Tweet Sweet

jumping out of cakes

Originally uploaded by kookooface.

I ran across this picture on flickr while doing a search for dessert (I always find amazing pictures of desserts and dessert tastings from other countries and big cities). It reminded me of a cake my sister made for her daughter’s birthday. Barbie had been stripped of clothing, poked into the center of a dome-carved layer cake, and then decorated to look like she was wearing a big poofy dress made of frosting. It’s a rather cute idea - since my niece got a cake, and then a Barbie to boot. The closest I had as a kid was a Hot Wheel driving across my cake (which I loved BTW). In one case I found on Flickr, it didn’t seem to work out too well on a boy’s cake.

I’m told this is called a “Princess Cake” - and here’s an example of one.

When my sister was ready to cut my niece’s cake, and the photos had been taken to preserve its memory, she carefully slipped the frosting-clad Barbie out from the middle (now half exposed, since the bottom half of her dress was the cake) and then flung her around the room and asked “who wants to lick Barbie?” We all started laughing, and my sister turned bright red with embarrassment, having just realized what a silly question this was (noting the fact it was only frosting covering her upper body).

So I’ve been hearing about Fried Coke quite a bit, as a break-out fair food for those who love their sweet fried treats.

Abel Gonzales, 36, a computer analyst from Dallas, tried about 15 different varieties before coming up with his perfect recipe — a batter mix made with Coca-Cola syrup, a drizzle of strawberry syrup, and some strawberries.

Balls of the batter are then deep-fried, ending up like ping-pong ball sized doughnuts which are then served in a cup, topped with Coca-Cola syrup, whipped cream, cinnamon sugar and a cherry on the top.

Even at nearly $5 a piece, Gonzales ran two stands at the State Fair of Texas and sold up to 35,000 fried Cokes.

Read the article on Yahoo News.

Day 2: Hot chocolate and chocolate mousse martini

Originally uploaded by l&coolj.

Now here’s a great Flickr photo from a recent visitor to Koko Black in Melbourne, Australia. I visited their website, an all flash-based chocolate treat with links to their history, products and menu. I found it interesting that they called their locations “Salons”, and they offer “chocolate lounges” where friends and family can retreat to for any occassion. From the few pictures they have inluded on their website the locations seems quite well done… very elegant. (Something I’d like to see for Tweet Sweet). Prices that appeal to the middle-class, but flavors, presentation and surroundings that look very high class.

smores wedding cake

Originally uploaded by The 10 cent designer.

Do you plump marshmallow take this plump marshmallow covered in chocolate sauce to be roasted over a hot flame? How’s that for an idea? Interesting dessert converted into a unique (and cute) cake.

Would you pay $15 to be a guest at a tasting event to eat as much chocolate as you can handle? With 50 different varieties on display for the taking?

Twee and luliloo in Madison, Wisconsin bet on this concept and found it wildly successful. They’ve even expanded the event to 2 days to meet the demand. “We have people come to every single event, since we feature different chocolates every time,” said Charis Hammond, who runs the store at 218 State St. with her sister Agape Hammond-Jaklich and brother-in-law, Phil Jaklic. “It’s a great way to get to meet people. You’re all just standing around eating chocolates. It’s the common denominator.”

They call it Chocoholics Night and serve up a buffet of 50 fine chocolates from around the world, indexed and available for a two-hour tasting for up to 80 chocolate lovers.

You can read more about the event in The Capital Times. Twee and luliloo also draw in people with monthly events, a chocolate of the month club, and a corporate gift giving program. (All of which are mentioned in the article but seem to be missing from their pink and brown striped website)

Interestingly enough, I just mentioned the English word “twee” a couple days ago, that the article defines as “quaint” and luliloo as “welcome”. Very hard to figure out that “luliloo”… strange at best to me.

I think the chocolate tasting event sounds fun! (Just don’t call it an “all you can eat” chocolate buffet) And since some of the chocolates can be upwards of $3 a piece, the $15 entrance fee sounds well worth it. But what I want to know… is do they have big pitchers of milk to wash it down?

I ran across an article doing a search recently in a local newspaper in Bloomington-Normal Illinois about s’mores. Here’s a quote: With a mouth full of graham crackers, melted marshmallow and warm chocolate, try asking for “some more.”

Today, s’mores are appearing on the menus of some of the hottest restaurants and a few have added a twist, including Oreo cookies, peanut butter cups, even bananas.

The article goes on to list a few recipes for s’mores and s’more-like treats (just scroll down after viewing the article) But also mentions a restaurant called Cosi’s that’s well known for serving s’mores as a dessert. I could only find their franchisee website located here, but it has a copy of their menu and some pretty tasty looking pictures.

What’s cool about this dessert (which is also a fantastic idea for Tweet Sweet) is the way they let you roast your own marshmallows at your table. (Another fondue-like-experience for eating and sharing food). Here’s a picture of one in action:

Looking for more pictures? See all sorts of random people enjoying this delight at Cosi’s compliments of Flickr.

The website also allows you to buy these s’more-making kits to use at home for parties. For $40 plush shipping you’ll get the wooden s’mores platter, a s’more hibachi/ marshmallow skewers, marshmallows, chocolate bars, graham crackers and some Cosi branded matches. The fuel for the hibachi is avaiable at most hardware stores. Pretty cool hu?

In my last posting about The Chocolate Bar, I linked to the CitySearch review of the shop (since they didn’t have a website) and noticed they had a User Reviews section near the bottom of the page. The first of the User Reviews was from a previous Chocolate Bar customer who commented the following:

“…But I have to say something about the review posted about the lady who brought her children and believes she was treated rudely. The name and the sloagan include the words “bar” and “happy hour” which should be the first indication that this store is geared towards adults. Secondly, the store is full of molded chocolate which equals FRAGILE items. If she was asked to leave, maybe it was because she was not supervising her children…”

She was referring to a previous post:

“You’d think that an ice cream/candy store would welcome children. I went there with my neighborhood playgroup today (babies and toddlers) and the owner had the nerve to come out and ask our children not to run around the tables. The place was empty and they were not touching merchandise or anything, just souped up on sugar and playing. We tossed our half-eaten ice cream and cookies and left. There are much more friendly dessert spots in Houston with equally good or better treats.”

So that begs the question - how kid friendly should Tweet Sweet be?
And HOW do you make a sweet shop kid-friendly? (or perhaps I should say “kid tolerant”?) Now I have to mention that two other of the 30 comments listed mentioned that it was a great place for kids, so perhaps it was just a bit too much for the “neighborhood play group” all hopped up on sugar. But does “sweets” always mean it’s for kids?

I don’t have kids myself, but I’ve been around quite a few kids in their environment (ie Chuck-e-Cheese’s at lunch time) and it’s quite a sight to see. Kids are active, and love to touch and play with things as well as see them… they still are exploring their senses. The way I’ve always envisioned Tweet Sweet is as a “nice place”. A place where kids are welcome but on their best behavior. I see the place as a dessert shop that appeals more to a late-night sweet connoisseur than a penny-candy store that appeals to munchkins with pockets loaded with dad’s change. Of course I have no doubt that the children will be dazzled by the desserts just as much as mom and dad, but in a restaurant atmosphere and with restaurant manners.

So how do I do this? I think a lot has to do with the atmosphere, the brand, the packaging… the overall look-n-feel of Tweet Sweet. I think we are trained as adults to know how to behave by the way something looks. In addition to brand, a lot of that has to do with product line. Are the chocolate novelties more appropriate for kids? Or do their price-points, size, and appearance make them more suitable for adults?

Any more ideas on this? Your comments and ideas are welcome.

I’ve thought a lot about the future Tweet Sweet (My dream to have a sweet shop, in case you’re new to my blog), and how to promote it and bring people to the shop. While word-of-mouth is always the best and most reliable way of promotion, how do you get customers in the door the first time?

My most recent post about Snickers doing an American Idol-like competition to get people to sing about Snickers (tie in with popular culture and a specific demographic) and all judged by Nick Lachey (specific demographic and celebrity endorsement) made me think of a book I’ve flipped through a few times and read some passages from. Called “1001 Ideas to Create Retail Excitement” by Edgar A. Falk, it gives ways that businesses in general can build buzz for their retail establishment. Chapter 9 talks about creating exciting holidays and seasonal promotions, chapter 10 talks about in-store special events such as live entertainment, celebrity appearances, etc.

Here’s a couple of my ideas: (Many more ideas will be posted later - if you’ve got some to share, feel free to post in my comments!)

1. Christmas Promotion: Utah’s Largest Gingerbread House
I came up with this idea last year while visiting the Festival of Trees in Sandy, Utah. One of the display areas includes beautiful gingerbread houses with incredible detail and covered with sweets and candy. Why not have an artist create the largest gingerbread house in Utah (advertise it as such as well) and then give it away in a drawing a week before Christmas? (The tallest gingerbread house ever built was built by Roger Pelcher - it was 30 feet square by 52 feet tall - I don’t think that baby would be moved anywhere.) This also might be a good opportunity to get press on board for their always friendly/upbeat Christmas stories. (To offset all the calamities in the world, of course)

Here’s the White House gingerbread house created by White House pastry chef Thaddeus DuBois, on display in the State Dining Room for last year’s holiday season.

2. Wedding Season: Parade of Cakes
I don’t know if weddings are as big of a business in other states as it is here in the fair state of Utah, but we’ve got 3 or 4 bridal fairs in the spring during what I call “Wedding Season”. This “Parade of Cakes” would have half a dozen or so (space-willing) cakes showing unique wedding cake designs. I ran across a guy in Redmond, Washington who’s company goes by the name of Mike’s Amazing Cakes. The name does say it all - truely amazing cakes. My favorite is the fairytale castle designed to go with a Cinderella themed wedding (pictured below). Visit his cake gallery and take a look.