"Welcome Baby" Polka Dot Giraffe Cake

This adorable baby giraffe cake was created by Cocoa & Fig for a baby shower. Using an orange, blue, and lime green color scheme, we accented both the giraffe and the cake with fondant polka dots.

Mini Rosette Ombre Cake

Cocoa & Fig created this beautiful, 2-tier ombre cake for a 30th birthday party.  It was done with buttercream in mini rosettes in a green ombre style and featured a blush pink sugar flower with gold accents.  

Cocoa & Fig featured in the Star Tribune: Good restaurants in the Minneapolis skyways

The Cocoa & Fig retail shop was in the spotlight in the Star Tribune Taste section this week as one of Rick Nelson's picks for good restaurants in the Minneapolis skyway.  He called us the "Sweet Spot" of the skyway!

From the article:

How many downtowners know that one of the Twin Cities’ best bakeries is parked on a skyway? It’s Cocoa & Fig, and the tiny Gaviidae shop is the source for a slim but wickedly tempting array of imaginative cupcakes (pick up C&F’s luscious riff on the Hostess fudge classic), cookies (it’s easy to fall for the scalloped-edged faux Oreos) and festive cake lollipops. The four-packs of bouchons, intensely chocolate-ey cork-shaped brownies, are ideal $5 gifts, or, better yet, as a midafternoon indulgence.

 Read more at the Star Tribune website.

Cocoa & Fig Cake Lollipops

What exactly is a cake lollipop, you ask? Our delicious cake is fully baked, then crumbled and mixed with our pure butter buttercream.  We then hand roll this dense cake mixture into perfect rounds, place on a stick, and dip in white, milk, or dark chocolate.  What you get is a smooth chocolate exterior with a rich, "fudgy" textured cake inside.  These have been on the Cocoa & Fig menu since we started back in 2008, and our customers love them! 

We make a variety of flavors daily and have specialty flavors seasonally:

Cake Lollipops Dipped in White Chocolate: Vanilla, Lemon*, Pumpkin*, White Chocolate Raspberry*, Key Lime*
Cake Lollipops Dipped in Dark Chocolate: Chocolate, Black Velvet, Almond Caramel, Coconut*
Cake Lollipops Dipped in Milk Chocolate: Crunchy Peanut Butter (naturally gluten-free)

  *seasonal flavor

Check out all of our cake lollipops identified on this handy-dandy guide:

All cake lollipops are striped with a color which acts as a "garnish" to identify the flavor inside.  They are then placed in a petite liner, similar to a cupcake wrapper, which helps to keep them standing upright and adds a pop of color.  Custom color striping to match your event can be done for a small additional charge.

Check out the gallery below for some of our cake lollipop creations.

Photo by Cadence Cornelius Photographs

Photo by Generation Photography

Photo by Athena Pelton Photography

Photo by Studio 306

Photo by La Vie Photography

Photo by Sarah McGee Photography

Photo by La Vie Photography

Photo by Erin Johnson Photography

Photo by Jeffrey Schmieg Photography

Photo by Collin Hughes Photography

Photo by Jessica Smith Photography

Photo by Shelly Mosman Photography

Photo by Jeffrey Schmieg Photography

Photo by Adam Kennedy Photography

Photo by CM Photographics

 

Photo by Cadence Cornileus Photographs

Photo by Joe Krummel Photography

To order, contact our production kitchen at info@cocoaandfig.com or 952.540.4300.

Join the C&F Team

Cocoa & Fig is seeking friendly, reliable, and energetic individuals for part-time retail customer service positions at our shop downtown Minneapolis.

As the face of Cocoa & Fig, you enjoy interacting with dessert fans, selling and stocking sweets and confections, retail merchandising, and taking and filling orders in a busy environment. Other responsibilities include answering phones, maintaining inventory, and light cleaning. Previous experience using a POS system or working retail is a plus. Must be organized and self-motivated with the ability to work independently and efficiently.  Having a sweet tooth wouldn't hurt either.

Hours needed: Monday to Friday 2 pm -- 7pm, Saturday availability is a must: 9am -- 6 pm

Interested candidates can email their resume to cocoaandfig@gmail.com

No phone calls please.

Welcome Baseball Season

In honor of baseball season and today's home opener, here are some festive treats we did with a MN Twins theme.  We made cutout cookies in the shape of Mauer's jersey and baseballs with icing stitching along with cookies with an edible Twins emblem on them.  The cupcakes were topped with flat baseball circles made from fondant.  

Good luck Minnesota Twins - hope you have a great season!

Happy Valentine's Day from Cocoa & Fig!

Cocoa + Fig : Happy Valentine's Day video on Vimeo
Filmed and produced by Maribeth of Red Ribbon Studio

5 Most Popular Desserts of 2011

As I look back fondly on 2011, there are so many delightful baking memories, dessert creations, and flavors that stand out in my mind.  Our customers have provided kind compliments and great feedback on some of these creations so we thank you for those and always take them into consideration when coming up with the next C&F treat. So without further ado, we introduce the official list of the most popular Cocoa & Fig desserts of 2011.  And don't worry, these aren't going anywhere in 2012!  Were these your favorites too?

Photo by Brandon Werth Photography

5. Berries & Cream Cake

Who doesn't love the classic combination of fresh berries and whipped cream? No one!  That's why this cake is the most chosen for celebrations and small gatherings. We make our fresh Vanilla Bean Cake with Madagascar vanilla beans and layer it with fresh whipped cream and fresh sliced strawberries, then ice the whole thing with our vanilla bean buttercream.  It's heavenly! 

Photo by Laura Ivanova Photography

4. Sinfully Chocolate Cupcake

For the true chocolate lovers out there, our Sinfully Chocolate cupcake has been a dream come true. We make our moist and delicious Valrhona Chocolate Cake, then fill it with creamy ganache and top it with chocolate buttercream.  And if that wasn't enough - we dip the top in ganache.  This indulgent cupcake is perfect for a much-needed (and well deserved!) chocolate fix.

Photo by Sewell Photography

3. Southern Banana Pudding Layered Dessert Shooter

This dessert is so good that it was featured on the Cooking Channel’s Food(ography) show back in September. The episode, Sugar, showcased our Southern Banana Pudding Dessert Shooters which are made by layering rich vanilla bean custard, fresh bananas, crushed Nilla Wafer cookies, and fresh whipped cream.  The shooter cups with tiny spoons are an adorable addition to any dessert table.

Photo by Jessica Smith Photography

2. Black Velvet Cake Lollipop

The Cake Lollipop is a customer favorite – not only with kids, but among adults too. Our decadent cake and buttercream icing is combined and rolled into a ball then dipped in milk, dark, or white chocolate. The Black Velvet Cake Lollipop has been the best selling flavor at our retail shop, for special event orders, and for wedding dessert tables.

Photo by Studio Laguna

1. Salted Caramel French Macaron

The festive Parisian sandwich cookie – the French Macaron - has really grown in popularity this year, and the Salted Caramel flavor is definitely number 1.  Two caramel meringue cookies are sandwiched with caramel buttercream icing with a touch of fleur de sel and rich caramel in the center.  It has everything you'd love in a great dessert - sweet caramel, creamy buttercream, chewy cookie, and a hint of salt.

Honorable Mentions:

  Top Wedding Mini Dessert - Fresh Fruit Tartlet

  Top Seasonal Flavor ~ Pumpkin Cake Lollipop

  Top Whole Dessert ~ Flourless Chocolate Cake

Hope you had the chance to try all of these treats in 2011, and if not, there's always this year!