#twicks

UNLOCKS FOR ME TONIGHHHHHTTT!!

I don't know what to write today. I spent all of yesterday in the new shop, painting, watching the "year since Sandy" tweets and Facebook updates pop up on my phone. I painted alone in total silence, thinking of the storm, remembering the days and weeks that came afterwards.  I did a fair amount of crying. Later, some friends I made at the Bay Ridge Cares Soup Kitchen I helped establish to feed storm victims came by, which cheered me up a lot. There was a lot of good that came from such tragedy, and I'm trying to remember that.

There was plenty written about our Sandy efforts that told pieces of the story, but I never sat down and wrote about it in my own words.  It occurred to me today that I probably should, and I will tomorrow. It just doesn't feel right to sit here and pour my heart out, and end it with "And here's this weeks special limited edition candy bar themed Halloween cupcake! Yippee!"

So with that, here's this years Halloween cupcakes. They're made with all the good stuff that's supposed to be in candy, but isn't anymore because the big food bogeymen are cheaping out on ingredients. Seriously, I just ate half a bag of my favorite candy of all time, KitKats, and they tasted like wax. I also have a pretty bad tummyache, because I never freaking learn.

Coconut Bliss: Coconut cake, coconut almond buttercream, roasted almond, chocolate fudge

Twicks: Brown sugar cake, salted caramel chocolate buttercream, ganache, vanilla cookies

Liddabit: Chocolate cake, salted caramel nougat buttercream, roasted peanuts, ganache, caramel

Well, Halloween has come and gone.  But before I start bugging you all incessantly about placing your Thanksgiving orders as soon as possible, I need to be that parent who tells you about what happened to their kids on Halloween, because I'm still shaking my head over this one.  

After school let out, we went to the Halloween party at the Museum of Natural History- totally awesome, probably the best thing ever.  But this isn't about that.  Nor is it about the part where Atticus decided to do some "fancy walking" on Central Park West and charged smack into Lewis Black, who was actually so cheerful I didn't even recognize him til Matt pointed out that our son had come within 3" of headbutting him square in the crotch.

This is about how after the party was over and we had taken the long subway ride home, we went to the Starbucks around the corner from our place, aka my office/second home.  As I order my drink, our little boys give the baristas their best "Trick or Treat" and hold out their bags, and both receive THIS:

An unsharpened number two pencil!  Not a special Starbucks branded one, not a green one- AN UNSHARPENED STAPLES BRAND PENCIL FROM A SACK OF PENCILS. And because we're regulars, MY kids get hooked up with TWO pencils a piece. That Starbucks Rewards Gold Card Status paid off yet again!

I made a crack about how we should have gotten there earlier before they had to resort to giving out office supplies, and that's when the baristas told me that the decision to give out pencils was from corporate.

Listen, I can understand not wanting to give out candy. But pencils? I thought for a minute maybe it's just a way to dissuade kids from ever trying to trick-or-treat at a Starbucks again, but everyone knows that if you want to do that, you hand out raisins.  As bizarre as it was, I was highly amused, and happy that it made the toothbrushes and pretzels they got look AMAZING in comparison.

Now here's where it gets hilarious.

We go home, take off our costumes, and the kids go straight for their trick or treat bags.  Is the first thing they take out the Oreos, or the chocolate? No- it's the freaking pencils.  Toby starts trying to draw a picture with his, but nothing- it's unsharpened.  He turns to me and asks for help, but there's nothing I can do as we don't own a pencil sharpener. I mean really, it's 2011- who has a pencil sharpener lying around besides my parents? 

So despite the fact that they went to a Halloween party, got to trick-or-treat in the dinosaur museum, got to see a show from the Big Apple Circus, got to ride the subway, got to almost hit Lewis Black in the nuts, got to share custard from Shake Shack, got a giant sack of candy AND had pretty much the best Halloween two kids could possibly have, my kids ended the night hysterically crying in disappointment because of those damn unsharpened pencils. 

Fortunately the next morning, they brought back the Gingerbread Latte so all is temporarily forgiven.  Besides, it was better than getting a rock.

Clockwise from front: Brown Sugar Pumpkin, Liddabit, Twicks, Pecan French Toast

Brown Sugar Pumpkin: Brown sugar cake, chocolate pumpkin buttercream, ganache

Liddabit: Chocolate cake, salted caramel nougat buttercream, roasted peanuts, ganache and caramel

Twicks: Vanilla cookie cake, salted caramel buttercream, chocolate fudge, cookie crumbs

Pecan French Toast: Maple custard soaked cinnamon cake, maple cinnamon buttercream, maple glazed pecans

Available at:

Robicelli's at DeKalb Market: Corner of Flatbush Ave Extension & Willoughby, Downtown Brooklyn

Hom: 88th Street and Third Avenue, Bay Ridge

Cafe at Sam's Bakery: 94th Street off Third Avenue, Bay Ridge

Blue Apron Foods: Union Street off 7th Avenue, Park Slope

Tazza: Clark Street off Henry AND Henry off Atlantic, Brooklyn Heights

Radish: Bedford Avenue off North 8th, Williamsburg

Jem: Broadway off Franklin Street, TriBeCa

Battery Market: 77 Battery Place, Battery Park City

Joe at Columbia University: West 120th Street btwn Broadway and Amsterdam, Morningside Heights

It's Halloween!!!!  Which means that it's time for OUR ANNUAL CANDY BAR SERIES! WEEEEEEEE!!!!

I know you've spent an entire year waiting to see which candy we'd pick to do cake versions of this year, and wondering just exactly how we'd pull off our interpretations.  But even MORE than this.....you're wondering what I'd finally pick as my Halloween costume!

Ladies and gentlemen.....may I present.......

SEXY PIECE OF PEPPERONI PIZZA! Don't get much better than that, does it?

Clockwise from front: The Liddabit, 100 Bucks, Twicks, KatKit

The Liddabit: Chocolate cake, salted caramel nougat buttercream, roasted peanuts, ganache & caramel drizzles

NEW! 100 Bucks: Chocolate cake filled with caramel, salted caramel & rice crisp buttercream, chocolate fudge dip, rice crisp cereal

NEW! Twicks: Vanilla cookie cake, salted caramel buttercream, chocolate fudge dip, cookie crumbs

NEW! KatKit: Brown sugar cake, chocolate buttercream, vanilla panko streusel, ganache drizzle

AVAILABLE AT:

Robicelli's at DeKalb Market: 138 Willoughby Street, Downtown Brooklyn

Aloha Grinds: Third Avenue & 76th Street, Bay Ridge

Cafe at Sam's Bakery: 94th Street off Third Avenue, Bay Ridge

Crespella: 7th Avenue off 9th Street, Park Slope

Tazza: Clark Street off Henry AND Henry Street off Atlantic, Brooklyn Heights

Cake Shop: Ludlow Street btwn Stanton and Rivington

Joe at Columbia University: West 120th btwn Broadway & Amsterdam Avenue