over the past year or so, i've gone from cupcake hater to cupcake appreciator & one of the main reasons for that change in attitude is the cupcakes from brooklyn's robicelli's. run by the husband & wife duo of matt & allison robicelli, they've been distributing their cupcakes to various shops around the city for a while now & this past summer opened up a sweet-looking physical location in a shipping container at dekalb market. their cupcakes are creative & unique & the lineup is constantly changing. a cupcake with a piece of chicken on top? you've got it with their chicken n waffles cupcake. they've got not one but TWO sweet ptoato cupcakes on the schedule for november. nuff said. it doesn't hurt that they seem to be good people too. good people get my snack dollars.
earlier this month, on their oft-hilarious & less-oft-but-still-oft-poignant tumblr, allison declared that "matt will not stop until he’s created ONE BILLION MILLION PUMPKIN TYPE FLAVORS THIS FALL. or something of that nature." i'm not sure if that was a statement or a challenge but it intrigued me so a few days back i stopped by their booth at madison square eats (which is now closed for the season) to sample a few of their pumpkin cupcakes. bonus: allison was kind enough to answer a few pumpktastic questions for eat!drink!snack!
the flavors i sampled:
pumpkin pie (back left) - what we've got here is moist pumpkin cake topped with vanilla buttercream & the thing that makes it stand out...crushed up pie dough. the pie dough adds sporadic crunchiness amongst the cream, a trait that i, as a texture junkie, am all for.
brown sugar pumpkin (back right) - out of these three pumpkin treats, this one's my fave. while the other two feature pumpkin cake, this one has brown sugar spice cake. it works damn well with the dual topping of chocolate pumpkin buttercream & a ganache chocolate drizzle that totally reminds me of magic shell.
pumpkin cheesecake (front) - as it is, i'm not a huge fan of cheesecake but i figured that since it's pumpktoberfest, the pumpkiniest damn time of the year, i'd give the pumpkin cheesecake cupcake a shot. it has the same moist pumpkin cake as the pumpkin pie one but in this case, the buttercream's of the cheesecake variety & there's chocolate fudge topping it. it's pretty durn good for something with cheesecake in it.
...& the questions:
eat!drink!snack! - what's the most exciting/rewarding thing about robicelli's? the most challenging?
allison - i have to say there are a million exciting things about robicelli's: the amazing fans, the boundless creativity, the endless possibility. it takes a certain type of insanity to be an entrepreneur, and matt and i both have it. we love our jobs - we love everything about it, from the baking to the problem solving to the daydreaming and planning.....and most of all, we love hanging out with our amazing customers and getting to know them. so many have become dear friends, and we're incredibly blessed to have them.
i honestly can't say there's anything that ISN'T challenging. to put it in perspective: think of your job. think of every single thing you do there, every action, every decision. now imagine that in the event you ever make a single mistake or misstep, your entire company could dissolve, everyone would be out of a job, and you'd be bankrupt. that's our life.
but the single most challenging thing, for matt and i at least, is making sure we are able to balance running the business with our personal lives, in particular being amazing parents to our two boys (atticus who's 4, and toby who's 3). there are second chances in business, but no second chances with kids. we're in the midst of our busy season right now and i'll go DAYS without seeing them, and that kills me. i'm waiting for the day in 15 years when we're in group therapy and they cry about how i was never there when they were growing up.
E - do you have a favorite pumpkin snack or drink (other than your cupcakes, of course)?
A - i'll eat pumpkin anything. seriously. if there was a pumpkin flavored big mac i'd probably be stupid enough to try it. last year i woke up extra early on thanksgiving morning, ran around the corner to starbucks and got pumpkin spice lattes for matt and i, and we cuddled up in bed with the kids and watched the parade on TV. it was one of the nicest days i've ever had, and i can't wait to repeat it this year. we've also been known to devour an entire pie in bed as a family with just two forks and a can of rediwhip. don't knock bed-pie til you've tried it (but you will need to vacuum the sheets once you're done).
E - how do you celebrate halloween?
A - this year the plan is to take the kids up to the museum of natural history for their halloween concert and trick-or-treating. once halloween became about dressing like a total slut, i stopped caring. i have too much self-respect to participate at this point.
E - what's your favorite horror film (or films) and why?
A - evil fucking dead. or army of darkness. i don't think i need to explain.
E - what pumpkin cupcakes are you featuring this season?
A - pumpkin spice latte: pumpkin cake, espresso mascarpone buttercream, fall spiced chocolate covered espresso beans
chocolate pumpkin cheesecake: pumpkin cake, cheesecake buttercream, chocolate fudge dip
pumpkin "pie": pumpkin cake, vanilla buttercream, crushed up pie dough
pumpkin caramel: pumpkin cake, salted caramel buttercream, candied pumpkin seeds
brown sugar pumpkin: brown sugar spice cake, pumpkin chocolate buttercream, ganache
we also have a pumpkin spice whoopie pie (filled with pumpkin and toasted marshmallow buttercream and brown sugar streusel) and a pumpkin swirl brownie.