guest post: matt lewis of BAKED NYC (plus giveaway!)

Have I been excited for weeks on end when I heard Matt Lewis co-owner of the infamous Baked NYC bakery in Brooklyn, NY AND cookbook co-author of Baked: New Frontiers in Baking AND Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented said YES to a guest post for moi?
Ohhhh you betcha.
I've known and adored him for years. He thinks I'm super creative (blush) and I think he's god-like creative! I've lost count on how many times I asked him to marry me (but I think he's kept count, sadly).
You have to be living under rock or hanging in Tibet, not to have seen the creative duo that is matt lewis and renato poliafito: aka modern day bakers with ingenious twist on modern day baking. Have you seen them on The Cooking Channel Unique Sweets? Oh they are so cute--talking heads. OK, I know they're guys, but they are just so fun to watch; I mean they are so at ease, chill kind of guys with a huge passion for baked goods. Who doesn't love a man with a huge passion for all things cake, cookies, pies, etc...?
And book 3? There is a book 3? Yes. Thank goodness! Book 3 is almost done, I've asked him about it in the interview (below). These guys never stop to rest. Where their energy comes from I haven't a clue; they must have a fountain of creative youth stashed away in the Baked Laboratories, somewhere in Brooklyn....I am heading to NYC this summer and I will report back on where that fountain of youth is. Promise.
Matt was kind enough to answer some really good, inquisitive questions I had and a couple from the fans. Shall we? (and there is a giveaway too...read on thru to find out about it!)


click me will ya?

Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito left their day jobs in advertising seven years ago to open their bakery, Baked, in Brooklyn, NY, to immediate praise from fans across the country. The authors have been featured on Oprah, the Today show, the Food Network, and Martha Stewart. Their first book, Baked, was an IACP award nominee.
And recently they’ve teamed up with Williams Sonoma to sell their infamous baked brownies, brookies, sour cream coffee cakes, and red velvet whoopie pies—all in ready, simple, luxurious ready to make mixes.

How do you sum up their style/twist on baking? Classic American desserts reinvented with a modern/kicked up twist.
I love that they think of themselves “dessert experts” as stated on their “about us” page at bakednyc.com. Stating they “…are blessed with a highly (almost holy) developed sense of taste and smell….”
A little history of Matt and Renato:
“….. Matt, a producer, spent his days hidden away in a cubicle stuffed with spreadsheets, post-its, and relentless voice mails, while Renato spent his time in the more rarefied field of graphic design (i.e. making things look beautiful so people would buy them). Their thoughts were never too far from cake and coffee. Coincidentally, Matt and Renato met at a glitzy, high-profile ad agency, and slowly (even unbeknownst to them) the idea for Baked was born.
Matt wanted to open a bakery that celebrated American desserts beyond the cupcake, and Renato had always been hankering to open a neighborhood cafe, so together they scoured New York City for the perfect location. They found a small, storefront church in the largely industrialized section of Brooklyn, and together with Rafi Avramovitz, set about building their inspiration. Finally, after many long delays, they opened Baked in 2005 on the shores of Red Hook, Brooklyn with just a few ovens, some mixers, and an espresso machine…”


click on us too!

Interview Questions:

So I hear Book 3 is done, passed in and soon will be in print? Is this true?

Well, almost done. Unfortunately, we like to tinker right up to the last moment (and it drives our editors crazy) but for all practical purposes it is finished and it will be out in September or October.

Tell us a little about Book 3, and how can you ever top your first two books? I mean those were just amazing—one can only imagine what book 3 will be like?

Book 3 is a slight departure for us in terms of design, styling, etc...It is still very much a "Baked" book, but it centers more on our favorite ingredients as opposed to bakery best-sellers. And yes, there is a chapter devoted to boozy sweets.

You know I’ve been dying to know for a while now, what was the feeling you had when Oprah dubbed your brownies as one of her favorite things? It must have felt amazing.

I guess, in the food world, being included in Oprah's fave things is like winning an Academy Award. It still makes us giddy.

And you’ve been on the Martha Stewart show a few times; do you get nervous, still?

I could barely speak the first time we met (dry mouth, shaky hands)- I wanted to work for Martha right after I moved to the city, so in a sense it was like meeting an idol. Honestly, Martha is kinder and funnier and smarter than one can imagine. She really knows the ins and outs of baking...like REALLY KNOWS...and she has a wicked sense of humor.

The new talking/reporting gig you have on The Cooking Channel’s “Unique Sweets” has got to be fun? What’s not to love: travel, eat and report.

It was so much fun to be part of, though I really had a craving to go on a juice cleanse post-wrap taping.

I know you’re going to roll your eyes with this one, since I ask you all the time when we talk, but how do you stay so thin with all the baked goods that you sample, and all the recipes you try?

We get asked that a lot. Honestly, I have learned to sample and disburse. I take one bite, Nato takes one bite, then we wrap what is left and give it away to customers, neighbors, friends and if it is bad...enemies :). I still gain about 15lbs during book testing, but work hard to shed the weight as soon as I am done.

Coming up with new recipes: do they just come to you, or do you do a little research to get some inspiration going?

We get most of our inspiration from fever dreams, old magazines and books, travel, and grandmas. Grandmas in the mid-west happen to have the best recipes in the world IMHO. At the moment, all I can think of is something called a Kermit Cake. Not sure what it is going to be yet, but that is the perfect idea of a recipe we start riffing on when all we have is just a name.

Where do you think your love of creating good food stems from?

I have always had a rabid sweet tooth...heavily skewed towards chocolate desserts. Blame my mom.

Did you grow up in a “foodie family”? Were your parents foodies? Or in your case “sweet tooth aficionados’?

My family was not a foodie family. My mom's mom is an amazing Italian cook, but my mom never really took after her. We ate out a lot... Much later in life, my dad become really interested in food, but growing up it was all about "where we going to eat tonight"?

If you were stranded on a desert island with fresh water, and only had a choice of one of your favorite comfort foods, what would it be?

A jar of peanut butter and good bread.

If you could go to any country just for their food which one would you choose?

I love Paris, but I think Rome is hands down a better food destination. It’s an overused stereotype but true - You can't get a bad meal in Rome. And anyone that says otherwise, is a snob.

If you could invite any three people to dinner (living or dead) who would they be and what would you make?

I know I should invite a bunch of interesting, artistic and impressionable historical masterminds, but part of me just wants to invite Ryan Gosling, Carol Burnett, and Charles Dickens.

In your downtime, when you’re not researching and testing new recipes what do you do to relax?

I love the beach.

I gotta admit, what drew me to you and Renato was your devotion to ALWAYS use quality ingredients and to never ever cut/trim your creations for the sake of saving money. I can’t tell you how many bakeries do this over time, to save a buck, and then wonder why they went out of business. I imagine this was a dual-promise you and Renato had from the beginning: quality ingredients, equals quality products. Right?

Absolutely. We figured our bakery was all about quality ingredients. The best cocoa powder, the best chocolate...If we couldn't use what we wanted, our vision just didn't make sense.

Any tips or advice for people that want to open their own bakery? I know location is key, having a good product is utmost as well, anything else?

Hire great people. Be aware that you won't make as much money as your friends at Facebook or Apple or etc..- EVER! And treat your customers with respect.

See what I mean? They are just fabulous people. I love them. Thank you so much Matt and Renato! You both are a huge inspiration not only to me, but to many others out there, starting out in the baking/bakery industry.

I also wanted to mention, if you've been following along with my blog lately, I've been taking the Baked Brownie mix and creating new recipes with them.



You can find this brownie mix, along with their infamous "Brookster" mix, red velvet whoopie pie mix, and the sour cream coffee cake mix--all at Williams Sonoma.

So far with the Baked brownie mix (which btw is VERY versatile to create "kicked up" brownies) I made:

Peanut butter cookie crusted brownie

Peanut butter & Fluff swirl fudgy brownies with salty cookie crust

Brownie bundt with coconut-cream cheese filling (Yes, you can bake a brownie in a bundt pan!)

And lastly, my personal favorite, is a mocha-almond ice cream with brownie chunks. I've waited for the right time to try and recreate a childhood favorite of mine: Brighams Mocha Almond ice cream. Always wanted to do it with a twist. And this was my lucky chance.







You have to know, I did have all intentions of freezing little brownie chunks for this ice cream, I truly had no idea how well they tasted when frozen. Never ever had brownies taste so good frozen. Most were always too hard or too gummy like. Not these. Perfect little frozen treats, even if you don't make the ice cream, just make the brownies and freeze them into little chunks for snacking.

mocha-almond ice cream w/ Baked brownie chunks
print recipe

1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
Just under 3/4 cups sugar
4 egg yolks
A tiny pinch of salt
½ TB of double dutch cocoa powder
1 Starbuck Via (Columbia or other “mild” flavor) Can use espresso powder, maybe ¾-1 TB
1 – 1 ½ cups of frozen Baked brownie chunks (cut in ½ inch cubes/squares)
½ - 1 cup of salty, roasted almonds, rough chop (use as little or as much as you desire)

Cook notes: if you don’t have a starbuck via, you can easily use espresso powder, maybe ¾ - 1 TB? Do ¾ TB first then taste test, see if it needs more. Remember that using double dutch cocoa powder is strong, so you only need a little bit ( ½ TB) if you feel it needs more then by all means go ahead.

Make up a batch of the Baked Brownies. When they are cooled take about half of the brownies, ut into little chunks of ½ or so, and freeze them. Of better yet, freeze them all, these brownies are amazing frozen!
In a medium size saucepan, over medium heat, heat up the milk, sugar, and salt; stirring occasionally. You want this hot, but not boiling.
In a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks until well combined. Slowly add (a couple tablespoons at a time) of the hot mixture to the egg yolk mixture, all the while stirring/whisking constantly. Keep doing this until all the egg yolk mixture is well combined with the hot milk. (you’ll use about half the hot milk mixture).
Then pour the warmed up yolks into the saucepan, and heat over medium-low heat; constantly stirring until the mixture thickens up a bit. Add in the dutch cocoa powder and the Starbuck Via. (taste test, and see if you need more of anything, might need a pinch more salt, but when we ad the salty, roasted almonds to the mixture the salt from the almonds will fix that).
You know the ice cream custard is done when the custard thickens, and easily coats a spatula.
Might take about 15-20 minutes to get to this point; make sure to keep stirring!
Take off heat and pour into a bowl, cover tightly and chill at least a few hours (or overnight) before churning.
When ready to churn, use your ice cream manufacturer’s directions to churn. At the last 5 minutes of churning add in the brownie and almond chunks.
Remove ice cream from churner and place into glass or ceramic bowl, cover tightly and into the freezer to continue setting up.
Makes about 1 & ½ quarts.

The giveaway! The Baked Boys are very generous. And thank you guys for this!

They are giving away TWO SETS of:

Cookbook 1: Baked: New Frontiers in Baking
Cookbook 2: Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented
2 boxes of Baked Deep Dark Chocolate Brownie Mix

Seriously! I kid you not. All you have to do to enter is:

o leave ONE comment telling us if you think the Baked Boys should venture on to a cookbook #4 AND what baked treats would you like to see new or old or kicked up?
Be creative here kids!!

o please have a valid email in your signature or comment.
o No anonymous comments please.
o It would be nice to LIKE Baked NYC on Facebook, to stay in top of the arrival of Book 3 and other events. They might have more giveaways when Book 3 arrives!

We'll do the drawing on Friday April 27, 2012! Good luck!
And lastly, congrats to the winners of the Nick Evans cookbook "Cornerstone Cooking" drawing: #16 JRoberts and #43 WinterSundays. Please email me your shipping address!