Yule Log Challenge

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...

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...

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

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)

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???

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?

...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

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

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

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...

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)?

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!!!

Creme de Menthe Cheesecake

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

Who knew?

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

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...

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...

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!(?)

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

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...

...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!

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...

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!!!

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)

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...

...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)

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.

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

Triple Layer Coconut Cake





Chocolate Malted Matinee Cake

What candy do YOU eat at the movies?

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?

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...

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...

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!

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...

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...

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!)

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...

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.