Laura
12-24-2010, 06:15 PM
Here in NYC, Robicelli's is an up-and-coming small scale purveyor of gourmet cupcakes. Their cupcakes are found in small specialty food shops and cafes in a few locations in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and they periodically appear at "pop-up shops" (short-term sales events) and the like. They were at the Big Social Holiday Fair in the Nolita-Soho area yesterday, and I brought home some of the cupcakes they had for sale there.
Matt Robicelli told me that in the days immediately preceeding and following the holidays, Robicelli's cupcakes made cupcakes in _nothing but_ their posted selection of holiday flavors. Here is my review of the flavors they had available at the Big Social Holiday Fair.
Robicelli's cupcakes website (http://robicellis.tumblr.com/decembercupcakes2010) lists the following as the cupcakes they had available on Dec. 23rd (when I went to the fair) and the 24th:
Eggnog: Eggnog cake & buttercream, freshly ground nutmeg
Chocolate Candy Cane: Mint chocolate-chocolate chip cake, peppermint buttercream, crushed candy canes
Hot Buttered Rum: Rum-spiked butterscotch soaked cake, butter rum buttercream & drizzle
Cranberry Gingerbread: Cranberry gingerbread cake, vanilla buttercream, spiced cranberry compote
The ones they actually _had_ at the fair somewhat deviated from what was specified on the list. I asked Matt for "one of each" variety of cupcake he had available, and here is what I came home with:
Eggnog: the eggnog cupcakes were a healthy yellow shade and very light in both flavor and color, with an even texture to the cake componant, which was not too crumbly. The buttercream was more olegenious than I was used to but it, too, had a pleasantly light eggnog flavor. A light dusting of pure nutmeg adorned the top of a puffed crown of buutercream. (I'm going to have to try to "reverse engineer" these and make a batch at home for next Christmas!)
The other cupcakes I brought home were obviously _not_ from the list above. The next one my family and I tried was self-evidently the Hazelnut Kiss. With truly gooey frosting and crushed hazelnuts on top, this confection, in spite of the fact that the cake was more crumbly, was well liked.
Hazelnut Kiss: Chocolate hazelnut cake, Nutella buttercream, roasted hazelnuts
The third cupcake I shared with my family had a -very_ crumbly cake part with a yeasty flavor so assertive as to be unpleasant, and the icing had a slightly alcoholic taste. We speculated as to what flavor it was, until finally my sister looked at the list. It must be a Car Bomb, she said.
Car Bomb: Chocolate Guinness Stout cake, Jameson whiskey ganache, Bailey’s buttercream
The fourth cupcake, which I am saving for the last, is
Chocolate Chestnut: Chocolate chestnut cake & buttercream topped, candied roasted chestnuts
Matt Robicelli told me that in the days immediately preceeding and following the holidays, Robicelli's cupcakes made cupcakes in _nothing but_ their posted selection of holiday flavors. Here is my review of the flavors they had available at the Big Social Holiday Fair.
Robicelli's cupcakes website (http://robicellis.tumblr.com/decembercupcakes2010) lists the following as the cupcakes they had available on Dec. 23rd (when I went to the fair) and the 24th:
Eggnog: Eggnog cake & buttercream, freshly ground nutmeg
Chocolate Candy Cane: Mint chocolate-chocolate chip cake, peppermint buttercream, crushed candy canes
Hot Buttered Rum: Rum-spiked butterscotch soaked cake, butter rum buttercream & drizzle
Cranberry Gingerbread: Cranberry gingerbread cake, vanilla buttercream, spiced cranberry compote
The ones they actually _had_ at the fair somewhat deviated from what was specified on the list. I asked Matt for "one of each" variety of cupcake he had available, and here is what I came home with:
Eggnog: the eggnog cupcakes were a healthy yellow shade and very light in both flavor and color, with an even texture to the cake componant, which was not too crumbly. The buttercream was more olegenious than I was used to but it, too, had a pleasantly light eggnog flavor. A light dusting of pure nutmeg adorned the top of a puffed crown of buutercream. (I'm going to have to try to "reverse engineer" these and make a batch at home for next Christmas!)
The other cupcakes I brought home were obviously _not_ from the list above. The next one my family and I tried was self-evidently the Hazelnut Kiss. With truly gooey frosting and crushed hazelnuts on top, this confection, in spite of the fact that the cake was more crumbly, was well liked.
Hazelnut Kiss: Chocolate hazelnut cake, Nutella buttercream, roasted hazelnuts
The third cupcake I shared with my family had a -very_ crumbly cake part with a yeasty flavor so assertive as to be unpleasant, and the icing had a slightly alcoholic taste. We speculated as to what flavor it was, until finally my sister looked at the list. It must be a Car Bomb, she said.
Car Bomb: Chocolate Guinness Stout cake, Jameson whiskey ganache, Bailey’s buttercream
The fourth cupcake, which I am saving for the last, is
Chocolate Chestnut: Chocolate chestnut cake & buttercream topped, candied roasted chestnuts