Who could these cupcake darling be but the Robicellis? We've given them a lot of love on Cupcakes Take the Cake, and rightfully so. From being part of our 5 year blogaversary party (and our upcoming 6 year party), speaking at our NYC cupcake business class, to ordering their constantly changing flavors for our cupcake events, we've gotten to taste a lot of Robicelli's cupcakes. More importantly, we've gotten to know the passionate and undeniably talented cupcake bakers themselves, who, in their own words, are known for their "chefs' approach to cupcakes [and] fearless approach to creating flavors."
Former professional pastry chefs turned cupcake bakers, husband-and-wife team Allison and Matt Robicelli are a dynamite team, baking batches of cupcakes by moonlight, delivering these delicate goods around the city, and developing a keen sense of cupcake ESP while raising a family together. For all us solo bakers out there, it's nice to remember that cupcakes can be a fun group activity. Heck, it sure beats being alone in the kitchen when 70 cupcakes come crashing down!
Read on for a few of Allison and Matt's mind-boggling cupcake flavors, including an upcoming SUPER limited edition with cheese, polenta, balsamic vinegar, and...well, I won't give it all away just yet!
Name: Allison & Matt Robicelli
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Website: http://www.robicellis.tumblr.com/
1.How did you get into cupcake baking?
Completely by accident! We both had serious pastry careers: accomplished pastry chefs at starred NYC restaurants, top bakeries, elite catering. We decided to open a gourmet shop together since it seemed a more stable option as we had gotten married and had young children, but unfortunately the stock market crashed only a few days after we opened. We decided to fall back on our pastry skills in the hopes that it would attract new customers, but knew that people wouldn’t buy giant cakes all that often. We decided to make some of our cake recipes into cupcakes instead of full sized versions, thinking we’d sell a few dozen each week. Well, we did end up drawing more people into the store, but instead of falling in love with our sandwiches or cheese counter, they were clamoring for more cupcakes! What was supposed to be a few dozen quickly turned into a few hundred, then over a thousand, until finally we decided to close our store and pursue cupcakes full-time.
2. Do you have a signature cupcake?
We have over 100, so it’s pretty hard to choose just one! We initially became very popular for more “mainstream” cupcakes like the Tres Leches with Dulce de Leche buttercream, and for our commitment of using seasonal ingredients at the peak of flavor. What made us stand out was our total ADD, and our insistence that we introduce a new flavor at least every two weeks. Now what we’re known for is our chef’s approach to cupcakes, and for our fearless approach to creating flavors. Some of the most notorious are the Chicken n’Waffles, The Iona (pear olive oil cake, candied walnuts, blue cheese buttercream, port reduction), Butternut Squash Spice, and The Yvonne (Late harvest reisling cake & buttercream with blueberry-thai basil compote)
3.What kind of cupcake do you plan to bake next?
This week we are doing a SUPER limited edition cupcake that involves polenta, red grapes, balsamic vinegar, aged parmesan & mascarpone. We don’t expect it to be replacing chocolate cake any time soon, but those ingredients are an amazing flavor combination, and we’d love to make a dessert from them that everyone can afford to try.
4.Where do you find inspiration?
EVERYWHERE! We’re inspired by the ever changing spread of produce at the market, exciting new ingredients we find at ethnic groceries around Brooklyn, great chefs, restaurant dishes, all sorts of cookbooks (we collect them)- we research all the time. Matt and I are “on” 24 hours a day, 7 days a week- a plus side to being married to your baking partner.
5. Describe a memorable (funny/disastrous/life-changing) cupcake baking moment you've had.
Once we had a CRAZY busy day, capping off a crazy week. Our bodies were achy and sore from being on our feet for hours on end, and couldn’t wait to pack our cupcakes up and go home. So after finishing the last tray of cupcakes, I was heading to the walk-in to let them set and had a gigantic back spasm, twisted my body the wrong way and dropped an entire sheet tray of cupcakes on the floor! We had to stay at work for another two hours to remake those 70 cupcakes- I thought Matt was going to kill me!
6. Give one piece of cupcake advice for other bakers out there.
Ask questions all the time. Research. Never stop learning. And NEVER be afraid to fail- it sometimes takes a few tries to get something right, so there’s no shame in making a bad batch as long as you learn from it!
A recent video of the Robicellis by our friends at Food.Curated. (Read the full post here)
Thanks, Allison and Matt! Stay tuned for next week's Cupcake Baker of the Week. Leave us questions, feedback, and suggestions for future bakers in the comments below, or e-mail Melissa at cupcakestakethecake@gmail.com with the subject "Hey Melissa! Meet this Cupcake Baker!"
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| I wish this photo was taken by their kids, but alas, eating cupcakes turned out to be more interesting. |
Who could these cupcake darling be but the Robicellis? We've given them a lot of love on Cupcakes Take the Cake, and rightfully so. From being part of our 5 year blogaversary party (and our upcoming 6 year party), speaking at our NYC cupcake business class, to ordering their constantly changing flavors for our cupcake events, we've gotten to taste a lot of Robicelli's cupcakes. More importantly, we've gotten to know the passionate and undeniably talented cupcake bakers themselves, who, in their own words, are known for their "chefs' approach to cupcakes [and] fearless approach to creating flavors."
Former professional pastry chefs turned cupcake bakers, husband-and-wife team Allison and Matt Robicelli are a dynamite team, baking batches of cupcakes by moonlight, delivering these delicate goods around the city, and developing a keen sense of cupcake ESP while raising a family together. For all us solo bakers out there, it's nice to remember that cupcakes can be a fun group activity. Heck, it sure beats being alone in the kitchen when 70 cupcakes come crashing down!
Read on for a few of Allison and Matt's mind-boggling cupcake flavors, including an upcoming SUPER limited edition with cheese, polenta, balsamic vinegar, and...well, I won't give it all away just yet!
Name: Allison & Matt Robicelli
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Website: http://www.robicellis.tumblr.com/
1.How did you get into cupcake baking?
Completely by accident! We both had serious pastry careers: accomplished pastry chefs at starred NYC restaurants, top bakeries, elite catering. We decided to open a gourmet shop together since it seemed a more stable option as we had gotten married and had young children, but unfortunately the stock market crashed only a few days after we opened. We decided to fall back on our pastry skills in the hopes that it would attract new customers, but knew that people wouldn’t buy giant cakes all that often. We decided to make some of our cake recipes into cupcakes instead of full sized versions, thinking we’d sell a few dozen each week. Well, we did end up drawing more people into the store, but instead of falling in love with our sandwiches or cheese counter, they were clamoring for more cupcakes! What was supposed to be a few dozen quickly turned into a few hundred, then over a thousand, until finally we decided to close our store and pursue cupcakes full-time.
2. Do you have a signature cupcake?
We have over 100, so it’s pretty hard to choose just one! We initially became very popular for more “mainstream” cupcakes like the Tres Leches with Dulce de Leche buttercream, and for our commitment of using seasonal ingredients at the peak of flavor. What made us stand out was our total ADD, and our insistence that we introduce a new flavor at least every two weeks. Now what we’re known for is our chef’s approach to cupcakes, and for our fearless approach to creating flavors. Some of the most notorious are the Chicken n’Waffles, The Iona (pear olive oil cake, candied walnuts, blue cheese buttercream, port reduction), Butternut Squash Spice, and The Yvonne (Late harvest reisling cake & buttercream with blueberry-thai basil compote)
3.What kind of cupcake do you plan to bake next?
This week we are doing a SUPER limited edition cupcake that involves polenta, red grapes, balsamic vinegar, aged parmesan & mascarpone. We don’t expect it to be replacing chocolate cake any time soon, but those ingredients are an amazing flavor combination, and we’d love to make a dessert from them that everyone can afford to try.
4.Where do you find inspiration?
EVERYWHERE! We’re inspired by the ever changing spread of produce at the market, exciting new ingredients we find at ethnic groceries around Brooklyn, great chefs, restaurant dishes, all sorts of cookbooks (we collect them)- we research all the time. Matt and I are “on” 24 hours a day, 7 days a week- a plus side to being married to your baking partner.
5. Describe a memorable (funny/disastrous/life-changing) cupcake baking moment you've had.
Once we had a CRAZY busy day, capping off a crazy week. Our bodies were achy and sore from being on our feet for hours on end, and couldn’t wait to pack our cupcakes up and go home. So after finishing the last tray of cupcakes, I was heading to the walk-in to let them set and had a gigantic back spasm, twisted my body the wrong way and dropped an entire sheet tray of cupcakes on the floor! We had to stay at work for another two hours to remake those 70 cupcakes- I thought Matt was going to kill me!
6. Give one piece of cupcake advice for other bakers out there.
Ask questions all the time. Research. Never stop learning. And NEVER be afraid to fail- it sometimes takes a few tries to get something right, so there’s no shame in making a bad batch as long as you learn from it!
A recent video of the Robicellis by our friends at Food.Curated. (Read the full post here)
Thanks, Allison and Matt! Stay tuned for next week's Cupcake Baker of the Week. Leave us questions, feedback, and suggestions for future bakers in the comments below, or e-mail Melissa at cupcakestakethecake@gmail.com with the subject "Hey Melissa! Meet this Cupcake Baker!"
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