Famed bakers putting Berlin, Delmarva on the map

For Tony Lanuza and Chris Poeschl, it wasn't long ago that a particularly penniless birthday changed everything.

The Brooklyn couple was flat broke, barely getting by on paychecks from bartending gigs and appearances in low-budget films and musicals.

"It was my birthday and Tony couldn't afford to buy me anything," Poeschl said, with a smile. "So he offered to bake me a cake."

Lanuza crafted the Honey Whiskey Cake: a moist, palm-sized Bundt confection bursting with flavors of honey, booze and butter.

"It was the most wonderful thing I had ever tasted," he said.

As luck would have it, the sweet birthday gesture has been their ticket to success, quickly catapulting them to fame as The Brooklyn Baking Barons.

Partners in life, as well as entrepreneurship, they exploded into America's foodie scene when they impressed the hosts of popular food talk show The Chew — not as guests, but as audience members.

"We needed to get the cake out there," he said. "So we had this plan ... and it worked."

They showed up at ABC Studios with their secret weapon. They handed out dozens of cakes to people in line, quickly creating a commotion that caught the attention of the show’s production assistants.

Not only did the crewmembers love the sweet treats, the Honey Whiskey Cakes were a huge hit with the show’s hosts. Celebrity-chef and cohost Mario Batali even asked, “Why aren’t you guys on TV?”

"I don't think we even walked home that day — we floated," said Lanuza. "There's no other words to describe it. We were on cloud nine."

After the September 2014 taping of The Chew, which aired April 15 at 1 p.m., cohost Daphne Oz shared the cakes with another television personality — Ree Drummond of Food Network’s The Pioneer Woman. Drummond went on to select Honey Whiskey Cake as one of her "Gifts for Foodies" in the Dec. 7, 2015 issue of People magazine.

"I received a box of these little wonders at Christmas, and I still dream about them," Drummond wrote. "They are the booziest booze cakes I’ve ever sunk my teeth into."

As demand for Honey Whiskey Cake escalated, The Brooklyn Baking Barons ran into a serious problem. They were still baking out of a tiny galley kitchen in their New York apartment and couldn't keep up.

"We didn't have enough room in there to even breath," he said. "There was no way it was going to work."

Through a fortuitous series of events, Lanuza and Poeschl became aware of an available bakery in Berlin.

Lanuza's family often vacationed at the Delaware beaches, and Ocean View is now where his parents call home. He spent childhood summers working at local eateries such as DiFebo’s and Maureen’s Ice Cream and was familiar with the area.

They moved to their new 5,000-square-foot facility in December 2015.

"It literally is 10 times the size of the space we had in Brooklyn," he said. "But we needed every bit of it."

With the publicity from People and subsequent online buzz, couple was forced to hire 15 part-time staffers to help bake and ship nearly 3,000 during the 2015 holiday season.

"It was insane," Lanuza said. "I don't even know how we did it, or when we slept. But looking back, we wouldn't have changed a thing."

The two have used the post-holiday months to perfect their simple, signature packaging — which includes vacuum-sealing the cakes to keep them fresh and retain their mouthwatering moistness — which now allows them to ship overseas.

"The cakes also freeze and thaw beautifully," he added.

In addition to Honey Whiskey Cake, The Brooklyn Baron Bakers offers a cinnamon-sugar-rolled Caribbean Sand Cake, Aztec spice cookies and gluten free options. They plan to launch a line of herbal teas and a limoncello poppy-seed cake next month.

"We wanted to take the time and truly excel before expanding the brand," Poeschl said. "But we're ready."

They're looking to get their products on the shelves of national retailers like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, as well as on the menu of local restaurants and eateries.

“Cake is just the beginning for us,” he said. “We want The Brooklyn Baking Barons to become a lifestyle brand. Honey Whiskey Cake is getting us into everyone's homes, and that's where we want to stay."

Even though Poeschl, 27, and Lanuza, 28, have spent much of their adult lives in New York, both grew up in small towns — Poeschl outside Dayton, Ohio, and Lanuza in central Pennsylvania. They are finding the Berlin area to be a good fit for them, and a definite boost for their ability to function as a company.

"We're happy," Lanuza said. "You know, New York was very good to us. But there are things that happen in New York that can only ever happen in New York... like feeding your way onto a popular food talk show. The city will always be a part of us but we're ready for new memories, to start our next chapter."

For more information on The Brooklyn Barons, visit bkbarons.com.

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