Pistachio cupcake with whipped cream frosting at Brooklyn Cupcake, plus NYC charity cupcake competition March 25th

This cupcake was delicious! It's a seasonal cupcake at Brooklyn Cupcake; I don't know how long they'll have it, so if you're in New York, get on over to Williamsburg and try it. I fully admit to not being a "pistachio person" but I liked this because the flavor didn't overwhelm you. It was sweet, with more than a hint of pistachio, but not so much that it bombarded my taste buds. And the cake was green! One thing I love, aside from the taste of the cupcakes at Brooklyn Cupcake and the unique flavors, is that they put so much effort into each cupcake, researching, weighing various options and ways of creating any given cupcake flavor. If you talk to the owners, they'll tell you that they truly take the time to perfect each new flavor and make sure it's what they want it to be before selling it. Visit brooklyncupcake.com for more information, and keep up with them on Facebook, because they're constantly innovating and adding flavors.



Also, Sunday, March 25th, at Taj II in the Flatiron District (it's changed from the poster below) they're part of a charity cupcake event in Manhattan to support the group A Young Mother's D.R.E.A.M. - visit Eventbrite for details and to register:

Local pastry chefs in the NYC area compete once again for the $250 GRAND PRIZE and the notoriety and business that come with winning CupCake Wars NYC!

Join us for a great afternoon of networking, food and fun. There will be over 500 cupcakes in the building along with 20 different flavors. As an attendee you can sample every flavor as long as supplies last!

3 cupcake meetups, 3 cities: Chicago (tomorrow, St. Patrick's Day!), Brooklyn, Seattle

Our next 3 meetups are happening tomorrow, March 17th, at Swirlz in Chicago, March 25th at Baked in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and April 7th at Trophy Cupcakes in the Wallingford Center in Seattle! Hope to see you there. Details below, no RSVP needed. Email us at cupcakestakethecake at gmail.com if you have questions, and if you're hosting a cupcake meetup in your city, let us know and we'll spread the word.


Guinness and Jameson cupcakes (gluten-free and vegan cupcakes will be available, first 2 dozen cupcakes are FREE, so come early)
Swirlz Cupcakes meetup
March 17, noon-1 pm
swirlzcupcakes.com
Facebook


Baked meetup
359 Van Brunt Street, Red Hook, Brooklyn
March 25, 2-4 pm
bakednyc.com
Facebook


Trophy Cupcakes meetup
April 7, 11:30-1 pm
(aka, the day hi hats go on sale!!)Wallingford Center, 1815 N. 45th Street, Suite 209, Seattle
trophycupcakes.com
Facebook

Brooklyn meetup alert: Eat cupcakes and learn about our Cupcake Cruise at Baked in Red Hook March 25th!

Mark your calendars for our next cupcake meetup, 3 weeks from today at Baked in Red Hook, Brooklyn, 359 Van Brunt Street, from 2-4 pm. Eat cupcakes with us and learn more about our Cupcake Cruise to Bermuda, from August 19-26, 2012, featuring Baked owners Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. You can take the B61 bus from Atlantic Avenue. Check HopStop for the best route from where you are. Bring cash/credit/debit cards for cupcakes and refreshments. Join our meetup group here to find out about our latest events and follow Baked on Facebook. Below is the official description of the recipe development class they'll be teaching:

Recipe Development Seminar
Cookbook authors and bakery owners Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito will talk about recipe development. Much like food writing, recipe development is taking what inspires you and telling a story with food. They will talk about the importance of reading cookbooks, tinkering with recipes and being inspired by ingredients. Recipe development seminar will also cover testing ideas, scaling up, making notes of what works, and finding the personality in each recipe.

Banana lover cupcake alert: Bananas Foster, banana chocolate chip and peanut butter banana at Brooklyn Cupcake

I stopped by Williamsburg, Brooklyn bakery Brooklyn Cupcake today to try their new banana cupcake flavors and I loved them all! I'm not even sure which one was my favorite. I will say the Bananas Foster is less like a cupcake and more like a dessert you'd eat after a meal at a restaurant. It was warm and gooey and delicious, with the banana and rum filling all gooey and oozing out from the cake, and their deliciously light and sweet whipped cream frosting. They went around tasting various Bananas Foster desserts at restaurants, at the suggestion of a customer (yes, you have that power as a customer!) and spent two weeks perfecting this special cupcake. If you try the Bananas Foster, use a fork! That's not one you want to bite into and get all over you. It will probably be for sale on weekends, and is on sale today; call them if you want to check on that day's flavors, or visit brooklyncupcake.com or their Facebook page. All are highly recommended, and their cupcakes are $2.50 each.





The other other new banana flavors are banana chocolate chip, featuring chocolate chip banana cake and a chocolate ganache topping, and an excellent, rich, thick peanut butter frosting on banana cake. The peanut butter frosting had the consistency of peanut butter, almost, but was sweeter. All three banana cupcakes were excellent.


banana chocolate chip cupcake


peanut butter banana cupcake

Mardi Gras King Cake cupcakes in Brooklyn at Robicelli's

This week at Robicelli's in Brooklyn and their special locations: King Cake, Pecan Praline, Rue McClanahan, Bananas Foster cupcakes! (clockwise from front) Via their Tumblr (click through to see where you can buy them). The Rue McClanahan is to celebrate her birthday!


King Cake: Almond cake, almond custard filling, almond custard buttercream, feuillitine

Pecan Praline: Pecan cake, vanilla buttercream, homemade pecan pralines

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

Rue McClanahan: Peach cake, cheesecake buttercream, brown sugar & peach compote

Robicellis: A Love Story With Cupcakes

 Check out this video of Allison and Matt Robicelli that made by Brian of EatThisNY. In it you hear about how they "met cute" and about their cupcake business. Also, Nona Brooklyn has a great article about the Robicellis. They will be joining us on the Cupcake Cruise in August. Don't you want to party with them this summer?!

Giveaway: With Love From Brooklyn's Hot & Bothered Gift Set

I have collaborated With Love From Brooklyn to curate a special limited edition Valentine's Day gift set. Spice up your Valentine's Day with a selection of chili-spiked treats from Brooklyn's premier artisan confectioners. One lucky winner will win a Hot & Bothered gift set. This gift set includes Jacques Torres Wicked Hot Chocolate and Wicked Chocolate Bar, Nunu Chocolates Mezcal Chili Truffles, and Spoonable Chili Caramel, a combination sure to get your sweetheart hot and bothered.

Jacques Torres may hail from France, but he's a big name in Brooklyn where he presides over a Wonka-worthy chocolate atelier, located on Water Street in DUMBO. Nunu Chocolates proves that great things come in small packages with the dizzying array of delights they create at their jewel-box chocolate shop/wine bar on an unlikely stretch of Atlantic Avenue. Michelle Lewis of Spoonable is taking small-batch caramel in new directions with way-out flavors from chili to sesame to lavender.Enter to win a Hot& Bothered gift set by Tuesday, February 7th at 6PM.