Brown and Blue Retro Cake

We created this blue and brown retro inspired cake with matching peanut butter pops for an engagement party. The dots remind me of snowmen! So cute!

Black, White & Red Retro Wedding

We just love when couples come to us with fun ideas! Back in March we met with a very fun and funky couple who told us all about their plans to create a sort of 50s retro themed wedding. The bride-to-be actually presented us with her red shoe and asked if we could build a dessert menu around it. The whole scene reminded me of the commercial where the couple pulls a faucet out and asked the architect to build a house around their water faucet. And how could I say no to that?

We created plates of miniature desserts in shades of black (well actually very dark brown as black would be weird!), white & red. The ceremony and reception were held at Stonebrook Golf Club in Shakopee.

Miniature desserts included:

Black Velvet Baby Cakes with Cream Cheese Icing & Fresh Raspberries
Raspberry French Macarons Filled with Raspberry Buttercream
Dark Chocolate Pudding Dessert Shooters
Fresh Fruit Tartlets Topped with Fresh Berries

The bride's Mother found these amazing hat boxes in funky patterns of black and white. Some of the boxes were tied with red ribbons to fit with the theme. Very cute and inexpensive ideas to make a wedding reception truly memorable. Congratulations!

Sweet 16 Ballet Cake

We created this fun birthday cake for a Sweet 16 party. The birthday girl just loves ballet, so we included pink ballet slippers. Oh to be 16 again!

Happy Sweet 16!

Polka Dot Cake

What says summer better than a brightly colored polka dot cake? I know, a Berries & Cream flavored polka dot cake!

Berries & Cream Layer Cake

Vanilla Bean Cake, Vanilla Bean Buttercream & Fresh Strawberries

Outdoor Summer Hors d'oeuvres

You may have noticed that most of the pictures on our blog are dessert related. We sure do make a lot of sweets around here! But we also create mouth-watering savory dishes for catered events as well. All too often in the hustle and bustle of getting the food out to the buffet table, we forget to bring our cameras! Here are some shots from a recent outdoor hors d'oeuvre event.

Pesto Chicken Salad & Arugula on Toasted Crostini Rounds

Caprese Skewers: Ripe Tomatoes, Garden Fresh Basil & Mozzarella
Drizzled with Reduced Balsamic Glaze

Mixed Greens Salad
Sliced Pears, Crumbled Blue Cheese, Sweet Dried Cherries,
Caramelized Walnuts & Balsamic Vinaigrette

Domestic Cheese Board
Flavorful Cheeses, Fresh Fruits, Assorted Breads & Crackers

Spicy Beef Empanaditas with Creamy Salsa

1st Birthday Safari Cake

A client recently contacted us to do a birthday cake for her son's 1st birthday. We just love little kid's cakes! We were able to get incredible inspiration from the paper products she ordered online. Check out these super cute plates and napkins with a Safari theme.

And here are some shots of the cake and little cupcake toppers we were able to produce. We got a little carried away with this one! :o)







Cute as can be!!

More Markets!

We wanted to also mention that our delicious baked goods can be found in two other markets across the Twin Cities!

Minneapolis Farmers Market
312 East Lyndale Avenue North
Sundays: 7:00 am - 1:00 pm
www.mplsfarmersmarket.com

White Bear Lake Farmers Market
Washington Avenue, Downtown White Bear Lake
Fridays: 8:00 am - 12:00 pm
www.whitebearlake.org
(begins June 26)

Now there are 4 great ways to enjoy Cocoa & Fig each week!

Cocoa & Fig in the Star Tribune

Check out what Rick Nelson had to say about Cocoa & Fig in the
Taste Section of the Star Tribune:

Traffic at 8th Street and Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis suddenly got heavier, at least on Thursdays, when the affable Joe Lin sells partner Laurie Pyle's imaginative and scrupulously produced baked goods at Cocoa & Fig. "The cherry-almond scones sell out in a couple of hours," said Lin, and it's easy to see why; the palm-size ham-Cheddar-green onion scones probably don't exactly linger, either.

Buttercream-lavished cupcakes are self-contained, single-serving birthday parties in paper wrappers, and if you see bouchons, a five-dollar word for intensely chocolately cork-shaped brownies, buy them immediately. Pyle's latest creations, baked in her Shakopee kitchen, are slightly sweet brioche pull-aparts ($3), some finished with lemon zest-flavored cream cheese, others with Nutella. Both are compelling enough to make a person give up their a.m. bagel routine, at least on Thursdays. At their original Prior Lake Farmers Market location, the duo has added made-to-order breakfast to the mix, serving crab-cake Benedicts, huevos rancheros and blueberry bread pudding French toast. My next free Saturday morning, I'm Google-mapping Prior Lake.

Cocoa & Fig (www.cocoaandfig.com), Minneapolis Farmers Market, Nicollet Mall between 5th and 10th Sts., Minneapolis, 612-333-1718, www.mplsfarmersmarket.com, open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursdays. Prior Lake Farmers Market, Hwy. 13 and Pleasant Av., Prior Lake, 952-447-0263, www.priorlakefarmersmarket.com, open 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays. For a complete list of Twin Cities metro area farmers markets, go to www.startribune.com.

RICK NELSON

Green Cymbidium Orchid Wedding

We had the honor of creating another wonderful miniature dessert buffet for a beautiful wedding reception. This buffet was delivered to the White Bear Yacht Club in White Bear Lake. I had never been to this venue, but boy was it gorgeous! They completely remodeled the clubhouse in 1999 and it shows. The decor reminded me of a Cape Cod Bed & Breakfast; very crisp, clean lines. The rooms were all decorated in shades of white and blue, perfect for a lakeside venue. The lovely bride and groom chose an assortment of mini desserts for their buffet table.

Pistachio Macarons Filled with Pistachio Buttercream

Fresh Fruit Tartlets with Lemon Cream Cheese Filling

Black Velvet Baby Cakes with Cream Cheese Icing

Tiramisu Dessert Shooters
Coffee Soaked Ladyfingers, Mascarpone Mousse,
Fresh Whipped Cream & Cocoa Powder

Finished Dessert Buffet

Beautiful Cymbidium Orchids by
Martha's Gardens