happy. And I hope you liked our pine tree honey cupcake! We discovered pine tree honey last year and have been itching for a chance to work with it for months. You’ll probably be seeing that cupcake again once our shop at DeKalb Market reopens on April 7th.

If you didn’t make it to Choice Eats tonight, and are totally super jealous that you don’t also feel like you’re dying from being full of 500 types of meatballs, make sure you buy tickets next year! And if you can’t wait that long, may I suggest buying tickets to Tasting Brooklyn on April 3rd? It’s a tad smaller, but will feature food from such great BK spots as Stone Park Cafe, Egg, The Meatball Shop, and, of course, us! Don’t know what we’re making yet, but it’s bound to be super-special.

And speaking of super-special event cupcakes, remember a few weeks back when we made that exclusive limited edition cupcake for Sixpoint Brewery’s Seventh Anniversary? It’s going to stores today! And it will be with us all week through St. Paddy’s Day. If you want to order cupcakes for the holiday shoot me an email ASAP- we need to hear from you by the end of today to make sure we’ve ordered enough beer for the weekend. 

Now- cupcakes!

Clockwise from front: Sixpoint Brownstone, The Hinsch, Cinnamon Bun, Car Bomb

Sixpoint Brownstone: Sixpoint Brownstone Ale & brown sugar cake, Brownstone toffee buttercream, crushed chocolate espresso beans

The Hinsch: Chocolate malted cake, vanilla buttercream, malted chocolate sauce, homemade malted milk balls

Cinnamon Bun: Cinnamon sugar spotted cake, cream cheese buttercream, cinnamon butterscotch, cinnamon streusel

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

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Cupcakes Available at:

Hom: Third Avenue and 88th Street, Bay Ridge

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

Battery Place Market: 77 Battery Place, Battery Park City AND 200 West Street, Goldman Sachs Building

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

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

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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

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Brownies Available At:

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