I d'eclair!!!

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...

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?

...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!!!

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'!

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'...

...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?

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!

...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...

...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...

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...

...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...

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...

...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

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

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!