Robicelli's

Last week, in the days after the Oklahoma tornado, I made a plea on this site for funds to support Team Rubicon. If you follow us on Twitter (of course you do, right?), you’ve also been following along in our quest to raise $15,000.  Today, in honor of Memorial Day, I’m using our blog to tell you all a little more about Team Rubicon, who they are, what they do, and why they deserve your support.

And also this guy! How can you not donate money now?!?!?!

First and foremost, Team Rubicon is a veterans organization. Men and women who have been bravely serving our country for years — sometimes ten or more — return home and suddenly find themselves with a lack of purpose. In 2010 TR was formed to utilize the skills and abilities of our American heroes to impact thousands of lives across the globe.  

When earthquakes destroyed Haiti, Team Rubicon deployed veterans to assist rescue efforts, and rebuilt cities that were literally destroyed.  When Superstorm Sandy decimated our hometown, it was the heroes from Team Rubicon who worked through the harsh New York winter; bringing strength, relief and hope to our forgotten neighborhoods.  And when a tornado destroyed Moore, Oklahoma, almost immediately Team Rubicon announced plans to deploy.

While these are United States Military Veterans, this is not a program funded by our government — this is entirely a volunteer-run non-profit organization who relies on the support of people like us to help them save the world.  

This weekend I was telling my sons, ages 4 1/2 and 6, about Memorial Day and what it was all about.  I told them about the wars America has fought in, and how the extraordinary bravery of seemingly average people has shaped the world.  My boys asked questions about Spiderman and Indiana Jones and the other heroes they see on the big screen. I told them about Team Rubicon, how these people are real, and how they are giving their lives in anonymity to help their fellow man — regardless of nationality, ethnicity, or religion.  I am proud to be an American, and proud to be able to do my part to support actual superheroes.

On Memorial Day, I hope you’ll take a few moments to learn more about Team Rubicon and the good they put into the world, and perhaps donate a few dollars to help support their mission down in Oklahoma.  In one week our fundraising team has managed to raise over $9,000 — I would love to see us over $10k at the end of today, to honor the men and women who have given their lives for others.  Our average donation so far has been only $15, so every little bit adds up.  

God bless Team Rubicon, and God bless America.  We hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and we’ll see you back here on Friday.  In the meantime, here’s what we baked last night — more stuff going out all week.

Duckwalk: Vanilla cake, blueberry port syrup, blueberry port mascarpone buttercream, port simmered wild Maine blueberries

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

The Duckie: Peanut cake, peanut butter pudding, marshmallow buttercream, roasted peanuts

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

So this week we have to shoot the cover for our upcoming cookbook, because THIS didn’t get approved.

I see that, I get hungry for cupcakes. Apparently, I’m the only one.

Fortunately our photographer/friend Eric Isaac is doing a pretty amazing job so far, even with the (hopefully temporary) moratorium on nudity in our book. I can’t show you any photos yet - you’re just going to have to wait til October 17th like everyone else (sorry, Mom) - but if you follow me on Instagram, you’ll occasionally get behind the scenes pics of Eric setting up shots, or sous photographer Fernando teaching me about lighting, or me figuring out what I want to order for lunch (not actual pictures of my lunch though- that’s just annoying).

Other exciting news today- IT’S MATT’S BIRTHDAY!!!

We’ll be celebrating with a romantic birthday dinner catered by the same people who catered our wedding over six years ago:

Not even kidding about that a little bit. White Castle is synonymous with romance. If you can’t score reservations for our one night only pop-up dessert restaurant at The Owl’s Head for Valentine’s Day, you may want to consider calling White Castle to see if you can score a reservation over there. That’s where Matt and I would be if we didn’t have to work that night (though once we finally get home there may be a little romantic late night slider eating competition in bed, followed by a few minutes of cuddling, then probably telling Matt he needs to go sleep on the couch and he’s never allowed to eat White Castle again).

And speaking of Valentine’s, we’re going to start taking orders for V-Day delivery come Wednesday (we’re also taking Mardi Gras orders right now via email if that’s your thing). AND we’re about 99.9% set on our menu of plated desserts based on our cupcakes that were inspired by plated desserts! BEHOLD- VALENTINE’S 2013 AT THE OWL’S HEAD!

First Course: Pear Mascarpone
Mascarpone panna cotta, roasted pear compote, spiced pear chip

Second Course: The Noah
Apple galette, goat cheese mousse, roasted candied bacon, bourbon brown sugar sauce

Third Course: Car Bomb
Jameson whiskey, Bailey’s Irish Cream & Guinness stout opera cake, Guinness beer nut praline

Wine pairings courtesy of The Owl’s Head- contact them for reservations ASAP, as the place is super small and is already filling up!

Now for today’s cupcakes- one of my favorites, Pecan Potato Chip, is back after a lengthy hiatus! It’s so good it might bake you explode…..WITH JOY!!!

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

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

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

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

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 can’t write a lengthy Tumblr today because I’m totally busy working on something in MS Paint. More soon. 

Also, I don’t know if MS Paint needs a spokesperson, but that should TOTALLY be me. I can totally vouch how with several hours of hard work, anyone can make a drawing that looks like it was crafted by a very, very dumb child. OR a very, very smart monkey! Yeah, that last one sounds totally better.

Clockwise from front: Bourbon Caramel Apple, Pecan Potato Chip, Chocolate Graham, Pumpkin Spice Latte

Bourbon Caramel Apple: Apple cake, bourbon salted caramel buttercream, roasted apple, bourbon salted caramel

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

Chocolate Graham: Chocolate cake, graham cracker buttercream, ganache, graham crumbs

Pumpkin Spice Latte: Pumpkin cake, espresso mascarpone buttercream, crushed chocolate espresso beans

We have a new website theme! Why? Because I’ve always hated the old one and just never got around to changing it. We’ve been talking about “our new website design” in theory for ages now- every time it nears the top of the To-Do list a new project comes up and knocks it down a few notches. Currently I’m elbows deep in a few other things and realized I should stop fooling myself about getting it done anytime soon, so I just picked something from Tumblr’s selection and then fell asleep. However, now the “hidden” jokes I leave in the tags are in bold and on top of the post- so you’re going to have to ignore them, read the whole post, then scroll up again for them to make sense. I’m sure that will work for you guys.

Not let’s forget about all that ultra-riveting crap and get straight to this past weekend, and the epicness of Meatopia:

You probably want me to talk about meat, but I want to talk about the fact that I spent 30 minutes making my hair look freaking awesome and it lasted about 10 minutes in the elements. Pictured above is what my hair looked like after the first pass…..

…..THEN THESE STUPID JERKFACE ELEMENTS HAPPENED!!! And by the time came at the end of the night for us to start passing around 2,000 sea salt brownies, I looked like this: 

I’m thinking that might be why when I’d ask people “Would you care for a Robicelli’s Sea Salt Brownie?”, 90% of people asked me “Are these ‘special’ brownies?”. And if you think that figure is pure hyperbole, I will assure you it’s not. Ninety-freaking-percent. This happens at EVERY SINGLE EVENT WE DO. Because, you know, it would be a very smart business decision for me to be lacing my product with drugs.   

For the last time, America, no, there are no drugs in our brownies. In fact, I’m pretty sure that there are no drugs in ANY commercially made brownies- not Entemann’s, not Little Debbie, not anyone. Sorry to disappoint you. 

As for Meatopia? Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream was as good as everyone has said, and Jeni herself is incredible (there’s pictures of us up on Facebook).  April Bloomfield and Alex Guarnachelli are total sweethearts in person. And the best thing we ate…

….were these spit-roasted beef short ribs with castelvetrano olives, celery walnuts and horseradish, prepared by Justin Smillie of NYC’s own Il Buco Alimentari. These alone with worth the price of the ticket (though getting to eat that insanely delicious hog collar prepared by LA’s Kris Yenbamroong made the event EXTRA awesome).

Jealous you couldn’t make it? Well check out all the OTHER events we’re doing this fall, like The Brooklyn Local, The Botanic Gardens’ Chile Pepper Fiesta, Food & Wine’s SWEET, and more. We always try to bring something extra special to each one. Not that these normal rotation cupcakes aren’t special- we love them just as much, and are pretty sure you will, too.

Clockwise from front: Pecan Potato Chip, Tres Leches, Chocolate Graham, CPB

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

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

Chocolate Graham: Chocolate cake, graham cracker buttercream, ganache, graham cracker crumbs

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

That awkward girl with the blue hair is me at 14 years old, sitting with my friends on the former “Grassy Knoll” outside of Stuyvesant High School (there’s luxury condos on top of it now).  Yes, there’s lots of Rollerblades. It was the 90s.

On the left is Katie McGloin. We were great friends back then, but then drifted apart after graduation, only seeing each other sporadically through my business or gushing about our kids over Facebook, joking about how they would NEVER find out about all the things we did when we were young.

Katie died from a brain tumor yesterday morning. She leaves behind a husband, two little boys ages 1 and 4, and many, many other heartbroken people. She was 33 years old.

Today’s blog isn’t for feeling sorry, because there’s going to be more than enough time for that. This is what it’s for:

I know that it’s Monday morning, and you’re grumpy, and you have a stack of papers or projects whatever else on your desk. I want every single of you to ignore it for five minutes.

Open your phone, find an old friend in your address book, and send them a text telling them how much they mean to you. Go into the hallway and call your mom. Send an email to your old group of friends that you never see because you’re all super busy and get really serious about getting that drink together. Or walk across the office and find a coworker who’s always helping you out or making you smile, and let them know how much you appreciate them.

It sometimes seems like we have all the time in the world. Then at times like this, no one is thinking they wish they’d spent more time day trading or watching tv or screwing around on the internet. Though you feel like you already know it, you realize that the best measure of a person isn’t what job they had or how much money they made- but by how much they were loved.

So go on. Remind someone that they’re loved. Your paperwork will still be there in five minutes. I promise.

Clockwise from front: Abuelita, Banana Nutella, Pecan Potato Chip, Butterbeer

Abuelita: Mexican chocolate cake, cajeta buttercream, ground Abuelita chocolate

Banana Nutella: Banana cake, Nutella buttercream, banana hazelnut praline

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

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

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

This morning if you’re so inclined, get on the R train and head out to our neighborhood- Bay Ridge. We’re home to the 145th Brooklyn Memorial Day Parade, the oldest in the entire country.

Many years ago the parade ran down Eastern Parkway, then by Prospect Park. Twenty years ago, it moved to our corner of Brooklyn. And in recent years, because of budget cuts, it nearly hasn’t happened at all. In fact, the oldest Memorial Day parade in America is now less than a mile long.

We don’t get the kind of crowds down here in Bay Ridge that we do for the West Indian Day Parade, or St. Patrick’s, or Thanksgiving.  There’s never more than a few hundred of us.  But if you’d like to join our ranks this morning to help us show our veterans how grateful we are for their service, and to help us remember all those who never made it home, then take the R to the last stop in Brooklyn and walk up a block to Third Avenue. 

And once you’re in Bay Ridge if you need suggestions on where to go and what do to, tweet me. I’m happy to show off the place my family has called home for nearly 100 years.

Hope to see you there.

Clockwise from front: Duckwalk, Duckie, Hinsch, Pecan Potato Chip

Duckwalk: Vanilla cake, blueberry port syrup, blueberry port mascarpone buttercream, port simmered blueberries

Duckie: Peanut cake, peanut butter pudding, marshmallow buttercream, roasted peanuts

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

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

Robicelli’s at DeKalb Market is closed today, but will reopen at noon on Tuesday. For a list of retail partners who are carrying our cupcakes today, click here. Note that availability is up to the location, so call ahead.

So…um….dude….um…..yeah. Um, it’s Friday…um….yeah…and so, like, you should totally be eating some cupcakes or something dude because, like, um…..yeah….oh man! I just totally f**ked that up right now! What are we talking about again?

Oh yeahhhhhh….riiiight….

So like, you might need a lot of munchies and stuff today, like, for whatever totally legal reason. Which, you know, is cool, because there’s lots of stuff that’s like, REALLY GOOD with our cupcakes today. 

It’s all like, you know, like cake and stuff, but it’s also like other stuff too! Like, potato chips and pretzels and stuff like that.

What also would be like, really awesome, is if you went over to InBundles and could score, like, 6 cupcakes for half price. Cuz then you could totally save the rest of your cash and, heh heh heh…..use if for something else of the recreational persuasion? Know what I’m saying?

Like maybe for some damn books. Because nobody likes a freaking idiot.

C’mon, guys. Sheesh.

Clockwsie from front: Pecan Potato Chip, S’Mores, Chocolate Caramel Pretzel, Mary Jane

SPECIAL EDITION! Mary Jane: Molasses peanut cake, peanut butter buttercream, Mary Jane caramel, roasted peanuts (you know, like the caaannnddy)

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

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

Chocolate Caramel Pretzel: Chocolate cake, salted caramel buttercream, crushed pretzels, caramel & ganache drizzle

___________________________

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

NEW! Bagel Pub: 287 9th Street, Park Slope

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

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

Simon Sips thesecret coffee bar inside 1185 6th Avenue- find by going in the back way under the scaffolding- I know it’s tricky, but it’s there. One day I’ll draw you a map. Promise.

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

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

________________________________

Whoopie Pies Available At:

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

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

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

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

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

_________________________________

Brownies Available At:

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

Simon Sips

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

Watching Super Bowl.  Tumblr later. Go eat cupcakes, yes, good.

GIANTS WIN!!! GIANTS WIN!!!! SUCK IT, BRADY!!!! (I’m sorry, I REALLY hate dudes who leave their very pregnant girlfriends for other women.)

(And that whole cheating thing too.  Let’s not forget that crap.)

Clockwise from front: PB&J, Pecan Potato Chip, Butterbeer, Bluth

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

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

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

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

______________________________

Cupcakes Available at:

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

Aloha Grinds: 77th 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

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

Battery Place Market: 77 Batter Place, Battery Park City

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

Over the weekend, Matt got about a thousand Facebook messages and phone calls hoping that he was “getting his drink on” for his birthday.  And this is how you know you’re getting old- when you just don’t understand why you would do that for your birthday. Spending a fortune to scream at your friends in a bar, making an ass out of yourself, waking up the next day with your head in the toilet, and starting the next year of your life with the memory of the time you ran down 5th Avenue naked. (and yes, this may have been one of our past birthdays- though we won’t say which one)

What did we do for Matt’s birthday? After taking our son for his kindergarten admissions test (one of the most insane experiences of my life, which I will blog about another day when I can fully articulate how batcrap crazy I am in real life), we bought a ton of Italian food as Pastosa, curled up into bed to watch the NHL all-star weekend, then spent hours YouTubing “mascot fights”.

Much worse ways to spend a birthday.  And the grand finale? Baking! Go have some birthday cupcakes!

Clockwise from front: Pecan Potato Chip, The Hinsch, Blueberry Cobbler,Southern Belle

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

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

Blueberry Cobbler: Vanilla cake, vanilla buttercream, wild Maine blueberry compote, cinnamon streusel

Southern Belle: Banana cake, vanilla buttercream, brown butter bourbon glazed pecans

______________________________

Cupcakes Available at:

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

Aloha Grinds: 77th 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

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

Battery Place Market: 77 Batter Place, Battery Park City

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

Hope you all had a great Christmas! Matt surprised me with a Nintendo 3DS with my favorite game of all time- The Legend of Zelda- Ocarina of Time (in 3D!).  I had no idea I needed this thing, but now I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT IT.  So quick- to whatever needs to happen right now so I can get back to my game:

NEW YEAR’S EVE ORDERING! Now that Union is over I’m getting back to being somewhat on top of my work, and I actually got a NYE ordering tab up in a timely manner!  I love the flavors we picked out, it’s one of the 4 yearly appearances of our much sought-after “Strawberry Champagne” cupcake, we’re doing cocktail party sized brownie platters, PLUS we’ve lowered our minimum for delivery to just one dozen for the holiday! 

And if that wasn’t enough, not only will our cupcakes jazz up your New Year’s Eve party, but the carbohydrates will actually allow you to drink MORE.  You’ll be able to ride that fine line between drunk enough to have a great time, and so drunk that your top comes off and you fight your buildings super! It’s an investment in your parties success, AND your clean criminal record!  ORDER NOW!

FINAL DAYS AT DEKALB! We’re open today through Friday from noon til 8, Saturday from 11 til 4pm, and then we’re closed for construction projects for three months.  Thanks to some delays with city permits, we had to rush to get DeKalb open last summer, and kinda had to do some things backwards just to get it going.  Now that we’re entering the slow winter months, she’s getting shut down so our friends at Urban Space can make some exciting improvements, like……

   ………..Boardwalks!!!! (ooooooh!)

         ………………Canopy over the food court!!!!! (aaaahhhhh!!!)

              ……………Beer Garden!!!!! (My oh my!!!!!!)

         …………..Drainage system!!!! (More exciting than it sounds!)

I can’t wait until late March to open up our door again.  In the interim, we’ll be popping up in Nolita just like we did last winter, trying to amp up our wholesale presence around NYC, showing some skin to potential investors and doing LOTS of R&D for the coming year.  But for the next four days, DEKALB MARKET IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS, while most of our usual retail outlets are closed for vacation- meaning you should DEFINITELY come and see us!

Navi the Fairy: You would think in the almost 15 years since this Zelda was originally released (yeah, it’s been that long), someone would have thought that in a re-release they would have made her SHUT THE HELL UP.

Every five seconds: “Hey! Hey Link! Hey! Hey! Listen! Hey! Hey! Listen! Heeyyy-Oh! Em…errrr….oh, I know- what would Saria say if she knew we were saving Hyrule? That’s, um, pretty great, right? Yeah, I didn’t think I was actually going to get your attention, but now that I did let’s talk! Tell me about your day….Link? Link? Hey! Hey! Hey! Listen! Hey! Hey! Hey! Listen! Hey!”

January’s Schedule: I’m doing it today, so if you have a request, get over to Facebook ASAP and let me know! Feel free to throw us any ideas you have for new flavors, too- you never know what we’ll run with!

People’s Choice Winners 2011! We had a lot of great new flavors come out this year, but a few stood out in your eyes as the best of the best.  So today, YOU picked the menu- your four favorite cupcakes of the year! And they are…….

Clockwise from front: Hot Toddy, Pecan Potato Chip, S’Mores, Cinnamon Bun

Hot Toddy: Honey whiskey soaked cake, honey cinnamon buttercream, candied lemon peel

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

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

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

Available at:

Robicelli’s at DeKalb Market: Corner of Flatbush Ave & Willoughby

Hom: 88th Street & 3rd Avenue, Bay Ridge

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

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

Queen City Cupcakes: Patchogue, Long Island

Um…..dude….heh…..uh…..cupcakes.  Yeaaahhhh.

You know what would be really good right now? A cupcake, and a big fried thing.  Like, a really awesome fried thing, and like, really big.  Like the stuff from Schnitzel and Things, but like not moving on a truck or anything.  Like a truck that sells food, but like, it doesn’t move. Yeah, a truck no wheels that can’t go anywhere so I can always find it, and like I can sit down and stuff, with schnitzel and cupcakes, and it would be great if it was in Midtown. So it would be like Schnitzel and Things with THINGS, man! And those things would be cupcakes- and other things!

Photo courtesy Blondie & Brownie

NEW!!!! Mary Jane: Molasses peanut cake, peanut butter buttercream, Mary Jane caramel, ground pecans (what? It’s like the candy. What were you guys thinking about?)

NEW!!! S’mores- The Next Generation: Chocolate cake, spekuloos pudding, toasted marshmallow buttercream, ganache, ground graham crackers

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

Chocolate Caramel Pretzel:  Chocolate cake, salted caramel buttercream, crushed pretzels, ganache, caramel drizzle

__________________________

Available at:

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

HOM:  88th and 3rd Ave, Bay Ridge

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

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

COURT STREET GROCERS: 485 Court Street, Carroll Gardens

QATHRA:  1112 Cortelyou Road, Ditmas Park

JOE: GRAND CENTRAL STATION:  Graybar Passage

SCHNITZEL AND THINGS:  Third Avenue btwn 45th & 46th Streets, Midtown

*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