Joey Biscotti!

Hello...is this thing on?....

2010-08-09T10:26:00.002-04:00

Hello friends! Once again, life became so full that we haven't had a chance to blog in forever, it seems. We took the month of July off to visit relatives, spending a great weekend in Ft. Myers with my mom and then about 8 days camping with Joe's family at Mt. Shasta CA. It was a much needed respite, and now that we are refreshed and full of good family memories to see us through, we came back and decided to dive back into the business, even though the summer months are the slowest as far as taking our product to Market. The heat and humidity in Florida are keeping customers away, locked safely in their air-conditioned homes or movie theatres, I suppose. And thats OK, because it gives us time to think about what to bring out this fall!

I baked a sinfully delicious Peanut Butter/Chocolate bundt cake with Salted Caramel glaze this past week and it was really naughty of me not to share... but I was intoxicated, I suppose. We will bring that to market this fall to sell either in slice form or perhaps small "bundts for two".

Of course, our best sellers will be back - Apple spice cake, Pumpkin pie with cinnamon pecan streusal, and many others. If our best friends from South Orange don't make it down in September as we hope they will, then we'll be at the Sabor Festival in Ybor with Tres Leches cakes (we should call them hotcakes, because that's how well they sell!)..and our Fiesta brownies with a hint of cayenne pepper, among other latin inspired goodies.

As usual, we're at the Ybor City Saturday Market from 9-1 each Saturday, with longer hours beginning in late September. Look for the Tiffany Blue booth that's overflowing with Chocolate, Citrus, and other sweet fresh fruits and creamy toppings... we promise you won't leave hungry!

Ciao for now -
'Da Boys

Oh Sugar, Why must you taunt me so?

2010-02-12T20:57:00.002-05:00

Hi - remember me? (us?)...it's been SO long since we blogged. Many changes in our lives, many new friends, new dishes to serve up and so much more. Joe and I moved to St. Petersburg Florida a few months back and we are so much more relaxed on the homefront. Producing for market has been a challange, but with so many merits, it really is worth all the lost sleep and tension.

We have two really great room-mates (a sure sign of the times, due to this indiscribable economy we're experiencing), a cute little attention-craving pup named Poco, and our Jeep (Eli) to get us from point A to Z and back again each day.

Tomorrow morning we're taking our delicious Bittersweet Chocolate Cherry Ganache-covered brownies, heart shaped for the holiday, to market, along with some new Strawberry bread (filled with fresh strawberries and walnuts), and a few White Chocolate Raspberry swirl Cheesecakes for lovers lucky enough to find us in Ybor City. (if you're lucky enough to live in South West Florida - come find us on Saturdays in Ybor between 9am and 3pm for some of the finest sweet treats you can imagine - remember, we make Momma's desserts with a gourmet twist!)

I'm currently working with a great group of people at Tampa's new Crate and Barrel store, and after making it through the holidays as a seasonal sales person, I am now a permanent part-timer and was blessed to receive the Employee of the Quarter designation - and all because of the great group of co-workers who voted for me. It was a truly wonderful surprise, and truly made me feel like I belong.

If you know any SW Florida couples getting married in the near future, send them to Crate and Barrel to sign up for our Sunday morning Bridal Events - three left in the month of February, and Joey Biscotti is supplying the sweets! Each bride and groom will be given the opportunity to register at the store, taste some great treats, have a Mimosa and enjoy some personalized attention from the C&B staff.

More to come as time warrents!

Ciao for now -

Steven and Joe -

'Da Boys

Long time, no taste!

2009-12-28T19:16:00.004-05:00

Hello fellow sweets lovers - well, its been months since I last blogged, and for good reason - we've been busy beavers here at Joey Biscotti - baking our little fingers off to bring you the finest in delicious delectables. I'm attaching a pic or two of our booth at the Ybor Saturday Market (corner of 19th and 8th - Centennial Park in Ybor City) and a recent Nutcracker holiday event to show you what we've been up to. We have, for some odd reason, become "those cookie guys" at the market - people come back week after week for our Snickerdoodles, Lemon White/Chocolate cookies, Oatmeal with Cranberries and white chocolate, and so much more. And we're starting to do wedding cakes (our first is in a few weeks - wish us luck!) But as I've told my brides-to-be, we don't do much in the way of fancy decorations. Our stuff is all about flavor over looks, with a rustic, home-baked feel and look to them. The brides we've been dealing with seem to be in agreement - Taste wins over fondant and flowers, so bring on the wedding cake orders!

Here's hoping that you all have a wonderful and prosperous New Year, and please stop by and see us at Market, so we may fulfill all your sweets cravings in a timely fashion!

Ciao for now -

'Da boys

Ever-growing fan base!

2009-10-27T13:34:00.002-04:00

We've received another great fan letter from our patrons at the Ybor Market and I want to share it with you here. I am so thrilled that we are getting such great feedback - it continues to reinforce in our minds that we are doing something right! We're moving this week, so I'll keep this post short - but I hope you get from this that, if you haven't been to the market and/or tasted our goods - you are really missing out on something special!

Here's the letter:

Guys;
We met you for the first time last Saturday at the market. We picked up some Mutts, the Apple Cake, a Lemon, Blueberry Muffin. My partners name was Steve also.

Anyway. We were and still are most impressed. I have to agree with another observer. Everything out there these days is so cookie cutter run of the mill stuff. Even the new Publix gourmet items are nice, but so mass produced feeling.

I cannot even begin to think what those Cakes and cheese cakes would be like. I am a CAKE FREAK!!! Steve is the same with Cheese Cake. Once the weather cools, please consider bringing some of these with you to the market. The Malt Ball one sounds so dreamy. The bread pudding!! OMG, did you have any with you last week?? I know the market is closed this week due to the holiday, will you all be set up the weekend of the 7th??

Anyway, the best of luck to you and your business and hope to see you all soon

Regards;
(withheld for privacy) - Tampa. FL

Yea! Go US! Whoo Hoo!

Ciao for now -

'Da boys

Learn something new every day...

2009-10-25T15:44:00.004-04:00

Today I met some really wonderful folks: the owners/bakers of Millie's Gourmet Biscotti.
They're lovely folks, and they make some of the best biscotti I've ever tasted.
They were kind enough to let me sample their Lemon Blueberry White Chocolate biscotti, and it was to live for!

Now, as many of you know, we started out baking biscotti, which led us into a whole new world of Dessert possibilities. Baking biscotti us a true art form, and when we relocated to Florida, we were suddenly dealing with HUMIDITY! It really killed our recipes, and so we decided to concentrate on things we had more control over. Now we've become known for our cookies, muffins and cakes, etc; If we' d had the fore-sight, we could have changed our name to
Joey Everything BUT Biscotti!!

So I want to strongly recommend to all of you biscotti lovers, to head over to
www.MilliesGourmetBiscotti.com, and buy some of the finest biscotti around!

Ciao for now -

'Da Boys

2009-09-29T18:29:00.002-04:00

So, I had my eyes examined today, and it turns out that I DID need new reading glasses. Perhap our recipes will turn out even BETTER, since I'll be able to see the proper quantities to measure out!! I highly recommend taking care of your eyesight ( not to mention the rest of yourself! ), so that you may correctly witness this beautiful world we live in.

Joe and I are looking for new "diggs", and took a drive through St. Petersburgh today. What a pretty city. We'd love feedback from anyone who has lived or currently lives there. The kitchen we produce our culinary magic in is located in Largo, and is currently a 33 mile drive each way... Talk about time and mileage! So we're hoping to get a little closer to both the kitchen and his job. Other suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Stop by the Ybor market this Saturday, 10/3, and pick up some Joeltz, cookies, and fresh Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl muffins. Fall is officialy here!

Ciao for now -

'Da Boys

Affirmations are a Sweet Blessing!

2009-09-15T19:45:00.002-04:00

Hello friends and family. Today Joe and I received a wonderful email from someone who had purchased from our booth at the Ybor Saturday Market. It made us both practically speechless (and if you know me - you know just how difficult THAT is!). I'm not going to say a lot about it, other than that it is a glorious reminder to us that following our bliss, living with passion and baking love into everything we make is what it's all about. Here, in it's entirety, is the letter:

"Hey Guys,

My wife and I stopped by your table at the Ybor Market and bought a couple of your delicious sweets and thought I'd let you know that they were awesome. We got the "Tres Leches" and those mini-cupcakes with the spicy kick (not sure what they're called so I make up my own name). My wife is not usually a fan of "Tres Leches" but me being Hispanic happen to love it so I got it anyway. My wife loved it! The mini-cupcakes with the spicy kick may be one of the most delicious sweets that I've ever had. We only bought 4 and once we finished those we almost turned back to by a bunch more but it was after 1pm.

You have a great product. Living in Brandon, it seems that everything around here is a cookie-cutter chain so we had to go all the way to Ybor to find a worthwhile product and happened to run into a unique product made by people from Brandon... ironic. I wish you the best of luck and hope to be able to buy more of your products.

(I'm keeping his name anonymous)
Aspiring Food Snob"

Ciao for now, Good people...
'Da Boys

To Market we go!

2009-08-23T11:03:00.002-04:00

Wow! I cannot believe how long it has been since I have had a chance to post on our blog - and though I apologize to all of our loyal friends and fans, I must admit that the time away has been spent wisely. As many of you know, we are now fully licensed to sell in the state of Florida. We've made some wonderful contacts here, beginning with Cindy Howell of Your Pro Kitchen, a lovely young woman who is such a cheerleader for our cause. Having been an entrepreneur herself, she knows the trials and tribulations of getting a business up and on it's feet, so she now believes in giving back to the universe and sharing that knowledge with first-time business start-ups. Now THAT'S my kind of gal!
Her breadth of experience inside the industry has led us to everything from proper packaging and labeling techniques, to who and how to to contact the right individuals to get ourselves fully licensed under the law.

Her Kitchen rental space is gorgeous - 2000 square feet of baking heaven. Huge, fully functioning convection ovens, tons of counter space and equipment we have always dreamed of using, and the guidance to go with it all. I've said it before and I'll say it again: we are blessed.

Shortly after meeting Cindy and getting set up in her kitchen, we met Lynn Schultz, who works for the SBIC of Hillsborough County, and manages the Ybor Saturday Market in Ybor City. Another wonderful, friendly and very giving contact for us - and she has taught us so much. She believes in us and our product, and has given us a prime space at the market so that we may be seen by all who enter the grounds. We did 50% better business in this, our second weekend at the market, and we know it will just continue to grow from there.

For those of you who missed our goodies this weekend, let me make your mouth water, if I may. We sold Apple Spice muffins, filled with cranberries and brown sugar (one of my all-time favorite recipes), Citrus pound cakes, Chocolate/Toffee Bread Puddings, and our famous Mutts: chocolate cookies which house every kind of chip you could want, including butterscotch, white chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, peanut butter, and toffee...YUM.

We had a blast giving out samples and hooking people on our goods (this may sound a bit crass to some, but at my former place of employment, some people - and you know who you are! - were convinced that we put crack cocaine in our stuff to get people addicted! LOL! Well, we DON'T. We just fill them with love. That is why people keep coming back for more.

I hope that everyone who has followed our posts, tasted our goods and/or simply believe in us and love watching our growth, will appreciate what we've been doing to be able to continue bringing cake to the people! (not to mention cheesecake, tarts, pies, brownies, cookies, ...well - you know the drill!)

Thank you for continuing to believe in us. We will try to be better about keeping our blog up-dated from this point forward, but if we seem to lag a bit, be sure that it is because we are using our time wisely to get our name out there and to keep on perfecting recipes we know you all will love.

Ciao for now...

'Da boys

Homemade is better!!!

2009-07-27T06:05:00.004-04:00

The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

If you are satisfied with store-bought marshmallows or Fluff, you don't know WHAT you're missing!!! Who knew marshmallows were so easy to make!!! Here is the recipe as given by our July hostess...

Homemade marshmallows:
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 3/4 cup (168.76 grams/5.95oz) sugar
• 1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 2 egg whites , room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. In a saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup, and sugar, bring to a boil until “soft-ball” stage, or 235 degrees on a candy thermometer.
2. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and let dissolve.
3. Remove the syrup from the heat, add the gelatin, and mix.
4. Whip the whites until soft peaks form and pour the syrup into the whites.
5. Add the vanilla and continue whipping until stiff.
6. Transfer to a pastry bag.

This is what it looks like after step 5...

I wasn't too sure about the part of the challenge about the cookie base... It suggested making the cookies 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter which seemed a little small to me, but I went ahead and made the cookies with the recipe given...

Prep Time: 10 min
Inactive Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 10 min
Serves: about 2 dozen cookies

• 3 cups (375grams/13.23oz) all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (112.5grams/3.97oz) white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter
• 3 eggs, whisked together
• Homemade marshmallows, recipe follows
• Chocolate glaze, recipe follows

1. In a mixer with the paddle attachment, blend the dry ingredients.
2. On low speed, add the butter and mix until sandy.
3. Add the eggs and mix until combine.
4. Form the dough into a disk, wrap with clingfilm or parchment and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
5. When ready to bake, grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper or a silicon mat.
6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
7. Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness, on a lightly floured surface. Use a 1 to 1 1/2 inches cookie cutter to cut out small rounds of dough.
8. Transfer to the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.

Now, I made these with a 1 inch cutter, and got 60 cookies out of the first rolling alone... I probably could have gotten another 2 dozen out of the leftover, but something told me to stop with the 60, and a good thing I did because the marshmallow recipe was JUST ENOUGH...

Assembling the cookies was not a problem either... We decided to give them a little flavor boost so I spread a little peanut butter on 2 dozen and a little raspberry fruit spread on another 2 dozen, leaving the last dozen plain... Steven got the job of piping the marshmallow on to the cookies...

This is the peanut butter group...

This is the raspberry group...

And this is the final step before the chocolate coating... Here, they need to dry for at least 2 hours...

While the mallomars were drying, I began the second part of the challenge... Homemade orange milanos... Recipe here...

Milan Cookies
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website

Prep Time: 20 min
Inactive Prep Time: 0 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min
Serves: about 3 dozen cookies

• 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups (312.5 grams/ 11.02 oz) powdered sugar
• 7/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 eggs)
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons lemon extract
• 1 1/2 cups (187.5grams/ 6.61 oz) all purpose flour
• Cookie filling, recipe follows

Cookie filling:
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 orange, zested

1. In a mixer with paddle attachment cream the butter and the sugar.
2. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the vanilla and lemon extracts.
3. Add the flour and mix until just well mixed.
4. With a small (1/4-inch) plain tip, pipe 1-inch sections of batter onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spacing them 2 inches apart as they spread.
5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan.
6. While waiting for the cookies to cool, in a small saucepan over medium flame, scald cream.
7. Pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl, whisk to melt chocolate, add zest and blend well.
8. Set aside to cool (the mixture will thicken as it cools).
9. Spread a thin amount of the filling onto the flat side of a cookie while the filling is still soft and press the flat side of a second cookie on top.
10. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies.

Again, I was a little iffy about the 1-inch length, and here, my iffiness was confirmed because the cookies baked a little small for my taste, so for the rest of the batches, we made them larger... The other issue we had was the Florida humidity... The cookies didn't crisp up like I had expected them to... But other than that, this was a success as well...

Look at them all!!!

Meanwhile, back at the mallomars, they received their bittersweet chocolate cloaking, and held their shape beautifully!!!

Chocolate glaze:
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate
• 2 ounces cocoa butter or vegetable oil

1. Melt the 2 ingredients together in the top of a double boiler or a bowl set over barely simmering water.

All in all, a great challenge met with great enthusiasm... A final look!!!

Looking forward to what August has in store!!!

And remember to follow us on Twitter @joeybiscotti

And I say to myself: "What a wonderful world..."

2009-06-30T20:01:00.004-04:00

Well, good friends, the adjustment period is winding down, and I'm getting closer to feeling like I'm not on vacation any more. We've made a few great contacts for the business, and this weekend I'm taking my goods to a local salon for the clientele to much on between shampoos and pedicures. This place supplies wine and snacks all the time, and I thought: what better way to get the word out about Joey Biscotti!

I'm considering making a few different things - Joeltz hazelnut brownies (never met a brownie I didn't like) mini bite-sized lemon cupcakes filled with lemon curd, and either some type of cookie or our famous Heart shaped double chocolate brownies with raspberry chips, chocolate ganache, and a drizzle of red chocolate on top - a REAL crowd-pleaser.

Florida has offered us a few challenges, as far as baking goes. For instance, we've had to go back to the drawing board in regards to our biscotti. The humidity causes them to come out completely differently than they did in New York City, so I've got some recipe tinkering to do and in the meantime I've taken them off our menu - no sense teasing people with something they can't order from us at the moment. (Call me a stickler, but I just won't sell someone something that I wouldn't eat, myself, and I believe that's the sign of a good business man.)

Otherwise, the weather is beautiful - the sunsets on the west coast of florida are some of the most beautiful I've ever seen. Talk about raspberry...thats the color of the sky just before the last rays of the sun sink into the horizon. Amazing!

Stay well, stay hungry - and keep on checking back for additions to our menu - who knows what this climate might inspire us to create next!

Ciao for now -

'Da boys

Loose Woman or Delicious Pastry???

2009-06-27T20:24:00.003-04:00

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

Wanna know more about the history of the Bakewell Tart??? Read here... Very interesting, especially the tasty-sounding Cherry Bakewell Shot!!!

It seems every month, we intend to take care of the challenge earlier rather than later, and yet we never seem to until the very last minute... This month was no exception... But we completed it on time!!! And without any major problems...

The shortcrust pastry came together quite well, as did the frangipane... We decided on our own world famous Joey Biscotti Lemon Curd as the fruit layer... We already had some made so we figured, why not? I only really had a small issue, as I always do, with the ground almonds... I never seem to be able to get them ground fine enough and end up with larger chunks in the mix...

All in all, it was a great, tasty challenge... I would love to experiment with other fruits at some point... And now, the photos!!! (the recipe follows)...

Bakewell Tart…er…pudding
Makes one 23cm (9” tart)
Prep time: less than 10 minutes (plus time for the individual elements)
Resting time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Equipment needed: 23cm (9”) tart pan or pie tin (preferably with ridged edges), rolling pin

One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Bench flour
250ml (1cup (8 US fl. oz)) jam or curd, warmed for spreadability
One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful blanched, flaked almonds

Assembling the tart
Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it's overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.

The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.

When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

Jasmine’s notes:
• If you cannot have nuts, you can try substituting Victoria sponge for the frangipane. It's a pretty popular popular cake, so you shouldn't have any troubles finding one in one of your cookbooks or through a Google search. That said, our dear Natalie at Gluten a Go Go has sourced some recipes and linked to them in the related alt.db thread.
• You can use whichever jam you wish, but if you choose something with a lot of seeds, such as raspberry or blackberry, you should sieve them out.
• The jam quantity can be anywhere from 60ml (1/4 cup) to 250ml (1cup), depending upon how “damp” and strongly flavoured your preserves are. I made it with the lesser quantity of home made strawberry jam, while Annemarie made it with the greater quantity of cherry jam; we both had fabulous results. If in doubt, just split the difference and spread 150ml (2/3cup) on the crust.
Annemarie’s notes:
• The excess shortcrust can be rolled out and cut into cookie-shapes (heck, it’s pretty darned close to a shortbread dough).

Sweet shortcrust pastry
Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes (minimum)
Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, cling film

225g (8oz) all purpose flour
30g (1oz) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 (2) egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Jasmine’s notes:
• I make this using vanilla salt and vanilla sugar.
• If you wish, you can substitute the seeds of one vanilla bean, one teaspoon of vanilla paste or one teaspoon of vanilla extract for the almond extract

Frangipane
Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, rubber spatula

125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract
125g (4.5oz) ground almonds
30g (1oz) all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.

Annemarie’s notes:
• Add another five minutes or more if you're grinding your own almonds or if you're mixing by hand (Heaven help you).

Can you say Vide-Greniers ??

2009-06-04T16:57:00.003-04:00

...thats french for Community Yard Sale (or so I'm told). This saturday morning, the 6th, from 8 - 1, our neighborhood is holding just such a sale - and what better way to introduce Joey Biscotti to the unsuspecting hordes? Joe has been doing the preparations for Snickerdoodles today, while I've been baking up many a mini cheesecake, making lemon curd, and designing signs to post that will entice people into our fragrant front yard. Tomorrow will be about producing Joeltz (our caffiene-infused hazelnut brownie bites that are topped with coffee frosting and a dark chocolate covered espresso bean), sour cream chocolate cupcakes, and possibly another batch of mini cheesecakes (today was mandarin orange, tomorrow may be double chocolate).

Dontcha wish you could be there? (any Brandon/Tampa locals wanting to stop on by are welcome - just email me for directions).

Ok - back to work...

Ciao for now

'Da boys

That Apple Strudel is Tasty!!!

2009-05-27T18:29:00.004-04:00

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers...

So here is the first full Daring Bakers Challenge post since we've moved to Fla-la-land... I'd always had a fear of making very thin pastry dough, thinking that it wouldn't be thin enough, or become full of holes that would be difficult to repair, or any number of other catastrophe's, but this dough, I had no problem with!!! Well, I did have one little issue... I couldn't get the dough to stretch to the correct measurements of 2' by 3' so I think I had too much filling for the size of the dough... In the end, though, the only thing that didn't seem quite right was the fact the the breadcrumbs sort of spilled out of the pastry upon slicing... Also, the only alteration I made was substituting dried cranberries for the raisins...

But, onward... first, the recipe then the photos...

Preparation time
Total: 2 hours 15 minutes – 3 hours 30 minutes

15-20 min to make dough
30-90 min to let dough rest/to prepare the filling
20-30 min to roll out and stretch dough
10 min to fill and roll dough
30 min to bake
30 min to cool

Apple strudel
from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers

2 tablespoons (30 ml) golden rum
3 tablespoons (45 ml) raisins
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (80 g) sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick / 115 g) unsalted butter, melted, divided
1 1/2 cups (350 ml) fresh bread crumbs
strudel dough (recipe below)
1/2 cup (120 ml, about 60 g) coarsely chopped walnuts
2 pounds (900 g) tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¼ inch-thick slices (use apples that hold their shape during baking)

1. Mix the rum and raisins in a bowl. Mix the cinnamon and sugar in another bowl.

2. Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the breadcrumbs and cook whilst stirring until golden and toasted. This will take about 3 minutes. Let it cool completely.

3. Put the rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with baking paper (parchment paper). Make the strudel dough as described below. Spread about 3 tablespoons of the remaining melted butter over the dough using your hands (a bristle brush could tear the dough, you could use a special feather pastry brush instead of your hands). Sprinkle the buttered dough with the bread crumbs. Spread the walnuts about 3 inches (8 cm) from the short edge of the dough in a 6-inch-(15cm)-wide strip. Mix the apples with the raisins (including the rum), and the cinnamon sugar. Spread the mixture over the walnuts.

4. Fold the short end of the dough onto the filling. Lift the tablecloth at the short end of the dough so that the strudel rolls onto itself. Transfer the strudel to the prepared baking sheet by lifting it. Curve it into a horseshoe to fit. Tuck the ends under the strudel. Brush the top with the remaining melted butter.

5. Bake the strudel for about 30 minutes or until it is deep golden brown. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Use a serrated knife and serve either warm or at room temperature. It is best on the day it is baked.

Strudel dough
from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers

1 1/3 cups (200 g) unbleached flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons (105 ml) water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

1. Combine the flour and salt in a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix the water, oil and vinegar in a measuring cup. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour with the mixer on low speed. You will get a soft dough. Make sure it is not too dry, add a little more water if necessary.
Take the dough out of the mixer. Change to the dough hook. Put the dough ball back in the mixer. Let the dough knead on medium until you get a soft dough ball with a somewhat rough surface.

2. Take the dough out of the mixer and continue kneading by hand on an unfloured work surface. Knead for about 2 minutes. Pick up the dough and throw it down hard onto your working surface occasionally.
Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a plate. Oil the top of the dough ball lightly. Cover the ball tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 30-90 minutes (longer is better).

3. It would be best if you have a work area that you can walk around on all sides like a 36 inch (90 cm) round table or a work surface of 23 x 38 inches (60 x 100 cm). Cover your working area with table cloth, dust it with flour and rub it into the fabric. Put your dough ball in the middle and roll it out as much as you can.
Pick the dough up by holding it by an edge. This way the weight of the dough and gravity can help stretching it as it hangs. Using the back of your hands to gently stretch and pull the dough. You can use your forearms to support it.

4. The dough will become too large to hold. Put it on your work surface. Leave the thicker edge of the dough to hang over the edge of the table. Place your hands underneath the dough and stretch and pull the dough thinner using the backs of your hands. Stretch and pull the dough until it's about 2 feet (60 cm) wide and 3 feet (90 cm) long, it will be tissue-thin by this time. Cut away the thick dough around the edges with scissors. The dough is now ready to be filled.

Tips
- Ingredients are cheap so we would recommend making a double batch of the dough, that way you can practice the pulling and stretching of the dough with the first batch and if it doesn't come out like it should you can use the second batch to give it another try;
- The tablecloth can be cotton or polyster;
- Before pulling and stretching the dough, remove your jewelry from hands and wrists, and wear short-sleeves;
- To make it easier to pull the dough, you can use your hip to secure the dough against the edge of the table;
- Few small holes in the dough is not a problem as the dough will be rolled, making (most of) the holes invisible.

Both Courtney and I did a trial run on making the strudel. Below are our notes:

Courtney's notes
- She could't get it to stretch to 2 feet by 3 feet, it turned out more like 2 feet by 2 feet. But the dough was tissue thin nevertheless;
- She got some serious holes, but after rolling it wasn't noticeable;
- She used a large cheese cloth which helped manipulate and stretch the dough more than a heavier cloth would have.

Linda's notes
- I made the dough by hand, just mixed the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon. Kneaded it for about 5 min like you would bread dough. This worked as well. Haven't tried using a standmixer so I don't know how it compares.
- Instead of cider vinegar I used red wine vinegar;
- I used bread flour;
- Picking up the dough to let it stretch didn't work well for me, holes appeared pretty much instantly. Instead I stretched the dough while it was lying on the tablecloth by putting my hands underneath and stretching it out further and further;

Here's a link to a strudelmaking video that might help you a bit...

A Cheesecake Challenge

2009-04-28T18:17:00.003-04:00

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

Hello, all... Cheesecake, it is... No problems here since cheesecake is one of our specialties!!! BUT since we have moved from the lovely state of New York to the lovely state of Florida, and have NO idea where our cameras are, we were unable to take photos in time...

Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake:

crust:
2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs
1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted
2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature
1 cup / 210 g sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)
1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

Pan note: The creator of this recipe used to use a springform pan, but no matter how well she wrapped the thing in tin foil, water would always seep in and make the crust soggy. Now she uses one of those 1-use foil "casserole" shaped pans from the grocery store. They're 8 or 9 inches wide and really deep, and best of all, water-tight. When it comes time to serve, just cut the foil away.

Prep notes: While the actual making of this cheesecake is a minimal time commitment, it does need to bake for almost an hour, cool in the oven for an hour, and chill overnight before it is served. Please plan accordingly!

So we used this basic recipe and added our raspberry coulis to make our famous raspberry heart cheesecake... It came out almost exactly the same as the recipe we used and tasted just as delicious!!!

Our apologies about no photos, but we're up for next month's challenge!!! Now on to warmer weather!!!

The time has come, the walrus said....

2009-03-31T07:19:00.005-04:00

...To get our butts to a warmer climate! We're packing up and getting out of Dodge - to be near family and the beach! Joe has been given a wonderful opportunity to open a new store in Tampa, Florida, and we're jumping on it. My entire family is within two hours of there, and since I haven't had much time to spend with my eighty-two-year-old mother in the past several years, I am thrilled to be moving to her area. We will be temporarily closing up shop here at Joey Biscotti! but once we get settled in Florida, we'll reopen with a sweet vengeance. We'll have to do some product testing down there and garner new customers, but we've found that, "if you bake it, they will come...." And we're excited about making new friends, but will dearly miss the old ones. We're so thankful to have met and been able to share our lives and our baked goods with so many of you here on the east coast, and though we'll be on the west coast of Florida - we're only moments away on the internet, and plan on staying that way. We'll still be able to ship cookies and biscotti, and hope that our friends from all over the country will continue to keep us in mind when ordering for those special occasions, holidays, and midnight snack attacks!

Stay tuned for interesting up-dates about our experience of moving and making a fresh start.

Ciao for now...

'Da Boys

Rudolph's Brother

2009-02-28T14:32:00.003-05:00

What am I talking about, Willis??? Yes, that's right... Chocolate Valentino... The February Daring Baker's Challenge... It was all about the chocolate and probably one if the easiest cakes to make, in terms of ingredients... three, to be exact... So simple, in fact, that I'm going to tell you all how to make it... But first, the "legalities"...

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge...

While the guidelines stated that we were to pair the cake with the vanilla ice cream, we don't have an ice cream maker... There is a technique from David Lebovitz here that explains how to make ice cream without a machine, but, since we were allowed leeway to pair the cake with something else, we opted for a Grand Marnier whipped cream instead...

This is the cake recipe... It's just chocolate and eggs and butter...

Chocolate Valentino
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
16 ounces of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter.
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C
9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

The only mistake I made was i missed the two extra tablespoons of butter... It didn't seem to matter to us in the end, because the cake still had a PHENOMENAL taste!!!

What goes well with Chocolate?

2009-02-21T13:18:00.002-05:00

Hello folks. It's been a while since I had a chance to blog about our baking experiences, and I thought, well, as long as it's a winter Saturday, with no heat or hot water, and I'm forced to sit in front of this space heater and BAKE to keep warm - I might as well compose an up-date!

Last week Joe made the most fabulous cake - so freakin tall we couldn't fit it in any of our various boxes and had to construct one just for the occasion. Devil's Food with white chocolate/mint filling, layers of dark chocolate ganache and a mildly minty pale yellow buttercream frosting. OY was this one delicious. Four layers of heaven. Cake, ganache, mint filling, cake, ganache, mint filling - rinse and repeat...twice...only a very thin slice should be eaten at a sitting, because this one is so darned rich. We haven't thought of a name for it yet - but rest assured that its another keeper for our business.

Speaking of keepers, I have a Chocolate Caramel cheesecake in the oven as I type this - deep chocolate biscotti crust, layer of creamy caramel, and dark chocolate cheesecake filling...yum (I hope). This is one of those time when I have to keep reminding myself to have patience (something baking has truly helped me to achieve)...this one will have to cool on the rack for an hour or so, then refrigerated for three hours before we can TASTE it. Give me strength! I'm thinking of drizzling more caramel over the top and sprinkling with sea salt. Oops - my mouth just started to water. Did yours?

We are giving thoughts to what we want to serve up for the two up-coming holidays: St. Patrick's Day and Easter. I have a few thoughts, but will let those brew a bit longer until I'm (we're) ready to reveal the newest scrumptious delights from Joey Biscotti!

Satisfy your sweet tooth now - while we're still a small, personalized-service-oriented company. My intention is for us to always offer the service you've come to expect. Keep helping us to remember, as we grow, to always make YOU our number one priorty.

More later!

'Da boys...

What ... A challenge...

2009-01-29T08:00:00.002-05:00

Hello, all... Let's talk about tools... er, tuiles... THe Daring Baker's January challenge was just that... a challenge...

This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

I must say that I was a bit disappointed with our performance this month... I first had Steven try his hand at making these and, taking his inspiration from the butterflies suggested by the recipe itself, attempted to make angels, but the recipe wasn't conducive for the detail he was looking for beacuse the batter spreads so much during baking... But the cookie itself tasted really good... Unfortunately, no pictures of it...

Time passes, and we get busy with orders, but the challenge must be met again... This time I try my hand at it... I decided to go the simple route and just pipe circles... A couple of frustrations I had were 1) I didn't know how big the circles should be and 2) the greasing of the parchment paper (I couldn't get the batter to spread out with my offset since the batter just moved around the paper) and 3) I didn't know what the final outcome was supposed to be like... They always ended up more cake-y than crispy...

So, I flavored my batter with orange oil and was going to pair it with our famous homemade chocolate pudding, and just went ahead with the recipe... Since I didn't know how much batter to use for each cookie, I ended up with 4 larger circles, but they crisped up so much that they didn't bend so well and ended up close to flat...

My second attempt, I made the circles much smaller, and STILL could't get them to do anything more than look like a Pringle... I paired it up with the chocolate pudding anyway, and with the faint hint of orange, they tasted fantastic... But overall, I was disappointed with all three attempts...

And the final outcome... ta-da!!!!

Gotta Lotta Lovin to do....

2009-01-17T12:16:00.003-05:00

...and that's precisely what we've been up to. Lovin each and every morsel and ingredient that goes into our sweet treats. Treating them with tenderness and care, keeping them fresh and colorful, and incorporating as much love as possible, so that you'll taste it in each and every bite. We've added yet another wonderful goodie for you to share with someone special this year, and its a Double Chocolate Brownie with Raspberry chips and chocolate ganache topping. Large enough to share with your sweetie, (and rich enough that you just might have to - so get out there and get yourself someone to "spoon" with!) - these brownies have both bittersweet and semisweet chocolate in the mix, along with raspberry-shot chocolate chips, and are covered with a velvety thick layer of semisweet chocolate cream ganache, and, finally, drizzled with red chocolate. Delicioso! See our menu page for information on ordering some for the holiday (or just to snack on when you're in very chocolate mood!

More yummy stuff to come...

'Da boys

Love is in the air

2009-01-06T14:17:00.002-05:00

....and so is the aroma of fresh baked goodies to tempt each and every one of your senses! This Valentine's Day, we're serving up some delicious, love-filled treats to share with that someone special in your life. The first offering we've come up with is our rich and decadent White Chocolate Raspberry Swirl cheesecake in chocolate biscotti crust, with some lovely heart-shaped designs that will say "I love you" in a very special way. We will be making our usual 9" size for those of you with a lot of love to spread around, and for the week of Valentine's Day, you can also order them in the more intimate 5 1/2" size, pictured here. You'll get 6 sweet little wedges out of the smaller size - enough for dessert for lunch AND dinner that day!

Be sure and tell all your married, courting or just plain amorous friends to get in touch with us soon, so as to order on time and not miss out on a single, creamy fork-full!

More love to come...

'Da boys

When life gives you lemons (2)

2008-12-20T11:33:00.002-05:00

Steven here. So. Last week when I was doing a lot of baking for clients (big surprise), I made an Apple Spice cake which, for some reason, decided to stick to the pan (I have no idea how that happened). Well, not being one to toss a perfectly good, albeit ugly, cake in the garbage, I decided to try something new (also a big surprise. Not.) Hmmmmmmm,,,what could I do with this lovely cake, brimming with granny smith apples, brown sugar and spices? A-Hah! Granny Smith apples happen to be a favorite late-night snack of Joe and I, and we always slather the quarters with peanut butter. Sounds strange, I know, but try it - it's a great combination. This led me to the idea to make Apple Spice and Peanut Butter bread pudding!!! It sounded heavenly to me (of course). So I set about doctoring my Chocolate Toffee bread pudding recipe, and came up with a lovely, mildly peanut-flavored pudding to pour over the pieces of Apple Spice cake in their little aluminum cups (this is how I always make bread puddings - they hold probably 3/4 cup of yumminess and it seems just the right amount for a single serving). I thought to myself that no one would find these as interesting as I do - but was I ever wrong! Joe and I each took a handfull of the delightful cups to work the next day and people RAVED about them. I kid you not. And we got an order for 15 from a co-worker of Joe's for Christmas. So the next time a recipe turns out not quite the way you hoped, try thinking outside of the pie pan, and put your imagination to work. You won't believe what lovely little new-fangled item you might come up with!

In case I don't get a chance to blog again this week, we wish everyone of you a lovely, fun-filled Holiday (whichever one you choose to celebrate), and we send out many good thoughts and much positive energy in hopes that you will all have a fantastic New Year!

Ciao for now...

'Da boys

Just in time for Christmas

2008-12-15T16:44:00.006-05:00

Thats the title of a favorite Nancy LaMott song (I highly recommend her Christmas album to anyone looking for a great holiday listen). Nancy, we wish you were still here to share your amazing talent with us all.

Now, back to business! This weekend I'm gonna make my famous Lemon Curd, and this year we've decided to package it and sell it as a great holiday gift. It will come in a 6 oz jar for $10.00, and we're even including a spoon - for those of you who can't wait to get home and open this little jar of citrus heaven. We're taking pre-orders for Christmas week, and will have it available for pick up in Hell's Kitchen.

Of course, we won't discourage you from ordering something ELSE holiday flavored (Eggnog cheesecake, anyone?). Our best-sellers so far this fall have been Pumpkin Cheesecake with Orange/Cranberry biscotti crust, Caramel Apple Cheesecake, Pumpkin pie with Cinnamon pecan struesel topping, and our cookies, of course. Please get those orders to us by friday the 19th, to gaurantee the freshest goods and pick up by the holiday.

We hope to hear from you all, and soon! And in case we don't get the chance to say it in person - Happy Holidays to you all, and thank you for your friendship and patronage this year - it has made a huge difference in our lives!

Ciao for now...

'Da boys

It's Sugar Time!!!

2008-12-02T21:14:00.004-05:00

Once again, the Daring Bakers have challenged me to do something new... This month it was Caramel Cake... Shuna Fish Lydon's recipe for this month's challenge can be seen here... and this month's hosts were Dolores of Culinary Curiosity Alex (Brownie of the Blondie and Brownie duo: /), and Jenny of Foray into Food. And contributing the alternative recipe was Natalie of Gluten-a-Go-Go...

I had never made caramel or worked with sugar in this way before so I was a little frightened of possible burns while the sugar cooked, BUT i was fine... The only real issue I had was probably my own lack of experience with sugar, and I don't think that I cooked it long enough, but it didn't seem to affect falvor at all...

Anyway, our post is a few days late, what with the holiday but here are the photos of this most luscious and moist cake... We each had two slices before putting the cake to bed for the night... Then Steven took it in to work where, somehow, it disappeared as he crossed the threshold...

And now, a few photos...

By the way, I had promised this cake for Steven's birthday today... If two slices is any indication, he enjoyed it!

and now, on to the December Challenge... We'll keep you posted!!!

Isn't it a lovely day to go out in the rain?

2008-11-08T17:08:00.003-05:00

Today, we're semi-relaxing at home after shopping in the rain this AM. After lunch, I made an apple Crostata (sort of a rustic, open-faced apple pie) and I'm waiting for it to thoroughly cool so we can give it a try. It's been a while, and I wanted to polish up my skills, because we already have orders for them for the holidays, and I wanted to tweak the recipe and see if I can make it even better (I know - its not easy, being a perfectionist!).

Yesterday we attended the New York City Chocolate Show at Pier 94. I think I still have a hangover from all the sugar, chocolate and caffeine. There was a lot to taste, a lot to see, and some great inspiration, not to mention lovely people with wonderful ideas. We got to watch the owners of Baked (in Redhook) make their rootbeer bundt cake and give it a try. I even tasted a truffle made of blue cheese and chocolate (not a half bad combination, I must admit). There were chocolate fashions on display from the opening celebrations, which Joe took photos of, and overall a good day was had by all. On the way home from the show, as we enjoyed the not-too-cool weather and some much needed time together, we talked about making available our wonderful Lemon Curd, so that people can give it as holiday gifts this year. We purchased some lovely little glass jars to put it in and now all we have to do is whip up a batch and fill the jars and voila, yet another fun and delicious item to put on our menu. Everyone who has tasted it has raved, and when we're using it to fill cakes and make lemon buttercream, we always find ourselves eating it right off a spoon, not even taking the time to spread it on a cracker or piece of shortbread. I know that anyone who loves fresh citrus will love having a jar of this in the fridge to partake of in so many different, delicious ways. I only wish we'd thought of this earlier!

More to come soon, fellow foodies, and don't forget that we still offer gift certificates for those who have dessertaholics in their families, which means that you can purchase one and give it for a special occasion, or just to brighten someone's day. (or even to use as a stocking suffer on December 24, should you be so inclined.) That way, the receiver will get to decide what delictable dessert they want to dive into, whenever they get a craving!

Ciao for now, folks...

'Da boys

Pazzo for Pizza!!!

2008-10-29T18:29:00.004-04:00

Hello, all, and another Daring Bakers' Challenge is completed... Now, I didn't think we'd have ANY problems with this challenge because we make our own pizza dough all. the. time. but a Whole Wheat dough instead and our technique is different than what was required for this challenge...

First of all, we used our trusty KitchenAid to take care of all the kneading, and the instructions said that the dough should clear the sides but stick to the bottom of the bowl so that in the end, the dough should be sticky... And we were all good until the next day when it was time to work with the dough again...

We prepped the dough as instructed, flattening them to a 5 inch-ish circle and letting them rest for 2 hours under cover of plastic wrap... and then came the REAL challenge, and we SO wanted to video this part for our own amusement and yours! We were supposed to toss the dough like a pizzaiolo, BUT! -----

My hands were floured all over but the dough was just too wet and when I placed it on my hands it just stretched and ripped... I re-rooled the dough in a little more flour and tried again, but it just kept ripping, so there are no photos or video of this... We ended up just shaping the dough by hand on the board like we've always done...

Then on to the toppings!!! For the first, we topped it with our favorite jarred marinara from Food Emporium, then turkey pepperoni, a combination of soy cheddar and soy jalapeno cheeses, some cooked chicken, and finally a little more cheese... For the second, I wanted to try a simple margherita with the same sauce as before, and then soy mozzarella and fresh basil...

These baked up SOOOOOOO nicely in such a hot oven and in SUCH a short time, too!!! We finished too late to try them fresh out of the oven, but they were still yummy warmed for lunch today... All in all a great, not-as-simple-as-you'd-expect challenge, but the end result was just as delicious! and NOW, the photos...

Caramel apples, pumpkins, and cranberries...

2008-10-23T19:22:00.006-04:00

John Greenleaf Whittier is quoted as saying: "Ah! on Thanksgiving day... What moistens the lip and what brightens the eye? What calls back the past, like the rich Pumpkin pie?"

We're gearing up for the holiday season, ready to provide the most mouth-watering Pumpkin pie with cinnamon pecan struesel. It's a true delight and we can't wait to get your feedback (and that of your family and friends) when they sink their forks into a slice (warm from the oven? slathered with whipped cream? or ICE CREAM, perhaps???). You'll see smiles of delight and eyes will roll back in their heads. (this is not a horror film - it is, as Martha says, A good thing.)

And I forgot to mention two other great holiday favorites - Pumpkin cheesecake with cranberry orange biscotti crust, and Caramel Apple cheesecake with tuscan spice biscotti crust. These will leave you begging for more, believe me!

Last week on an episode of Eli Stone (one of my favorite new shows of the fall season) A character was reminiscing over a concert he'd attended, where he'd had an almost spiritual experience. I quote (once again): "I could taste magic, speak art, and listen to the turning of the universe". Isn't this what food, family and friendship is all about? And what better time to experience it all than over a slice of pie, a cup of chocolate toffee bread pudding, or a mouthful of Brooklyn blackout cake?. Get your name on the list, folks, these holiday splendors won't last all year, 'cause come spring, we'll be back to the rich flavors of berries, citrus, honey and such. Take time during these chilly months to really savor the flavors of the season: Nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, mouthwatering flaky pastry and just about anything you can imagine in chocolate.

Call today to place your orders, (please try to give us at least 48 hours' notice, we want all of you to be satisfied!), and get those forks polished, the napkins folded, and the appetites ready for a trip to Joey Biscotti heaven!

Ciao for now -

'Da boys

We've only just begun...

2008-09-27T14:05:00.004-04:00

It's over. The Open House. Finished. Done. No leftovers, all flour particles cleaned up, (and THAT is a chore, believe me!). Relatively empty refrigerators, more counter-top space, no longer the lingering scent of maple in the air... back to normal (if you can call our lives that). W're sleeping once again. SLEEPING...at all hours. I come home from work and fall into a chair and go comatose. I don't think I got more than about three to four hours' sleep a night for several weeks before the open house, and to finally get back to six or seven a night, well - its a bit heavenly.

For several months now, we've been planning this event, and having never done anything like it, we were completely unsure of how to approach it and what the outcome would be. But I am here to tell you that it was a complete and resounding success (may I pat myself and Joe on the back for just a moment?)! Of course, we couldn't have done it without the help of two additional pairs of hands..which I will explain in a moment. Let me just say that our lives where a whirlwind in that series of very full days leading up to this chance for us to make new friends and business contacts, feed the multitudes and see the expressions of joy and wonder on the faces of everyone who walked in the door.

The night before was the most stressful event in recent years, what with us pulling an all-nighter and baking non-stop, so that everything would be fresh and tasteful. Let's face it, you can only do so much in advance when approaching a tasting event like this, and we did as much as we could. I spent weeks baking up huge batches of biscotti, one of the only things we make that keeps quite well and actually tastes better after "settin' a spell". In the days before the event, we zested and juiced lemons and limes, made fresh, handmade lemon and lime curd, prepared frostings and measured out ingredients...well, the list is far too long to blog about, but suffice to say we were, as my mother used to say, "busier than a one-armed paper hanger."!!

Then a miracle happened. (suddenly this sounds like a Christmas tale): Joe's sister, Michelle, and one of Joe's CLOSEST friends Gerrie, flew in from California and Nevada, respectively, and surprised us to offer support (and squeeze in a New York City vacation - who wouldn't?) Well, if it hadn't been for them, we would never have been anywhere near ready for the hoardes of hungry people who poured in the door of Tricia Rago's lovely KitchenNYC, which we rent to help us produce our delicacies. They helped us cart our supplies, kept us coffee'd up, and ended up doing a lot of the grunt work, such as rotating pans in the oven, slicing cheesecakes, doling out cookie dough, and heading up to the street to help introduce us to the rest of the world. And we have to give a huge shout out to our dear friends, the Faistl-Weisbachs, who arrived, new-born baby Madelyn in tow, to also carry trays of mini-lemon merengue pies, biscotti and cheesecakes, out on the street to help hawk our wares and invite passing strangers in to become newfound fast friends.

The first person in the door (and who was surprised, I ask you? Not I!) was one of our most enthusiastic supporters, David Bonnano, a former co-worker of mine and one of our best customers. He took the time to run over on his lunch hour, and it was a joy to see his smiling face as he sampled things he's here-to-fore been unfamiliar with, and to give us hugs and encouragement. After that, it was like a dream that I am still trying to figure out how I made it through intact! There was barely a moment when we weren't introducing our goods to someone new or hugging an old friend and passing out refrigerator magnets! I kicked in to full-on performer mode without thinking about it (and I haven't done that in YEARS). And the rest is, as they say, history!

The list of people who turned out to support us is fantastic, and we want to thank each and every one of them (and/or YOU) who either offered words of encouragement and/or actually showed up to cheer us on and try some new and different flavors.
Offerings included mini one-bite versions of our Lemon Flip cake, Brooklyn Blackout cake and Carrot with white chocolat/cream cheese frosting. Mutt cookies (dark chocolate with Peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips, toffee chips, butterscotch chips and milk chocolate chips) Dark chocolate/Raspberry, Snickerdoodles, Sunflower butter cookies and our Multi-colored Autunnos. For cheesecake flavors, there were Creme de Menthe, Pumpkin Cranberry, Caramel Apple and Hazelnut Mocha Joe. The available biscotti were Cranberry orange, Tuscan spice (with and without almonds), Double Chocolate, Honey-Roast Peanut (with and without chocolate chunks), Lemon Poppy-seed, and frosted Maple Pecan Praline. Tasting versions of our Pumpkin with Pecan-Cinnamon streusel pie as well as our Lemon Merengue. I'm probably leaving something out - but remember, I'm STILL catching up on sleep! There were other things we had planned but we just. didn't. have. time.

In addition to those we've already mentioned above, others who stopped by were...
--> one of our newer friends, courtesy of the Faistl-Weisbach's, Kelly Egan
--> our friends, Wayne and Jayne
--> Steven's friend, Peter
--> Lori, Bree and Toni from the Container Store
--> David and Holly, who both work for Apple, and Holly's friend Mira.
--> Lisa, Jennifer, Lemarr, Heather and Maria from Crate&Barrel, and Maria's daughters.
--> Tameeka from CB2
--> the Franco family who came all the way down from Poughkeepsie just for this! Joe has known "Mom" Franco since she was a little girl
--> the three women from Arizona who just wanted to know where Macy's was but stayed for a bit and took their picture with us as evidence of nice New Yorkers
--> the young man whose parents were visiting from out-of-town and wanted him to make sure to find out when we would start shipping
--> the woman who found our card at Outcasts
--> the woman who, with her husband, own the little electronics store at 51st and 9th
--> the three people who found our event on Facebook while searching for free events in NYC
--> the woman who was upstairs by the stoop who asked me what the space was in the basement, and who was carrying a can of whipped cream in her purse
--> the couple who asked about low sugar options
--> Ninapilar, the woman who is working on a possible logo for us, and who blogged about us here and Pamela from The Pink Standard whose photographs grace the abovementioned post
--> Faith from Cara Linn Cakes
--> and so many others from the 'hood
--> and then there were all those there in spirit, all our families and good friends who weren't able to share our joy in person.

To each and every one of you, including the universe, we offer a gigantic THANK YOU, for being there with and for us.

We'll soon be revising our menu for the fall season, so be sure and give us as much notice as possible when ordering your Thanksgiving pies and cakes, not to mention Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and all of the other birthdays, promotions and otherwise special events happening in your family.

We look forward to hearing from you all, and providing you a little "lovin' from the oven!"

'Da boys

Free at last, free at last....

2008-09-07T19:31:00.007-04:00

...a chance to taste these biscotti (and other delicious treats) is free, at last!
As some of you already know, Saturday September 20, in Hell's Kitchen, we'll be hosting a free tasting event - an open house (er, kitchen?). where everyone will have a chance to sample several flavors of our best selling items, including biscotti, cheesecakes, cakes, bread puddings and cookies, with a few surprises thrown into the mix.

From 2-7pm that day, we'll be thowing open the doors of the commercial kitchen we bake in, to allow the glorious scents of freshly baked goodies to waft into the air, enticing neighborhoodites to taste Snickerdoodles, Joeltz (our famous espresso brownies), Brooklyn blackout cake, Caramel apple cheesecake and many, many more decadent treats.

Where you may ask? The address is 306 West 51st street (just off Eighth avenue) Suite #1 (basement) just next to the House of Brews. Yes, I said the House of Brews...I've posted a photo of the soon to be famous Joey, wearing our signature color and standing at the gate, so that you will have ease in finding us (as if following your nose wouldn't be enough!)

We'll be so excited to see old friends and meet many new (please feel free to forward this information to anyone you know who has a sweet tooth - we want everyone to experience Joey Biscotti!), and to let you see a bit of the creative process.

I'll post a reminder next week. Get your calendars and taste buds geared up. We know you're gonna love us!

Ciao for now...

'Da boys

I d'eclair!!!

2008-08-31T00:01:00.002-04:00

And the Daring Baker's strike again!!!

This month's challenge was ... guess??? Eclairs!!!

The elements of this challenge were three-fold... eclair shells, a pastry cream filling and a glaze... chocolate was a required ingredient but we had the choice of either a chocolate pastry cream or a chocolate glaze... or both!

The first challenge was making pastry shells, and preventing them from collapsing flat... To accomplish this, halfway through the baking, i had to rotate the two pans and prop the oven door open to allow any steam to escape and help the shells stay puffed up... One tray made it out fine but the other flattened out and remained moist in center, but so. what. ... Once they were out of the oven, I cut them in half, and set the tops on a rack to make it easy to drizzle them with the glaze

The pastry cream and glaze were the easy parts and, since we had a choice, we decided to make a bittersweet chocolate glaze for the tops and Steven was the lucky one to glaze them... See?

Now, I mentioned we had the choice of flavors for either the glaze or the pastry cream, but one HAD to be chocolate, and since we used chocolate for the glaze, I decided to go a little tropical for the pastry cream... We thought about mango but I had an inspiration and went with kiwi! I had Steven pipe the cream as opposed to spooning and this is what they looked like, post-piping...

The kiwi gave the eclairs a beautifully earthy sweetness, and in the end, they looked like this...

Of course, Steven and I took them to our respective jobs where they promptly disappeared... I d-eclair!!!

I'm excited about our upcoming open-house at the commercial kitchen that we rent occassionally... Lot's of stuff available for tasting and some things available to buy and take home to enjoy... More news to come VERY shortly!!!

A tin of biscotti, a cup of joe, and thou...

2008-08-16T11:43:00.005-04:00

We found some cool, coffee-inspired tins on sale and bought them up...just to package biscotti in! Usually, when you purchase our biscotti, they come in a cello sleeve (10 ounces, which is approximately 8-10 pieces, depending on size, as they ARE all handmade, at $10.00 a package). Now, if you are so inclined, you have the choice of purchasing this fun and funky tin, which makes a wonderful gift package, filled with approximately 6-8 pieces (once again, depending on their handmade size) for the same price!
What a great way to say "you jazz me up!" - by giving a gift tin of, oh, say, some chocolate biscotti, or maple pecan praline, or maybe some cranberry-orange (my personal favorite)..or a couple of each? Any of our flavors can be packaged this way, and the receiver (friend, partner, sweetheart, teacher?) will get to enjoy the wonderful, aromatic flavors of Joey Biscotti's best, and keep the tin to use for any number of things...cookies, coffee beans, jelly beans - I am sure you are all creative enough to continue this line of thought!
Order yours today and put a smile on the face of someone you care about - even your own! And don't forget about our Open House (ok, Kitchen) on September 20th in Hell's Kitchen. The sweet smells from the kitchen will be wafting down the block, enticing you to come in and try free samples of many of our best selling fall flavors. (More on this later.)

We can't wait to see you there!

Ciao for now...

'Da boys.

Coffee maker on the fritz?

2008-08-08T21:10:00.003-04:00

...not to worry...just dig into a slice of our latest winning creation: Hazelnut Mocha Joe cheesecake. Two amazing layers of thick, rich cream cheese decadence, the first filled with semi-sweet chocolate, the second graced with the flavor of hazelnut espresso, and topped with more semi-sweet chocolate. And did I mention that the crust is actually a layer of hazelnut mocha brownie??? My co-workers' eyes were popping out of their heads as they experienced this one, folks, and many actually pushed their way through the crowd to try for a second slice, though it was basically gone before they had the chance!

We're proud to put this one on the menu, and it will surely be one of the stand-outs at our "Open Kitchen" on September 20th in Hell's Kitchen. Yes, you heard right: anyone still unaware should put this one on his/her calender, because it may be a while before everyone will have the chance to sample so many of our sinfully rich sweet things all in one place - and for FREE. This is a kind of "thank you" to all of you who have supported us over the past year or so, and a chance to try new menu additions, purchase favorites and order your holiday party desserts all in one fell-swoop (what a Midwestern term, eh?)- not to mention introduce us to your friends, family and neighbors (yes, please feel free to pass this info along - we will be eternally grateful for the new friends and the opportunity to sweeten a few more dinner tables!)

When the date is closer, we'll inform you of the hours and exact location, so that you can plan accordingly (meaning: don't eat for several hours, come hungry and stuff your pockets with extra cash, since, after trying them, you'll certainly want to take some home to your families, or just stash them away for future nibbling!)

Feel free to send us suggestions as to which of our items you would like to see there that day - we can't make everything on the menu, but we will certainly take your requests into consideration. Email us at joeybiscotti@hotmail.com, or simply leave comments here at our blog.

Ciao for now...

'Da boys

filbertgateauwithpralinebuttercream!!!

2008-07-31T20:18:00.005-04:00

Yes, it's a lot to say, and a lot to do... This month's Daring Baker's Challenge was, well, what I said up there... I don't want to say it again... whew!!! I know we are a day late in posting this, but this month was very busy for us... Onward...

This is a triple layer genoise, imbibed with a Grand Marnier infused syrup, filled with a dual layer of praline buttercream and whipped cream, then glazed with semi-sweet chocolate and decorated with more of the praline buttercream...

First of all, let's talk about filberts (or hazelnuts)... My experience is that they are difficult to skin... I did these in 2 batches, one for the praline paste for the buttercream, the other for the hazelnut meal that would go into the cake itself... I toasted them for the stated time, and then set to rubbing... and rubbing... and rubbing... The recipe stated that a little skin was okay... I gave up trying to skin them, and ended up just not worrying about it...

Baking the cake itself was easy... I was worried about the egg whites deflating as I folded in the hazelnut meal, but no worries there... The cake came out of the oven beautifully high and light... While it cooled, I made the praline buttercream, Swiss-style, heating and whipping the egg whites with sugar until it became Fluff-like and then whipping it off-heat, mixing it to a meringue... That was added to creamed butter until light and fluffy, and THEN, the praline paste went into the mix...

Now... The cake had to be split into 3 layers before Steven filled and glazed the gateau... The first layer came off beautifully, but the second cut was w-a-a-a-y off, and I had to have Steven fix it while I stamped my feet in frustration... He did his best and he got the layers cut more appropriately... After imbibing and filling the first layer, the second layer went on, and then a huge gasp escaped my pie hole, BECAUSE!!! I forgot to tell Steven to top the buttercream with whipped cream...

Ohwellanyway... so we skipped the whipped cream on the first and remembered on the second... Once the cake was filled completely, it went into the refigerator for 30 minutes while I prepared the semisweet chocolate glaze... It was late in the evening and I was tired and I suggested that we skip the trimming of the sides and just glaze it... Steven agreed and proceeded to pour the glaze over the top... It draped beautifully, and then left overnight to set up...

In the morning, Steven prepared to pipe the remaining buttercream, but we don't own a #114 leaf tip, only the tiny ones which would have been way out of scale for the cake... So you can see in the above photos that he just signed our name, and pearled the edge... IN the end, the cake tasted fantastic!!! For everything that went into it, it looked so much denser than it actually was...

Steven's co-workers were the beneficiaries of all this work and one stated that "if someone grabbed this slice from me, I would stab them to get it back!" Now that's a vote of confidence!!!

In the end, I only have one thing to say... Someone else is gong to have to skin filberts...

We're back and we're bakin'!

2008-07-28T19:42:00.005-04:00

Refreshed is the word of the day - relaxed, refreshed, rejuvenated by our trip to beautiful Mt. Shasta, California, where we dipped our toes into Trout Creek and languished in the sun with Lemon Drops and Amaretto Sours....and these are all feelings you will relate to when you try our amazing Mandarin Orange Cheesecake (with lemon poppyseed biscotti crust...to live for!). Summer is upon us and the temperatures are soaring, the humidity can make ya wilt, and there are days and nights when you just want to crawl into a lounge chair with a tall, cool drink, or the sweet Joey Biscotti equivalent - a slice of the coolest, most refreshing cheesecake you can imagine. We're considering it our special for August, and looking forward to supplying all you cool-cravers with the tangy summer tartness of this delicious concoction. Order yours today!

And get out those calendars and crayons, because X marks the spot - September 20. Why, you may ask? Well we'll tell you: That is the official day of our "Open Kitchen", when locals will be able walk in and taste free samples of many of our most unusual and delightful treats. We'll have slices of cheesecakes in great fall flavors. We'll provide bite-sized teasers of many of our great cake flavors (Malted Matinee, Lemon Flip, Red Velvet, The Night the Lights went out in Brooklyn, our famous Sour Cream Chocolate and many more) and maybe some sweet tarts to top it all off (not to mention our mouth watering Biscotti and bread puddings). We'll have plenty of baked goods to purchase, also, and will happily take orders for your up-coming special occasions, so be thinking about what you want to partake of this fall! (remember, the holidays will be right around the corner - Halloween parties, Thanksgiving and Christmas, to name a few).

More details to follow shortly, as we finish up the plans for our special day of sharing the love (Joey Biscotti Love!) We'll have the address, hours, directions to the Kitchen, and maybe even a surprise or two to "sweeten the pot!"

Keep your eyes open and keep your noses in joint, to sense the scents of our morsels, made in Hell's Kitchen, but Heavenly to the tastebuds!

Ciao for now -

'Da Boys.

Gone Fishin'...

2008-07-09T21:38:00.002-04:00

...well, camping, actually. We leave this Friday, the 11th of July, for lovely Mt. Shasta California (at least thats what Joey says - and I can't wait to find out for myself.) We'll be gone until the 20th, so no goodies will come forth from our kitchens that week, but rest assured, we'll be thinking (dreaming, planning, wondering, conjuring...you name it) of new and exotic temptations for you to TRY to resist.

Keep at us with those suggestions, challenges and positive thoughts. We take all of them to heart, and can't wait to see what we come up with for you next. Hang on to your hats, folks...as the song says: "Could it be? Yes it could. Something's coming, Something GOOD...",

We promise.

'Da Boys

June Bakers Challenge...Dare I?

2008-06-29T20:09:00.003-04:00

Oh yes - I dared to take on the June Daring Baker's Challenge, and though it was a bit of a work out, I'm happy with the results. The challenge is to create a Danish Braid, filled with apples. Yum. It takes a while to make the basic laminated dough, but it is completely worth it. At first I was surprised when the recipe called for yeast mixed with milk in a stand mixer - I followed those instructions and didn't see any type of change in the milk. I was used to bread recipes that require you to feed the yeast, thereby activating it. But I followed the directions and carried on. Cardamom, Orange zest and sugar give the dough, or in this case, Detrempe, a great flavor - along with the soft and tender lining of a vanilla bean.

Next came the "butter block" - half a pound of butter with some flour, beaten until soft enough to spread. I rolled out the detrempe as directed, to 18 x 13, and spread the butter over two thirds of the dough. The carefully folded the dough three times to incorporate the butter. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, roll the dough and fold again - followed by two more foldings over the next hour or so. Then let it sit for at least 5 hours (we let it stay in the fridge overnight.) This morning, Another rolling, strips cut in the sides and then the addition of the filling, which we made while the dough was cooling it's heels last night. Delicious fuji apples, lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon and butter, cooked down to a lovely soft texture. Back to this morning, when I cut the strips on the sides, filled the center and "braided" the strips over the top of the filling, to form a basket-like length of apple-orchard-smellin goodness. It sat for another two hours to "proof", then Joe baked it, as I had to go to work.

I came home tonight to a truly delicious pastry - the basis of which will lend itself to so many other great flavors, as evidenced by the fact that, as we'd made enough for two braids, Joey had decided to try his hand at some fruit filled croissants. He chose lemon curd filled, and then raspberry filled, topped with slivered almonds. You can bet our apartment smells lovely tonight, and that we will definitely make this one again, when time permits.

Daring Bakers, my hat is off to you - you pick some excellent recipes to inspire and enhance our creative processes.

Fireworks!

2008-06-24T09:39:00.002-04:00

...You'll be experiencing some tantalizing fireworks as your tastebuds caress our 4th of July specials - Red, white and blue velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and a patriotic sprinkling on top - yummalicious....and if you'd like a larger portion, go for the three layer Red Velvet Cake on its own. With a chocolatey goodness and just a hint of orange, this cake with it's thick and rich cream cheese frosting is one your family will quickly come to call their favorite.

Cupcakes are $30.00 per dozen, and the cake is $40.00. Just be sure to give us 48 hours' notice and keep in mind that we will be out of town the evening of the 3rd through the 6th, so get them before the holiday!

Remember - it doesn't need to be a holiday to enhance your foodie experience, just take a look at our menu, then give us a call or shoot us an email, and we'll have your favorite freshly made, just for you.

Hope to hear from you soon - and look for notice of our upcoming open house (planning still in the works, but don't fret, we'll let you know the details as soon as they are worked out, so you can prepare your tastebuds and grab your pocketbook for a sampling and opportunity to order directly from the fabulous baker boys!)

Ciao for now...

Da Boys

We want you to try something amazing...

2008-06-03T11:31:00.004-04:00

...and we'd love to invite you to an open house "tasting party" sometime over the coming summer weeks. At the left of the page, below the slide show and menu information, you'll find a new poll asking for opinions on what days work best for you. Please take a moment to give us your vote... you only have 6 (six) days before the polls close. (and if you have better suggestions or an answer different from the choices we've given, email us at joeybiscotti@hotmail.com, or post a comment here.)

We'd really love to be able to share some of our newest recipes with you, and to give you a chance to taste them AND take some home that very day! So the sooner you check off your answers to the poll, the sooner we can get baking and organizing this event. Believe me, your taste buds (and tummy) won't be sorry!

Ciao for now..

'Da Boys

Daring Bakers get some Kultcha...

2008-05-28T00:00:00.002-04:00

with the May 2008 challenge, Opera Cake...

Joey, here...

So, I was concerned with this challenge (from Lis, Fran, Shea and Ivonne of Daring Baker's fame) and more than a little intimidated by the length and construction of the cake, BUT, i took their advice and read through it first before embarking on the challenge... and that made all the difference...

I started the process at the beginning of the month by making the syrup and buttercream well in advance... I was also concerned about the size of the pans suggested, but when the day came to make the cake, I just used the closest-sized pan available to me, which was a 12x17 sheet pan... It made for a thinner cake, but I didn't leave myself any alternative...

I luckily discovered bagged blanched almonds at Food Emporium and proceeded to make my own almond meal, although I don't think I ground them enough, but the sure smelled good...

I didn't have any issues with the layers, either making or cutting them... I got the center layers to the correct size, and everything seemed to come together beautifully, UNTIL.......

I don't like working with white chocolate... I find it difficult to melt completely and often end up with several partially melted chips, and that's what happened in both the mousse and the glaze... I flicked out as many as I could from the mousse before refrigerating the cake again...

When it came time to glaze, I had the same problem that other DBers apparently had... I let the chocolate cool for 10 minutes, but it wasn't enough time, and when I poured it over the cake, the mousse meted slightly and the glaze wouldn't adhere correctly, and actually slid off in some areas...

But as you can see by the above photo, it still came out okay... I would have liked the glaze to be smoother, but I think Steven's addition of our name in our signature blue helps distract the eye from those tasty imperfections...

This Opera Cake is flavored with Grand Marnier in the buttercream, the syrup and the mousse... When all was said and done, it came out quite nicely... I'd definitely make this cake again if asked!

Here are more photos...

That's all for today... Look for our next post when Steven talks about our adventures with fondant!

Just a quick reminder, folks...

2008-05-27T13:47:00.004-04:00

...I know that keeping up with the two of us can be daunting - just hoping you'll read of our adventures should be enough - but I was thinking today (I stop to do that every once in a while) and wanted to remind you all that we do, indeed, sell our unique "Dessert Dollars" gift certificates (or tickets to paradise, as Joey likes to call them!). Summer sunburn is in the air, and with graduations, Father's day, July 4th, or any picnic or family celebration you have planned, who wouldn't enjoy a fresh, cold Spring Break cheesecake - the taste of Daiquiris on the beach - or some of our deliciously tempting frozen Cheesecake pops (in a selection of the brightest summer colors you can imagine)? All of our cakes and cheesecakes can be purchased with these fun little coupons, and they don't expire, so the receiver of the lovely little cards can hold on to them for future celebrations, or just give in to those sweets cravings and give us a shout (48 hours notice, please!). Tell them to peruse our fine menu, and when they come upon something that makes their mouth water (and who's wouldn't, I ask you?) they can email us here (joeybiscotti@hotmail.com) or call 212-841-5426 to leave a plea for our sweet treasures!

Call to get yours now - you'll be so happy you did!

More news soon - Joey has been working on the current Daring Bakers Challenge - even I'M anxious to taste it!

Ciao for now, good people...

It's all about YOU...

2008-05-20T08:35:00.006-04:00

Good morning from the humble abode of the fabulous baker boys! I'm enjoying a day off from my "day job", taking time to update the menu page and to figure out what we should bake next. While I give that some thought, I'd like to take a moment to share something wonderful that happened to us last week. I was sitting at the lunch table at work, enjoying fresh vegetables (hey, man cannot live by chocolate and cheesecake alone, ya know?!), when Ashley approached and handed me a card and a sweet little box wrapped in shining white ribbon. I was prompted to open the card first, and the accompanying letter (scanned and posted here for you to enjoy, just click for a more readable image) caused me to well up with tears right there in front of everyone. (Ok, anyone who knows me well enough, knows that that I cry at the opening of a Hallmark card). After you read it, you will understand how humbled and speechless I was. If I had any qualms or questions as to the worth of our little business venture known as Joey Biscotti!, they are all dissolved and replaced with joy and the desire to keep plunging forward and become the best maker and supplier of sweet treats available to you lovers of fine, handmade, love-filled gooey chocolaty crunchy sugary salty sweet decadence!

Oh, and by the way - the box contained a donation which helped cover the cost of many of the samples we've been taking to work in the hopes of improving our recipes and drumming up some new and very satisfied additions to our customer base.

We love you all, and we love satisfying your cravings.

Ciao for now...

When life gives you lemons...

2008-05-09T12:46:00.003-04:00

...make lemon curd! This is my motto this week. Many of you know that I was all set to take a 5 day cake decorating course this week - I'd payed for the class, arranged for all my work shifts to be covered, and prepared emotionally for the fun and hard work I imagined the class to hold in store for me. Well, last week, I received an email informing me that the class was cancelled due to a death in the family of the teacher. God love her, I hope she got through it and plunges ahead with life. That's what I decided to do with this free week I had in front of me. I've been using it to experiment with recipes, design tee shirts for the business, and bake my little heart out. Right now, as I type this, I'm making a variation of my Chocolate/toffee bread puddings, creating a chocolate mint version that I have a feeling will be addictive!

This week I've baked two different types of Biscotti, several tarts, and two dozen cheesecake pops (to be decorated this afternoon). I've made some changes to a menu I'm hoping to print up in the next few days, (for those of you who find a hard copy easier to digest than our on-line version!) It has been a great week, and I've found some new focus and desire to truly make this business work - to bring happiness to the many friends and new patrons of Joey Biscotti.

Can't you just smell the excitement from here?? Believe me, I CAN,,,along with bubbling, gooey, minty, chocolaty goodness in the oven...

Check back frequently, folks - I've got a lot in store for you and your discerning palates in the next few weeks...

Ciao for now...

The Birthday Cake

2008-05-04T16:29:00.003-04:00

Hello, all... Steven mentioned my birthday a couple of posts back, and he was very nice about letting me make my own birthday cake... I am now getting around to blogging about it... Look at this!!!

It is a Choclate Walnut Torte with Cognac Cream and it is melt-in-your-mouth delicious! Have a closer look!

The cake is a bittersweet chocolate batter with ground walnuts and a little Hennessey cognac. It is then imbibed with a Cognac syrup before being topped with a Cognac flavored cream and THEN sprinkled with a walnut praline powder. One last look before we eat it all up!

Have a birthday to celebrate and need a cake? Check out our menu and order! That's all for now... more news later!

Daring Bakers April Challenge - Frozen Cheesecake Pops

2008-04-27T08:39:00.003-04:00

Steven here, good friends, and I gotta tell ya - Joey turned over the honors this month to moi, yours truly, because he's such a great guy. I LOVE cheesecake, chocolate and just about anything you can add to it to make it even yummier. This month's challenge is to make "cheesecake pops" - lovely little balls of cheesecake on a stick, glazed with a delicious chocolate coating, and enhanced any way you choose to do so. I had a blast with this one. The basic cheesecake recipe is SO good, that we will surely incorporate it into future desserts. The consistency is dense and rich, just the right amount of sweetness, and holds its shape well - important when you are forming balls.

I started by combining the cheesecake ingredients, mixing them according to the recipe, and baking. The directions called for a 10" cake pan, but in lieu of that (we don't happen to own one that size- YET)...I used a 9" square pan which is a bit deeper than usual - we often use this one for brownies. I baked the cheesecake (longer than called for because of our freakin' oven which has a mind of it's own and never maintains a proper temperature.grrrrrrr.) Then cooled to room temperature and proceeded to chill the lovely golden mixture overnight. Saturday morning I woke up, headed straight to the utensil drawer for our ice-cream scoop, and dug into that pan to start forming 2 ounce balls. I wore rubber gloves because the mixture is sticky, and shaped the balls and placed them on parchment for the next step - freezing. At this point, Joey, with sticks in hand, plunged the lollipop handles into the balls and we shoved them into our already bulging freezer for several hours, during which we ate, shopped, and I rested while Joey made a Tres Leches cake for a co-worker's birthday.

That afternoon, the chocolate came out of hiding and warmed itself by the fire for the enrobing of the balls.

We dipped some of the balls into crushed chocolate grahams, then into three different kinds of melted chocolate - some in white chocolate (tinted green as we had bought it for St. Pats and not had a chance to use it), semi-sweet and bittersweet. While still warm, we immediately rolled them in various toppings: multi-colored jimmies (see photo), mini cherry chips, toffee bits, chopped toffee peanuts, and for a few we just covered one type of chocolate with it's opposite drizzled on top...its such a lovely tray of goods.

I hope you all get to try these - we surely will add them to our menu, and can't wait to see the look in your eyes when they roll back in your head. Several who tasted them at work today said they had little mouth orgasms (if you'll pardon the use of the word).

More comin' atcha soon - stay tuned...but don't stay hungry - order from us NOW!

A Very Special Day!!

2008-04-24T07:33:00.003-04:00

Ok, what do you do when the guy you love bakes his own birthday cake??? Gosh, I'm Stumped, but the very least I can do is to wish you a HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOEY! This is such an important day, and because you bring so many sweet endings to other people's days, its only fitting that yours begin with wishes for the most amazing year of your life! Remember - this is YOUR year, and you will reap the rewards of having been so good to so many for so long. Kharma, people...now THATS a "just" dessert!

Today I am baking my sweet/tart - sweet flaky crust shell, a layer of lovely chocolate brownie, topped with Lime curd and baked until just set - so delicious. It's a variation on Ashley's Dilemna - hers has a chocolate crust and the filling is lime and drizzled on top with more dark chocolate...I just wanted to shake things up a little.

Be sure and check back in this coming sunday when we post about our latest Daring Baker's challenge - this one will leave you like a man in the desert - probably so in need of sweets that you'll want to lick your monitor screen - but don't! - order some from our menu instead!

We love all of our good and supportive friends, family and co-workers, and we hope you'll continue to enjoy our posts and, more importantly, our sweets. We bake so much love into them that they will set your hearts on fire - like mine is for Joey!

Ciao for now, good people...

If at first you don't succeed...

2008-04-09T21:52:00.002-04:00

...Just eat the darned thing and make another one! That seems to be our motto lately - not that we fail often when baking something terrific. Tonight Joey made a "Night the Lights went out in Brooklyn" cake for a co-worker's wife's birthday, and for some odd reason, something didn't go quite right and he's in the middle of making a second one (at my insistance, I'M the perfectionist who cannot let something out of my sight when it's been paid for and is expected to be not only delicious, but to LOOK delicious.) It's one of my flaws and I swear I'm working on it) - but when you're trying to do something professionally, to have it taste AND look like it it came from a bakery, then you go the extra mile - or, as in tonight's case, stay up late making a second cake because you want to give your patrons only the best you possibly can. Poor Joey - he's the best and is being quite a sport. It's tough when you work a full time job and can only bake in your off hours. If something goes wrong, you have to put in the extra hours to make it right - so tomorrow may be a sleepy day for us both.

On the plus side, last week I asked my friend, Ashley, to suggest something for us to try next (we're always looking for input from our friends, family and co-workers.)
She thought about it a moment (I could tell she was battling with herself over what favorate flavors to spring on me!) and her eyes lit up and she said something to the affect of: "You know, I've been craving lime and dark chocolate lately - think you can do something combining those?". Well, that sounded excellent to me - and so I started rummaging through the recesses of my mind for recipes that could work in combination. I decided to make a tart. Mildly sweet chocolate crust, a thick layer of lime curd, and drizzled on top with bittersweet chocolate. I gotta tell ya - it was SO GOOD(if I do say so myself!. It is definitely one we will be adding to our menu.

This weekend is the company bake sale to raise money for the AIDS Walk, and of course, everyone expects wonders from our kitchen...so I'm thinking of doing Cupcakes a la Night the Lights went Out in Brooklyn: rich chocolate cake, filled with delicious pudding, wonderfully milk chocolaty frosting and more cake crumbs mashed into the frosting - its so good it will make you want to slap someone. And if there is time, some mini tarts like the one described above - I'm sure those will sell, and its for a great cause.

More from the kitchens of Joey Biscotti soon, so Ciao for now, dessert fans....

Daring Baker's March 08 Challenge

2008-03-30T21:08:00.002-04:00

hello...

We had made this cake once before for one of Steven's co-workers, and we considered it a practice run for this month's challenge... we decided to stick to the recipe as written, for the most part, and i made a couple of mistakes...

1- i added too much lemon juice to the frosting and
2- too much raspberry filling between the layers, as opposed to the photos in the book, which show thinner layers...

one different thing we DID do was toast the coconut before covering the cake with it...

anyway... when all was said and done, it actually was quite tasty... When Steven took it to work today, one of his co-workers stated that it lifted her spirits!

Therefore, I consider our work done! And now, the photos...

Spring is here, the grass is riz...

2008-03-29T14:09:00.002-04:00

...I wonder where the birdies is? (ok, thanks to my Father - the king of weird poems, I have that little ditty in my head this week.)

Today, Joey is in the kitchen making a lovely Raspberry coulis for this month's Daring Baker's Challenge, and thats all I'm allowed to say, until he blogs about the finished product. On my day off this week, I tried a twist on my famous Chocolate/Toffee bread pudding, and made a lovely pale citrus version. Imagine oven crisped cubes of orange and lemon imbued pound cake, layered with a lemon and lime accented white chocolate pudding...is your mouth watering yet? I had a blast coming up with this one, and it has given me a renewed sense of adventure in the kitchen. I can't wait for you all to taste these lovely treats!

In May, I am finally biting the bullet and investing in a professional cake decorating course, because I'm tired of doing sub-par presentatations (though a lot of people love the home-made look of our sweets, because they say it lends a rustic air to the presentation.) I, being the sagitarian perfectionist that I am, just wanna make things more professional looking (especially when we open a full fledged bakery business in the future).

Be sure to check out the latest additions to our ever-expanding menu, and drop us a line (joeybiscotti@hotmail.com) or call us at 212-841-5426 to order some of our handmade yumminess for your next special occasion (and believe me, "special occasion" can mean anything from birthdays, anniversaries and bridal showers, to first dates, bad mood destroyers, chocolate cravings and/or, well -you name it - they are all special to your own unique individual situations.)

Enjoy the lengthening days of spring (more hours to munch Mutt cookies, get jazzed on Joeltz, or just lavish in a slice of Spring Break cheesecake!)

Ciao for now -

'Da boys

b'gosh & b'gorra!!!

2008-03-11T17:31:00.001-04:00

Cupcakes for St. Patrick's Day!!! These are a sour cream chocolate cake, filled with mint cream cheese, topped with a vanilla, chocolate, or mint buttercream, sprinkled with tiny shamrocks or two-tone green shot, and then a hand-made green chocolate shamrock is embedded in the icing... YUMMY!!!

New cake on the block

2008-03-10T12:42:00.002-04:00

joey, here... home from work and not feeling too well, BUT... I wanted to tell you about our newest creation... the Chocolate Raspberry layer cake... We made this for Valentine's Day, and, just to add a bit of the essence of that holiday, we made semi-sweet chocolate hearts to put on top!

This cake is based on our famous Sour Cream Chocolate layer cake since it uses that same recipe, but THEN, it's filled with a raspberry-cream cheese filling (made with our homemade raspberry coulis), and then topped with a bittersweet chocolate butter cream... For the Valentine's Day version, we made the chocolate hearts and placed them on top of the cake, and then dusted with cocoa powder... and this is the result!!!

We are working on some things for St. Patrick's Day as well as Easter... more news on that a little later...

Eat. Your. Cake!

joey

That peach cheesecake...

2008-03-02T21:21:00.006-05:00

joey, here, with another attempt at the Peach Cheesecake... A very close friend of mine suggested layering the peaches on a layer of the batter, which seemed to work, but there is still too much moisture in the batter... So, for my final attempt, I am going to try sliced fresh blanched peaches... wow, that's a lot of adjectives... I'll let you know how that one turns out... For now, here is what it looked like...

more news as events warrant!

And now for something entirely different...

2008-03-01T08:49:00.003-05:00

Steven here, and may I say - our kitchen always smells so darned good...it's no wonder I've gained 10 lbs since starting this process..oy....

Yesterday, at the request of a co-worker, I came up with a combination of Cheesecake and Carrot cake (both favorites of mine) and this afternoon we are gonna cut it and taste it and take the rest in for sampling at work tomorrow. It has layers of both types of cake, and the scent of it baking was driving me crazy yesterday - but, patience IS a virtue, and it had to chill over night - so today, watch out - I've got my knife and fork at the ready!

On a side note, I want to talk about Art. Yes, Art. It inspires, enrages, thrills, calms, enlightens and fulfills so many of the needs of man. Last night, Joey and I had the supreme pleasure of seeing the current revival of Stephen Sondheim's musical, Sunday in the Park with George at the Roundabout theatre (Studio 54). Having appeared in a touring production of it about 15 years ago, I had convinced myself to go see this version with an open mind - (when you are a performer who has done a show, it is SO easy to get a preconceived notion of how it should look or a performance should feel). Well, I was blown away. I really hadn't thought anyone could improve upon the original production, but this one will last in my memory as one of the most beautiful productions ever to grace a Broadway stage. Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell were fantastic as Georges Seurat and his mistress, Dot. Perfect performances that brought new depth of emotion to the characters they played. But perhaps surpassing even these lovely performances, was the set design. I'm not usually a fan of modern technology (I don't even own a cell phone or an Ipod)..but the use of projected animation in this production is fantastic. You literally see the painting come to life before your eyes. I highly recommend that anyone who appreciates color and light and beautiful music see this show while it is here - it happens to be a limited run engagement, so run (don't walk) to your nearest computer terminal - oops, you're already sitting at one! - and get your tickets. (after reading this blog and ordering some scrumptious goodies, of course!). You will be so glad you did, and the memory of it will last your whole life through (has anyone else noticed how so much of what I say and/or type is lyrically related???)

Go soak in an evening of eye-popping and ear-soothing Art, and then come home and have a slice of cheesecake!...what are you doing still sitting there? Go!

Ciao for now....

So, about that Peach Cheesecake...

2008-02-26T10:31:00.003-05:00

Joey, here... this was a creamy peach filling on top of a short crust and then finished with an orange marmalade topping... however, i tried something different from our basic recipe and layered jarred peach slices, that I had drained (the juice went in to the filling), on the blind-baked crust before pouring the filling... I think this caused the crust to become soggy before Steven had a chance to get it to the samplers... But as he pointed out, that seemed to be the only criticism...

Have you ever seen a resin-topped table, in which objects seem to float within the surface? That's pretty much how this cheesecake looked with the orange marmalade topping... the little bits of orange peel seemed to float in a sea of orange-peach clearness...

I am going to make this one again and post a photo of it so you can see what it is I am talking about... I think I'll leave out the sliced peaches, though, or perhaps chop them and mix them in to the filling!!

more news as events warrant...

What the heck IS the next holiday?!

2008-02-22T17:20:00.003-05:00

Well, folks, we've been trying to figure out what to make next (I think we'll be in that state for several years to come!)...and since our last post, we've come up with a simply fantastic creamy Peach Cheesecake; our own variation on the famous Brooklyn Blackout cake which, in a nod to Vicki Lawrence, we have affectionately dubbed "The Night the Lights Went Out in Brooklyn".

Then there's the fantastic sister to our Sour Cream Chocolate layer cake in which we've slipped in several layers of seductive Raspberry Cream Cheese filling. When I took this one to work I had to jump out of the way to save my own life, since my co-workers were wielding knives and forks galore in an attempt to devour this devilishly yummy goodness. There are a couple others I can't quite put my finger on at the moment - so I'll let Joey tell you about those when he gets a moment in front of the computer screen again soon. Meanwhile last week, in a moment of dreaming about our future, I happened to be browsing Craigslist to find bakeries for sale in the area (even though we don't plan to open in New York, it's interesting to see what's out there and what they are asking and including in the deal - it's great research.)...well, I stumbled across a lovely character from Brooklyn named SuzyO (her eBay name) who happened to have recently closed a couple of restaurants and wanted to get rid of a large quantity of bakery boxes (whoo hoo!)... We jumped at the chance to buy them from her, so Joey and I grabbed a luggage cart, jumped on the "L" and headed to Greenpoint to make a new friend and add to our collection of packaging materials (now, WHERE do we store them, you may ask - and I'll let you know when I figure it out!)

Suzy is a wealth of information on chef wizardry in general, and had some wonderful ideas that she gladly passed on to us about how to improve upon a couple of our existing recipes, and some great ideas to keep in mind for future creations. Thanks, Suzy - we'll think of you every time we box up a pie!

We're working on coming up with something fantastic for Easter (maybe some wonderful egg-shaped mini cakelettes in fun flavors and dusted with pastel sugars) and of course, we've got to give the people what they want on St. Patrick's Day... perhaps a Mint Chocolate cupcake which will be adorned with a "wearin' o' the green" mound of lovely bright green minty frosting... just a couple ideas we are tossing around...

This weekend is the February Daring Bakers challenge, so I think we'll be up to our necks in flour once again. Wish us luck - and be sure to stop by and order something yummy for your next party, romantic dinner for two - or just to nosh in front of Desperate Housewives...

Ciao for now, fellow sweet-tooth bearers...

Some tasteful feedback, if you will...

2008-02-04T18:41:00.000-05:00

So, today, in a HUGE error in judgement, the company I work for (my "day job", I suppose) had a celebration of sorts and ordered several cakes from one of our fellow well known bakeries here in the Big Apple. One of my co-workers, when asked if she intended to have a slice, referred to Joey Biscotti and said: (a direct quote) "Once you've had Caviar, who wants tuna fish?"

Now I ask you - is that not a fantastic vote of confidence for our "little engine that could" (and WILL)?

I'm thrilled! And Joey is musing over the possibility of baking a peach cheesecake this week to put on our ever expanding menu....we'll keep you posted, fellow sweets seekers. Now, back to the kitchen!

Ciao for now....

Daring Bakers Strike Again!!!

2008-01-27T19:06:00.000-05:00

And this time it was a Lemon Meringue Pie... Now, you'd think this was an easy pie to make... It's not difficult, but it's not easy either... Steven has always made the pie crust, usually Whole Wheat for his Apple Crostinis... But this was MY first attempt... I took a clue from the Daring Bakers blog and tried grating the chilled butter, but we didn't have a grater, so i used a Microplane...

I am buying a grater... or a food processor...

Anyway, when all was said and done, the crust came together just fine by hand... Steven prepared the crust for the pre-baking and when we removed the pie weights about 2/3 of the ay through, I was concerned because the bottom of the crust looked soggy with butter... But in the end, it came out really flaky!!!

I'm pretty well-versed in working with Lemon Curd at this point (mainly for our AMAZING Lemon Flip Cake) so the filling wasn't too difficult to make, but cooking the cornstarch base was kinda gross...

Once the filling went in, all that was left was to make the meringue topping...

This was another job for Steven... And he did magnificently, piling it up and spiking it so that it would color up nicely in the oven... We thought about maybe piping the meringue, but thought a free-form would look much better just mounded and mounded on top...

So, our second challenge is complete... And of course, we HAD to have a slice and let me just say, and I know Steven will agree, when it comes to Lemon Meringue pie, from scratch tastes infinitely better than from a box...

Steven took the rest to work on Sunday, and the consensus was that the pie was "magical", and "heaven on a plate" ...

I'm putting this on our menu...

YUM!!!

A Return to The Sweet Life

2008-01-26T11:18:00.000-05:00

Hello, folks - Steven here, finally getting back into the swing of things after a much needed break in Florida, visiting mom, and enjoying temperatures above 40 degrees!

Today Joey is baking, but I can't tell you what, exactly, as it's a secret and will be revealed when he blogs about it (come back on monday for results)...but I can tell you that it is something I can't wait to taste, and I am sure many of you will feel the same.

On our trip, we checked out Hyde Park Florida (a sub-division of the Tampa area) and we are really considering opening a bakery there within a few years. It is lovely - old homes with a bit of a Key West feel to them - wrap around porches, Banyan trees with roots and branches spreading as far as you can see, and of course, those beautiful Gulf Coast sunsets...nothing compares to that view. To gear up for that, we will, of course, be coming up with all kinds of citrus inspired goodies, because those are the kinds of things that sell well in that area - but fear not, we will always carry our signature chocolate delights, including, but not limited to: Joelts espresso brownies, Chocolate toffee bread puddings, Sour cream chocolate cake and the many wonderful cheesecakes you've grown to love and dream about (Peanut butter and Chocolate, Creme de Menthe, Tropical Paradise, Cappuccino...well -you name it and we most likely make it, or will in the near future.)

Just a reminder - Valentines Day is right around the corner, so don't forget to pre-order a flavorful and romantic Red Velvet cake, cupcakes, Chocolate toffee brownies, or any of our other signature desserts to tempt and tease your honey's palatte as a prelude to...well... whatever other romantic persuits you may have in mind for that particular evening. (wicked grin in place!)

Ciao for now -

Steven

Heads Up and Happy New Year!!

2008-01-06T19:36:00.000-05:00

We wanted to extend a special thank you to all of you wonderful people who felt the urge to support us (and your sweets habit!) as we started our small but fastly growing business in 2007. That last few months of the year were filled with orders galore, new recipes, and the wonderful Daring Bakers Challenge, which we are so happy to be a part of. You folks kept us on our toes, and kept our kitchen smelling fantastic. Thank you so much!

We extend to you our wishes for a wonderful, and prosperous New Year, and we hope that you will continue to try our delicious baked goods, and always keep those suggestons coming...we love hearing from you and finding out what floats your boat.

And now a quick commercial message from Joey Biscotti: Due to a combination of the cold weather, Steven's mother's 81st birthday, and the fact that we haven't had a vacation in a year, we are hanging the "gone fishing" sign on the door for 10 days - from January 11th to January 20th, 2008, and will be unable to fill your orders for that week, but rest assured, we'll be back and raring to go after a brief pause for the cause. Know that you will be thought of warmly (well, we hope it will be warm in Florida!)

Happy New Year again - and we look forward to hearing from you all in 2008.

Ciao for now -

'Da boys.

Yule Log Challenge

2007-12-22T13:28:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays, all... Joey here, announcing our membership in the Daring Bakers group!!! We received our logo yesterday (as you can see on the left) and are very excited about our Yule log, which is our first challenge as members of the group... Steven began yesterday by making mushrooms from meringue... See?

Don't they look real?

This morning I made the genoise...

the sugar and eggs

heating the sugar and eggs

whisking the heated sugar and eggs to triple the volume and cool them, too

I missed the opportunity to photograph the batter going in to the pan, but this is the result when it comes out of the oven about 10 minutes later... There was a bit of a bubble, but that's okay

spreading the orange-flavored buttercream, and then (drum roll)...

the big roll and chill!!!!

And now that the roll is chilled, and the buttercream is finished, we start building our log...

So, the texturing begins, too...

Steven adds snow...

...and the meringue mushrooms...

And it's finished!!! Complete with little forest resident!!!

This was really fun!!!! This ended up being the plain genoise, with a buttercream filling flavored with Grand Marnier, and bittersweet chocolate buttercream for the bark... We will be tasting this Monday night in South Orange, NJ for Christmas Eve... more photos when we return to the big city!

Tis the Season to eat cheesecake...

2007-12-17T21:03:00.000-05:00

Boy, oh boy, have we been busy. The orders have been rolling in and we have had to arrange our schedules accordingly. Friday evening, my niece and her beau were en route from Boston to Florida, and stopped for a few hours to have dinner with their favorite redheaded uncle in NYC. I spent all day baking biscotti and cookies for them to take back to the family (hey, save shipping costs whenever possible, ya know?!). I made peanut butter biscotti dipped in semi-sweet chocolate (oy vey), Mistletoe Surprise cookies made with the seasonal Hershey's kiss flavors of Chocolate Marshmallow, Cherry cordial, and Candy Cane - Dayum, where they yumilicious. Also made a batch of our wonderfully decadent Maple sandwich cookies, so labor intensive and yet so wonderful on the tongue.

Saturday we had to provide the desserts for a co-worker's holiday party and we made 4 mini (5-1/2") cheesecakes in the following flavors: Caramel Apple, Creme de Menthe, Peanut Butter/Chocolate, and Pumpkin. They were so cute, and I am waiting to hear back from Shannon as to the reviews of her guests. Then Joey made a Lemon Flip (formerly Lemon Lemon Lemon cake) that was so tall, it gave the Empire State building a creamy, lemon curd and cream cheese filled run for it's money!

We finished off the order with a batch of our now-famous Joeltz, and fell alseep with the oven still cooling (its been cold here, so having the oven on all day is actually a plus).

Tonight Joey is baking Pumpkin Pecan Biscotti, which will be added to gift bags containing one each of Almond, Almond Anise, Tuscan Spice, Apple Cinnamon, Lemon Poppyseed, Butterscotch, and Cranberry Orange (don't you just envy the people receiving those gift bags, courtesy of Joey Biscotti?)

This Holiday weekend we have several orders for cheesecakes and cakes, and on top of all of that, we are taking on our first challange from the Daring Bakers, which must be kept in utter secrecy until the day it is blogged about - either Saturday the 22nd or Sunday the 23rd, complete with photos - mark your calenders for that one, folks!

We plan to have a new poll up for you by the first of the year - if you have some great suggestions for what to poll on next - let us know by emailing joeybiscotti@hotmail.com....you can order there also!

All you'll want for Christmas - or any other occasion...

2007-12-07T12:42:00.000-05:00

Howdy folks, Steven here with some news for you New Yorkers that I am sure you will enjoy hearing (or reading, as it were): We now offer gift certificates! At this time, we're offering what we like to refer to as Dessert Dollars, or a Ticket to Paradise. One certificate is valued at $40.00 and is good for one (1) Cake or Cheesecake from our ever-widening menu. Unfortunately, since we are as yet not set up for shipping these items, we can only offer them to people living in the New York City vicinity who are available to pick-up or deliver to.

In the future, we hope to offer them in other increments as well, but that all hinges upon having enough demand for smaller batches and/or quantities of our wonderful cookies, biscotti, and mini bites - such as Joeltz (espresso brownies) or our newest addistion, Pumpkin cream cheese mini muffins.(can I get a YUM! please?)

Feel free to drop us a line to joeybiscotti@hotmail.com or call 212-842-5426 and leave us a message as to what you'd like to order, and we will happily and promptly reply to any and all inquiries. - So don't miss out on your chance to serve up some scrumptious dessert which will quickly become a new holiday household tradition. (oh heck - why wait for a holiday - make it a weekly tradition!)

There's still time to order for Christmas and New Years, not to mention any and all birthdays, anniversaries, engagement parties or any other special occasion you can imagine.

Ciao for now, friends -
Steven

Its awfully hard to lick a whisk

2007-12-03T20:55:00.000-05:00

And now that I've caught your attention with THAT leading line...Joey just finished making the ganache for our Sour Cream Chocolate cake, which has been ordered for a birthday tomorrow, and, of course, I HAD to lick the whisk, because you just can't let something like that get away from you!

Today I made a batch of mini Pumpkin Cream Cheese Streusel muffins and BOY were they good...I'm gonna put those on the menu right now! And Joey is behind me in the kitchen perfecting a new Banana cheesecake that was a special request, but will surely become a favorite of the masses.

We just came back from Hershey Park, where we celebrated the cold with our four-year-old "niece". It was a wonderful chance to stock up on chocolate, and we found some great seasonal specials, which inspired us to try to come up with some interesting and tasty new treats. We'll be updating you with any and all chocolate related treats in the near future - so keep your eyes and ears open (and noses, I mean, you can't deny the lovely olfactory pleasures wafting from our kitchen!)

Stay tuned, fellow chocolate lovers...you won't believe some of the things we've got in mind...

Steven

My new hero (and I'm not talking sandwich)

2007-11-20T12:03:00.000-05:00

Well, folks, Steven here and I've gotta tell you all about KitchenNYC and Tricia Rago. She owns a really wonderfully designed and maintained commercial kitchen in New York (I've blogged about the space in the past), which she rents on a daily basis to people from all walks of life; from professional chefs who need extra space, to up-and-coming entreprenuers like Joey and I.

We had the great pleasure of getting to spend a day working with her this week, to prepare the orders we'd taken for Thanksgiving. It was such a joy to finally have some countertop space (!) and two perfectly calibrated ovens and large refrigerators to work with. We accomplished so much in one day - made quite a few cheesecakes, Joeltz! (espresso brownies), pumpkin/cream cheese muffins, and I finally had a chance to make my individual serving-sized Chocolate/Toffee bread pudding, (which I have to brag about a bit and say that it was heaven on a spoon).

We encourage anyone who is interested in following a culinary career path to check out Trica Rago, owner and operator of KitchenNYC. She is such a kind and giving person, with a great knowledge of chef wizardry that she's happy to share. She is a firm believer in spreading the wealth and encouraging anyone and everyone to follow their passions. Just talk to her for ten minutes and you'll know that I mean. We are truly blessed to have stumbled upon Tricia and her wonderful space, and we hope to work with her often in the future.

Enjoy your Holiday, folks, and remember to get those orders in for Christmas (not to mention birthdays, bar mitzvahs, retirement parties, graduations,... well, the list goes on and on). We look forward to hearing from you all, and to helping you satisfy your sweet cravings.

Thankfully yours,

Steven and Joey

What about Joey? Does HE have a favorite???

2007-11-11T18:51:00.001-05:00

Joey, here... and, yes, actually I DO have a favorite... Two, actually... Seasonally, I love my Cinnamon Streusel-topped Pumpkin Pie... For all-year round taste, I love the Torta Baciata Sole, in all it's sweet, orange glory...

Today was a baking day... well yesterday, too, since i made a batch of Joey's Mutts, which are Chocolate Chocolate cookies with every kind of chip imaginable in them... Okay, there are only 6 different kinds, but really, how many more could I fit in them???

Okay, back to today, I started by attempting a Lemon cake, which will be different from the Lightly Lemon cake we currently have on our menu... This is a four layer cake, soaked in a sweet lemon syrup, filled with a whipped cream/lemon curd tanginess, and frosted with a Lemon Buttercream... It will be joining it's cousin on our menu in the next few weeks...

Also, hopefully added to our menu will be an Amaretto Chocolate Cheesecake, an amaretto-flavored filling swirled with chocolate on a chocolate crust... I haven't decided what I'd like the topping to be, but I am thinking a whipped chocolate might be nice...

We are going into production for our Thanksgiving holiday orders on Saturday November 17th, so if you haven't ordered, have a look here, and then e-mail us no later than Thursday, November 15th, at joeybiscotti@hotmail.com so we can add your choices to production!!!

Hope to hear from you soon!!!

More news as events warrant...

Do I have a personal favorite?

2007-11-10T07:30:00.000-05:00

...I was wondering that this morning, as I contemplated all of our wonderful items to date. After a moment, I realized that, no, even though I've always loved peanut butter and chocolate (combined in our latest winning creation pictured in 5" size, which is enough for 4-6 slices, the PB&C cheesecake!)..I still seem to love whatever current recipe we happen to be working on. One day I'm reveling in lightly lemon cake with lemon curd filling, and then the next, I'm basking in the glow of our incredibly scrumptious Creme de Menthe cheesecake. I simply can't be forced to choose. And, fortunately, living with the creator, I can have whatever I want, whenever I want it! So can you - by ordering from our menu (with 48 hours' notice, of course.)

And folks, don't forget to keep checking back to vote on our polls. Knowing what you want helps us to give it to you!

Ciao for now -
Steven

Drunk with dessert

2007-11-06T08:20:00.000-05:00

Steven, again - Joey's been so busy in the kitchen lately, fulfilling patron's desires, that he hasn't had a moment to post his thoughts, so you're stuck with me for today.

Sunday brought forth a lovely amaretto/almond cheesecake, with a thick chocolate topping, which had my co-workers simply intoxicated with sweetness yesterday. And can I just say, not to brag or anything, but my maple sandwich cookies were a huge success also (I was so surprised, because I felt I'd overbaked them, but everyone seemed to think they benefitted from being a bit brown and crunchy around the edges.). They are quite labor intensive, so I've got to practice getting them chilled and baked in a more timely fashion, so that we can price them reasonably and let the world in on the tasty maple-sugar goodness.

There's a new poll up this week (check out the information on the left-hand side of this page)..please take a moment to give us your opinion, so that we can tailor our specialties to your desires.

And don't forget to get those orders in for the holidays! We love you when you give us lots of advance notice (heck - we love you anyway!) because it gives us lots of time to make sure the quality is just the way you'd want it.

A brief, sweet interruption, if I may

2007-11-03T12:03:00.000-04:00

Hey, its the redhead here, checking in to contemplate some changes to the recipe mentioned below (Taste of Paradise). The recipe calls for a strawberry topping of sorts, and when I mentioned this to my co-workers, Mark suggested pineapple instead...and then it hit me - why not add a layer of crushed pineapple between the crust and the actual cheesecake, and then top it with Strawberries and possibly kiwi? (Puhleeze comment on this - we love your feedback!) We will experiment with this and let you know the results as soon as we can. Today, Joey is making lemon, chocolate/raspberry, and anise almond biscotti, so that we can finally do a few trial runs on shipping them. Keep your fingers crossed (and those of you who know us, check those mailboxes frequently - you may be one of the randomly chosen human guinea pigs!). There will be a stamped, self-addressed post-card enclosed, with a brief survey of the taste and condition of the shipped goods, please PLEASE take a moment to fill these out and drop them in your mailbox. They provide the information we need to tweak the process and/or recipes. Thanks in advance, guinea pigs!

Last night, I (yes, me) made a White Chocolate/Strawberry cake with strawberry filling! We've yet to cut into it (thats for later this afternoon) but we will most surely inform you if we have another hit on our hands. I'm also trying my hand at some creme filled Maple sandwich cookies. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm...just the idea has my mouth watering.

Manhattanites (and surrounding boroughs) make sure you get your Thanksgiving cheesecake (among other) orders in ASAP...time is closing in, and we can only accomodate so many requests.

Ciao for today!

Experiment in the Tropics

2007-10-29T17:59:00.000-04:00

Joey, here... Long time, no blog for me, but here I is!!!

Yesterday, I contemplated a bottle of Malibu rum on the cabinet across the room and thought "what a great flavor for a cheesecake!!!" While it didn't turn out as I had hoped, it was far from bad, in fact it was quite delicious!!!

I started with a graham cracker crust with toasted coconut, and added a filling that included, on top of the Malibu, a cup of Coco Lopez cream of coconut.

And that was all it took for the yummies to begin... I'm going to do this one again this week and will post a photo of it to fatten up your eyes... Until you buy one!

More news as events warrant...

Autumn in Vermont...

2007-10-23T19:36:00.000-04:00

Isn't that the way the old song goes? Well, speaking of Vermont, we've just created the most amazing Maple Pecan cheesecake (don't you think of Maple syrup on steaming hot pecan pancakes when you think of Vermont?). It was a resounding success at work yesterday, and I heard we'll be getting orders very soon for the holidays.

Keep your fingers crossed, folks - we need to sell enough of these luscious deserts so that I can quit my day job and live in the fashion to which I'd like to become accustomed! (which simply means that we'll be baking and decorating full time, so that everyone who comes in contact with us will have a sugar induced smile on their face!)

For the time being, we are only set up to supply the locals (Manhattan and surrounding boroughs), but for you out-of-town-ers, don't worry - you'll have your day filled with mouth-watering biscotti and more, before you know it!

Want a FREE cheesecake (or 12)?

2007-10-17T19:02:00.000-04:00

We're busy guys, and, as artistic as the two of us are, we just haven't had time to come up with a great logo for the company. So we're asking for some help. If you are the creative type (you know, a "right brain" thinker) why not come up with a design to help represent our concept and product? We're looking for something with clean lines, modern and eye-catching, which whets the appetite, is fun, and easy to reproduce on tee-shirts, bakery boxes, labels, neon signs (for our eventual brick and mortar bakery), and which says something about our personalities. Let your imaginations run wild!

All we ask is that you email your design to joeybiscotti@hotmail.com, along with your contact information, (full name, email address, and phone number), and we will review each and every submission with equal enthusiasm. The winner of this contest will get one free 9" cheesecake from the selection on our ever-growing menu per month for a year, starting when we put the design into actual use.

As a disclaimer, we may not use any of the designs submitted. Hey, we are a bit particular, and that's one of the reasons our baked goods taste so darned yummy! But if we DO, the winner will have the satisfaction of knowing that he/she has contributed to a growing entrepreneurship, which has been nurtured with love and good taste. We'll also, of course, give credit whenever possible.

Cheesecakes Galore!!!

2007-10-11T20:47:00.000-04:00

Creme de Menthe Cheesecake

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

Who knew?

2007-10-10T20:35:00.000-04:00

Who knew that mixing Creme de Menthe, cream cheese, and chocolate, would inspire one of the best tasting cheesecakes I've ever had in my mouth? Talk about a palate pleaser! Joey baked a fantastic Creme de Menthe cheese cake last night that caused a few of my co-workers to stand there, mouth a-gape, wondering how they'd lived this long without it.

I think the best compliment we've received lately is from a small handful of friends who admitted that they'd never liked cheesecake until they tried ours (beginning with the outstanding Caramel Apple version of two weeks ago). Now THAT is something to cheer about! As soon as Joey uploads the photos of this lovely green wonder, we'll post them here, to tantalize your taste buds.

Keep your eyes open!

Chocolate Toffee Bread Pudding

2007-10-08T09:37:00.000-04:00

Need I say more? It was a huge hit at work yesterday (Steven here, folks)...I'd made it in a pan, but plan to sell it in single sized servings - it is SO delicious. Imagine cubes of rich, dark chocolate cake, soaked in a chocolate pudding mixture and layered with toffee...warm with a dollop of fresh whipped cream is best - but people even raved over it when it was cold fresh out of the fridge!

We have another hit on our hands!

Because of the season...

2007-10-06T18:51:00.000-04:00

Joey, here... enjoying our latest yummy, but we have decided to call them Joey Autunnos (instead of IECs, see them naked below), because, although they are traditionally made in Italy for Easter, they are good all year round... And iced as they are in seasonal colors, we thought it would be a better name for them, at least during this time of year... In a couple of months, when winter befalls us, perhaps we shall call them Joey Invernos, and ice them in icy blues and whites, and sprinkle them with silver dragees...

And in other news, today, we began the process of making our own vanilla extract... It should be ready sometime between February and April 2008... If you'd like to know how we did it, email us...

More news as events warrant...

Still naked, but nice...

2007-10-05T19:45:00.001-04:00

I just had to post a photo of the un-frosted IEC's (or Italian Easter Cookies)...they may resemble mini bagels or doughnuts (which is what they should look like) but once they're frosted, we'll see if they take on a life of their own.

Happy Easter!(?)

2007-10-05T11:49:00.000-04:00

Ok, (Steven here), so it's not Easter, but today I spent a couple hours baking up some Italian Easter cookies...they're currently cooling and waiting to be ice'd later this afternoon. They smell lovely (one batch of almond, one of lemon)and they look so yummy, even naked as they currently are. But I've not tasted one, because, lets face it folks - I've put on a few pounds since all this baking began, and I MUST learn some self-control! (okay - I'll wait 'til they're ice'd and then have just ONE)
I've decided they're too labor intensive to put on our regular menu, but we'd happily make them for special occasions. They are shaped like little doughnuts, and normally frosted with Easter pastels, but I think I'm gonna ice them in Fall colors, since Fall IS supposedly here.

I'll let you know how they turned out!

Caramel Apple Cheesecake

2007-10-03T19:31:00.000-04:00

Yummy!!! oh, and it was... SO yummy... Joey, here... So, I had the cheesecake at work by 1000am and by 1005a, it was... POOF!!! gone... okay, it was more like 1030a... but I was very proud of it... One co-worker came to find me to tell me that she never really liked cheesecake, but this was amazing... She asked me if I did the apples on top, and I told her that it was Steven's handy work... He's quite the enhancer!

Later in the day, another co-worker asked if he could buy one from me for his wife's birthday, so I now have an order for one!!! We are very excited!!!

This weekend, I hope to show Steven how to make biscotti and brownies the joey way...

More news as events warrant...

It's time to vote...

2007-10-03T08:46:00.000-04:00

...and I'm not talking presidential elections, here. Each week we post a new poll on the left hand side of this page, asking our friends and patrons their opinions on desserts and baked goods. You may not have noticed it because you were too busy drooling over the descriptions of our yummies (not to mention the photographs!). So please take a moment to check this weeks poll, choose the answer(s) that best describe your tastes, and then make sure to check back weekly to participate in each poll. These surveys are so important in helping us to better serve you, our best customers, and we greatly appreciate your participation. And continue to comment on our blog posts - we love your thoughts and suggestions.

Thanks, from the bottom of our fuzzy little hearts.

Steven and Joey Biscotti!

Success just feels good!

2007-10-02T14:44:00.000-04:00

Ok, Steven here again (Joe's been too busy baking to post the past few days). He made a really tremendous Caramel Apple Cheesecake this week that blew the socks off of my fellow workers (who we must stop referring to as sharks in a feeding frenzy - I think someone got offended!). I tell ya, this cake didn't last more than 5 minutes in our breakroom at work. One co-worker came up to me later in the day and threw her arms around me (fringe benefits!) and said she simply HAD to hug me, because it was the best of all the sweets we've brought in so far. Needless to say - this one is going on the menu, folks!
Joe is on his way home to make another one to share with HIS co-workers this week - aren't they lucky?
You can be, too, if you order yours now....

Deliciously brief...

2007-10-01T09:31:00.000-04:00

Yes, folks - that malted Matinee cake was a huge success (was there ever any question, I ask you?LOL!) Joey said I should post about the crostata - we've been making them for our home for several months now - but I decided to create some mini sized crostata for possible sales, and they turned out really well. With each creation I learn a lesson - this time, I learned that I have to let the chilled pastry dough warm up a bit before rolling it out, because it was still a bit thick for my liking, but did taste really great, and the mini sizes (about 4 inches across) will make a perfect single serving. They're chock full of apples (this time: granny smith and braeburn), raisins, dried cranberries, and a few secret ingredients, and the texture is just right. You'll love 'em!

...and here it is!!!

2007-09-27T17:31:00.000-04:00

We'll let you know how it tastes later, since we weren't able to taste the first one... All the sharks at Steven's work gobbled it up before he had a chance...

Also, Steven has yet to tell you about his Apple Crostata-to-go... yes, he bakes, too!!!

We've reached new heights (literally)

2007-09-27T08:54:00.000-04:00

So, we're headed out this evening to visit good friends in South Orange, to watch the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy and Ugly Betty. We always take something sweet with us - we think bringing an after-dinner-treat is very important...and we often take wine also (Trader Joe's has great wine at very reasonable prices, if you're interested.)

Joe baked (and baked and baked) last night for our second attempt at the Matinee Malted Cake. Well, actually, turns out it's our third attempt, because the first cake he baked last night fell apart. I think we're having problems with our oven, because the temperature just doesn't seem to maintain a level consistency, which adds a lot of guess work to our baking process. (Yes, Tricia - I'm definitely thinking of you and Kitchennyc!) So at about 10:40pm, he took the second cake out of the oven (and believe me - that is late for us - we're usually in bed by 10pm).

This morning I frosted it as soon as I got up at 6:00 and it is in the fridge, just waiting for the finishing touches of rosettes and malt balls. I gotta tell ya - it is the tallest cake we've made so far (and thats before the decorations)...but actually not as tall as I thought, because, in the effort to report truthfully, I just stood up and measured it, and at the moment, its 5 (five) inches tall at three layers and tons of chocolate ganache....but because its only an 8 (eight) inch cake, it LOOKS tall...Oy.

We hope to get a photo of it posted here, because I think it will be much more attractive than the last one.

Wish me luck...

Off on a tangent...

2007-09-25T17:53:00.000-04:00

...but just for a moment...

Joey, here... I want to tell you about an experience i had recently with a "competitor"... In order to see how other bakers packed their wares for shipping, we decided to order biscotti from companies across the nation... The first one we tried was from Sugarhouse Delights, out of Petersburg, PA... I ordered 1 dozen assorted flavors (Caramel Apple, Creamy Orange, and Lemon Almond) and figured I would receive them in a few days... I had them sent to my work address, which is in a highrise, so I made sure to specify which company I worked for... Needless to say, when I tracked the package, it had supposedly arrived just 2 days later, but was not to be found anywhere in my workplace, meaning someone in the building has a nice package of biscotti to enjoy...

Okay, so I emailed the Brubaker's and informed them what had happened... They were SO prompt in getting back to me, apologizing profusely, and promising to resend my order... This replacement order arrived in a couple of days and it looked like this...

Included with the order was a note stating the following...

"Dear Mr. DeBortoli

We want to thank you for your patience in receiving your
package and apologize again for any inconvenience this may
have caused.

"A few weeks ago, you had inquired about the orange-colored
chocolate we use, and I did want to clarify that the Creamy
Orange Biscotti that you ordered is drizzled with two colors
of chocolate: white; and, a mix of white and orange-colored
wafers, which gives it more of a peach color. To give you a
better idea of the orange-colored chocolate we use, we have
included a complimentary Apricot Almond Biscotti, which is
just drizzled with orange-colored chocolate.

We hope you enjoy your biscotti. Have a good day.

Sincerely,

And hand-written at the bottom...

P.S. Because the biscotti was just freshly baked and
drizzled and not completely dry, we decided to put them
in our gift box to protect them. We don't usually do this
unless requested.

Now, they went through a lot of trouble to satisfy me, which they didn't have to do, and I didn't expect them to... But to me, it shows that they care a lot about their customers and how their services are perceived...

I would recommend ordering from them if you ever get a craving for biscotti...

Oh, and the biscotti themselves? Yummy!!!

Torta baciata sole (cake, kissed by the sun)

2007-09-24T19:38:00.000-04:00

This weekend presented us with a few challenges..namely, how to keep a four layer cake from slipping sideways while frosting it with true buttercream icing and not getting it all the heck over the place! Joe made a magnificent Orange flavored cake, filled with an orange curd-like substance which could be spooned directly into the mouth (if one had no self control - don'tlookatmelikethat!). Each layer (of the four) is lightly soaked with a wonderful orange liqueur concoction, then frosted with the hint-of-orange buttercream. Then comes the orange curd and another layer of cake - build this up to a height of about 5-and-a-half inches and frost with more buttercream (can there EVER be too much buttercream, I ask you?).

Well, I risk repeating myself, as usual, by telling you that my co-workers swarmed over this one, leaving no crumb uneaten.

This evening, we've been looking at the Small Business Association website, because our long-term goal is to be our own entity - a wonderful little Bakery serving only the finest handmade (read: homemade taste in every bite) goodies that you can imagine - and believe me - we're open to suggestion. What started as an idea to specialize in biscotti, has blossomed into cakes, cookies, tarts, and most likely pies, next.

So keep those suggestions coming. We want to know what turns you on - what flavors, textures, and favorite items you'd like to see on a quaint little local bakery menu...so that we can give it to you!

I believe its Joey's turn to post next...

Another Angel in our corner.

2007-09-21T16:13:00.000-04:00

Steven speaking! So, last night, we had the supreme pleasure of meeting a truly inspirational lady, Tricia Rago, who is the owner/manager of a lovely commercial kitchen space here in Hell's Kitchen. We've been thinking about how to do our baking in bulk, (there is not a lot you can produce in a converted studio kitchen, in which two people will kill each other before turning out more than one lovely edible delight at a time!).

Ms. Rago has quite a background in chef-wizardry, and her late husband created a really awesome space for her to work her magic in. Now she has turned it into a beautiful place to whip up just about any mouth-watering thing you can think of, and which is rent-able for anywhere from a few hours to an entire month (or more).
We spent almost two hours sharing our love of sweet things with Tricia, and picked her brains for some incredibly helpful information that every young (or in our case, approaching middle-aged) entrepeneur could turn into profits, both spiritual and monetary. We are so appreciative to her for sharing her knowledge of the industry (a view from the inside is the best portal!), and we can't wait to find the time and money to take advantage of the great space and equipment which she has to offer. For information about Ms. Rago's kitchen space - go to http://kitchennyc.blogspot.com/

And, by the way, Joey whipped up some fantastic Lemon Poppyseed biscotti on Wednesday evening, which I shared with co-workers on Thursday morning, and received more raves than I can relate in this space! (Thank you, to all those wonderful friends at work, who share their thoughts and constructive criticism of our goodies - you are all so very much appreciated.)

More to come soon....

Recent Successes

2007-09-21T07:38:00.000-04:00

Triple Layer Coconut Cake

Chocolate Malted Matinee Cake

What candy do YOU eat at the movies?

2007-09-19T20:20:00.000-04:00

Last night, Joey surprised me by baking a truly remarkable Chocolate Malted Cake. I can't begin to tell you how wonderfully rich, moist, and delicious that cake was (yes, WAS...it lasted about an hour at work today!). He made a wonderful Chocolate buttercream frosting (more like a ganache, if you ask me), which I frosted it with last night, and then this morning I mixed some confectioner's sugar into the remaining ganache and piped some rosettes on the outer edge of the cake (marking where each slice would be) and topped each rosette with a malted milk ball.

My co-workers simply salivated over it from the moment I took it out of the box, and the slices flew off the plates and into satisfied tummies. Our survey showed that everyone found it to be an excellent cake, with comments like "Delish!", "Nutmeggy! Yummy.", and "I see a demand...". These results please us to no end. It is such a gratifying feeling to know that, on a very first try at a recipe, we are garnering such praise.

We've decided to call it our Matinee Cake (because of the malted milk balls - don't you remember seeing those behind the the counter at the concession stand at your local movie theatre, your mouth watering for the fun little handfulls of joy?). We love it, and we hope you will, too,

What's New?

2007-09-18T07:43:00.000-04:00

Joey, here...

wwweeeellllllll, the weekend was a busy one... Saturday saw me attempt my first cheesecake in several years... It was a chocolate toffee cheesecake requiring the melting of two different kinds of chocolate, which I have little experience at... neither flavor melted well, but i then realized my mistake... I wasn't melting chocolate with butter or cream, like I would for brownies... I needed a double-boiler... Also, I wanted to use a pecan shortbread crust, but, a few weeks before, we froze a failed experiment of toffee brownie bites... Steven chopped up a bunch of them and we used those mixed with chopped hazelnuts to make the crust... Needless to say, I was disappointed with the visual result, but it tasted... OH! so good...

Also, on the menu that day was Bits O' Brickle Biscotti, dipped in, uh-oh, melted milk chocolate... However, THIS time, I used the double boiler method, and the chocolate melted beautifully... Then Steven dipped all the biscotti... There was some choclate left over, so i mixed in the leftover chopped hazelnuts and made our own chocolate bar!

On Sunday, Steven wasn't aware, but I made a 3-layer coconut cake that was to be frosted with coconut cream cheese frosting, then topped and "sided" with toasted coconut... When all was said and done, I think this one is my MOST favorite of all... so far... it was SO moist and flavorful, and the cream cheese icing was perfect with the toasted coconut... It's definitely going on the menu!

This afternoon, I am going to make a malt-ball cake... and some kind of biscotti...

More news as events warrant...

Oh, the possibilities...

2007-09-15T13:09:00.000-04:00

Steven again, folks.

So we've been making a list (and checking it God knows how many times!) of the items we've come up with so far (taste tested on co-workers who gave a resounding "Thumbs up"), and, once we open an actual brick and morter bakery, here are a few of the things we'll be offering:

Cakes

Red Velvet w/Cream Cheese Frosting
Carrot Cake w/Cream Cheese Frosting
German Chocolate Bundt Cake
Lightly Lemon Cake w/Lemon Curd Filling
Sour Cream Chocolate w/Chocolate Frosting
Coconut Cake w/Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting topped with Toasted Coconut
Malted Matinee Cake
Sun Kissed Cake w/Orange Buttercream frosting (and just a hint of orange liquor!)

Cheesecakes

Chocolate Toffee
Pumpkin
Lemon

Pies

Apple Crostata
Pumpkin w/Pecan Streusel

Biscotti

Pumpkin Pecan
Chocolate Raspberry
Lemon/Lime w/White Chocolate Drizzle
Cranberry Orange
Cranberry Orange Granola
Tuscan Spice and Almond
Cinnamon Almond Raisin
Anise Almond
Bits 'o Brickle (Chocolate dipped)
Lemon Poppyseed

Brownies

Joeltz!(tm) (see picture and discription at the upper left of this page)
Mint Cream Cheese Swirl
Toffee
Brownies Mexicanos (lightly spicy)

Cookies

Snickerdoodles (my personal favorite!)
Mutts(tm) (chocolate cookie with white chocolate, butterscotch, peanut butter, semi-sweet chocolate and toffee chips - out of this world good!)

Cupcakes

Peanut Butter w/Chocolate Frosting
Sour Cream Chocolate w/Peanut Butter Frosting

If you have any special requests for things you'd like to see on the menu in the future - feel free to email us at joeybiscotti@hotmail.com with suggestions. We will give equal consideration to all - hey - its YOU GUYS who will be our customer base, so let us know what turns you on!

Made with love and definitely Joeylicious!(tm)

Just because...

2007-09-15T11:37:00.000-04:00

Joey, here... I saw this over on Cupcakes Take the Cake and felt the need to post it here as well... The original can be found on I Can Has Cheezburger ...

Red Velvet Triumphant!

2007-09-13T07:34:00.000-04:00

Ok, Steven here! Yesterday I took Joey's new Red Velvet Cake to work and you should have seen the commotion - people swarmed over that cake like pirahnna (sp?) on a cow. There was not a crumb left on the table. And, everyone (and I do mean everyone who tried it) said that it was most likely the best of the treats we have presented them with so far! I am so excited about this - it is always such a great feeling to know that you are part of something that brings a smile to people's faces.

There were, of course, suggestions for possible improvements (one of my co-workers who hails from the deep south, suggested we add more cocoa to the recipe to make the color a bit darker..it was a very bright red cake)..but other than that - everyone loved the texture (quite moist) and went ga-ga over the Cream Cheese frosting. (little did they know that we made it very low fat by using fat-free cream cheese). My biggest issue with the trial was the fact that we didn't have the right sized box for the cake - Joey made it a nine inch round, with three layers, and we only had ten inch cake boxes, so the sides of the iced caked stuck to the box, causing it to come out a bit messy. Easily remedied in one of two ways - bigger boxes (duh!) or smaller, eight inch layers, resulting in a taller cake - which I think would be the best idea - but we'll leave that to the baker!

I wonder what Joey will make next? We've talked about trying his Butter-Brickle biscotti again, or trying something new. And of course, there are his Mutts - dark chocolate cookies with every kind of chip in them that you can imagine - peanut butter, milk chocolate, white chocolate, and butterscotch...put one of those in your mouth and you will rethink your idea of what a cookie is all about!

Ok Joey - I'm off to work soon - I wonder what sweet treat I'll come home to today?

Seeming success...

2007-09-11T20:06:00.000-04:00

Joey here... again...

Since I had to be at work before 7am, as I do every Tuesday and Thursday, I left work at 2:30pm to meet up with Steven so we could go to Bridge Kitchenware on East 45th St... Our main goal was just to look around... I had been to their earlier location on East 51st St a few years ago, but that location closed so that some developer could quickly build some monstrosity of a highrise condominium tower... Luckily, we found them again at this new location... It's not as dark or cramped as before...

Anyway, we ended up leaving with a couple of packs of 10x10x4 cake boxes, 6 shiny, new aluminum cake pans (in 8" and 9" sizes), and a little bottle of red food coloring... all for relatively cheap!!!

As we walked back to the west side and home, we passed Jack's 99 Cent store... Stores like this are always fun... When I lived in Astoria, I used to frequent one I affectionately called Stop The Bargain, if only because on the 34th St side of the building, that was the order of the words... I'd post a photo... If I had one...

Anyway, as I type this, the cake is baked and Steven is busy at work icing it... OOOooo!!! And, he just passed me the trimmings made into a little sandwich with icing, and I have just one word...

YUM!!!

Tomorrow, Steven will take this one to work and we'll get our feedback... I hope everyone enjoys it!!!!

More news as events warrant...

Red Velvet Cake Redux...

2007-09-11T14:20:00.000-04:00

Joey here...

So, after my first failed attempt at Red Velvet Cake on Sunday ended in a tasteless waste of good ingredients, I am going to try again...

My first guess at the reason for failing was the flour I used... The recipe called for cake flour (not the self-rising kind) but trying to find it in any of the nearby grocery stores here in Hell's Kitchen was impossible... So I figured I would use pastry flour... After all, the label stated it was good for pies AND cakes...

After I got the ingredients all mixed and added the blood-red liquid, I had already felt something was wrong, as the batter tasted kind of grainy... But, first attempt and all that, so I assumed that was how it was supposed to be... It came out of the oven a BEAUTIFUL red color, but odorless...

When Steven came home that evening and went to frost it, I, of course, stood by and waited to taste the levelling tops he removed for a level cake... I put it in my mouth, and I have only one word for that experience...

ICK!!!

It went in the trash the next morning...

More news as events warrant...

...And Steven (everything else!)

2007-09-10T20:59:00.000-04:00

Steven has been an actor/singer for most of his adult life (heck - why say adult - he started when he was 4!). He has performed all over the country in national tours of some geat Broadway classics, including the title role in "Man of La Mancha", Merlin in "Camelot", and Jules in "Sunday in the Park with George". Recently, Steven discovered a renewed passion for cake decorating, and so, with his artistic knowlege (and sugar cravings) he pushed his way into the kitchen with Joey and started a beautiful collaboration. When he's not piping buttercream icing onto a cake top, you might find him performing his cabaret act in one of Manhattan's intimate clubs. We think you'll agree that when Steven and Joey get together - the oven heats up and the Biscotti (and assorted other goodies) scent the air with full-flavored yumminess.

Meet Joey, the Baker...

2007-09-10T20:57:00.000-04:00

An Oakland California native, Joey has been fiddling around with recipes for most of his adult life. A few years ago we began to realize that he has a magic touch in the kitchen, and started taking samples of his wizardry to share with friends and co-workers. Enthralled, they begged for more (and more, and more!)...and so we gave it to 'em! Whenever Joey would come up with a new twist or variation to his Biscotti, we'd use our test subjects as "human guinea pigs" and the results were always a resounding two thumbs up. This signalled to us the idea of creating a fledgling business, which has since grown into Joey Biscotti. But don't imagine that he spends his days in a chef's apron - no, Joey has lots of other passions, the list of which is topped with music (he has been an internet DJ for many years now), and a great love of live theatre. From his personal collection, he recently added 1400 + titles to Rate Your Music, proving that his collection of music is not only as eclectic as our Biscotti flavors, but also, about as delicious.