An Evening out at the Chocolate Cafe...

I recently had the pleasure of attending yet another mouth-watering event at the Chocolate Café. At last year’s autumn evening we made Pumpkin Truffles and Apple Pear Tarts. This year we made Buckeye apples, pumpkin spice cake pops, and learned how to properly pipe a cupcake. The only thing lacking was the cocktail part of the evening, unless you count the sample of Chai Apple Cider we each got (I had completely forgotten about the cocktails until one of my classmates mentioned it).

The apples were prepared first in which we each dripped peanut butter over our choice of either a Granny Smith or a red apple, then the apple was refrigerated to allow the peanut butter to set. Later the apples were brought back out and we took turns dipping them in the chocolate mixing machine. Peanuts and sprinkles were optional.

I opted for some simple autumn-themed sprinkles. Then our apples were chilled again before being bagged to take home.

Our next project was constructing cake pops out of little blobs of spice cake and some buttercream frosting. Although I’ve made my fair share of cake pops, it’s a delicate balance between the amount of cake (or brownie or whatever you’re using for the base) and frosting you add. We were allowed extra cake if necessary, so I opted for that.

Then we dipped our sticks in chocolate, and then stuck them into the pops before refrigerating again. Later we removed the chilled cake pops for a very quick dip into the chocolate fountain before decorating them with nuts or sprinkles. Again, I opted to keep it simple by just using some sprinkles.

Our third project was a lesson in piping so we could tastefully decorate our pair of cupcakes. The head chef at the Chocolate Café demonstrated the effect each different nozzle has on the appearance of the frosting so we could make an informed choice before choosing our frosting bag. I wasn’t too fussed either way just preferring one of the chocolate ones.

After all, I figured the cupcake wasn’t going to sit around too long before getting eaten. The piping wasn’t too tricky, and it’s easy to look like a professional if you’re only doing a cupcake. By the way, I only ate one cupcake and brought home the prettier one for my husband. Am I a good wife or what?

If anyone wants to join me at a future event at the café, don’t be shy and let me know. The more the merrier!