Kara Chocolates

That’s right.  Kara Chocolates of University Mall will now be carrying 2 flavors from The Chocolate’s cupcake lineup, as well as our Turtle Tarts. So when you are craving one of these:

Lemon Curd Cupcake--Photo by Jonathan Canlas

Or maybe one of these….

The Chocolate Caramel--Photo by Jonathan Canlas

Or perhaps one of these….

The Turtle Tart--Photo by Limelight Food Photography

Then stop by Kara Chocolates in University Mall!

Click here for more information about Jonathan Canlas Photography, and here for more information about Limelight Food Photography.

We had a raucous bunch of Sassies join us for Ladies Night on Wednesday, who came to do a review of The Chocolate. They laughed (a lot…they are a lot of fun), took pictures, shot some video of us being interviewed, and enjoyed plenty of desserts.  If you haven’t seen their blog already, check it out here–they recently did a review of friend of The Chocolate, Cupcake Chic–and another friend of The Chocolate–and by that I mean, friend of Craig, Smashburger. They have a passion for discovering “fabulous finds” and supporting local businesses. We’re excited for their review!

The dessert shots turned out flawless…  (and food is a tough thing to shoot…I’m told)  The shots of our cafe are mind-blowing (do you see how chic and hip our  bookshelf looks?) . He truly tells the story and conveys the feeling of the cafe through pictures.

But as amazing as these shots are, you really need to see his work with people. Go to his blog, and look at his shots of bridals, births, travel, and commercial work.

Every once in a while, you get to witness  a true ARTIST at work–who does what he does because he LOVES it, AND because he’s talented. Just being around them as they work inspires you… Jon Canlas is one of those artists. So I highly recommend… FOLLOW HIS BLOG. It’ll inspire you in many ways. I know it has for me.

Here is his post, and his photos of the Cafe… Thanks Jon!

“I went with my class I teach @ UVU to go do a “story-telling through details” shoot. This is of an AMAZING bakery in Orem, UT called The Chocolate. Their space is absolutely amazing. Old, old house that has been restored and redecorated. They have SO much space. They have engagement parties, birthdays, and I just found out someone actually just proposed there.

If you are looking for an amazing alternative to a wedding cake and want all your guests to be over the moon with their sweets @ your wedding, seriously, drop them a line. I HEART their pineapple coconut cupcake. HEART.

Go check them out. And if you remember, I shot them before as well when the bakery was in their home basement :).”

The details are as follows:

Saturday, April 17th, from 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

Salt Lake City location-at Dan’s Market (1360 S Foothill Blvd) hosted by Maria, from Two Peas And Their Pod.
Utah County/Orem location- at Shirley J (15 East 400 South) hosted by Becky, from Utah Loves Cupcakes.

Thanks to Dan’s and Shirley J for hosting these bake sales. We really appreciate your support!

**If you are a Utah food blogger and would like to help, please email at: utahlovescupcakes@gmail.com
**If you would like to get involved in your state, click here to find out who to contact. **

For additional information, visit Utah Loves Cupcakes here for more information.

The Chocolate

That being said, we are making a commitment that we are going to be much better bloggers from this point going forward.

We have reached some serious milestones in this fantastic ride of cafe ownership, and now have some time freed up where we can blog on and on and on till the breaka’ breaka’ dawn.

Craig and Ange

We had a pretty fantastic experience last Friday that I want to share with all our friends here on The Blogolate.

On our way to the movies, we had to run by the cafe to pick something up. We pulled into the parking lot and every spot was taken…which of course, is a great sight for any new business owner. But inside was what was really exciting. There were groups of people in each of our 3 dining rooms, taking every available spot on the sofas, chairs, and tables. And it wasn’t just that. The atmosphere was relaxed, happy, and celebratory. People were talking, laughing, and lounging. Apparently it had been that way for the past few hours.

Now, this may not seem like a big deal, but this is EXACTLY the vision we have had when we starting dreaming up The Chocolate almost 3 years ago. We always wanted it to be somewhere you could easily go as a less-expensive alternative to dinner, and a more comfortable option than the crowded ice cream joints with metal chairs scraping along the tile floor.

Friday was almost emotional for me because for the first time, I saw in the cafe what I had always envisioned in my mind. And that’s worth celebrating. So I’ll probably eat some more cake myself. :)

So come celebrate with us!

We will be at the Thanksgiving Point Wedding Expo this Saturday the 9th. So all of you folks who are engaged, come on down to The Barn and stop by the booth! We’ll be giving consults, setting up private tastings, and you may even get one of our signature Baby Cakes right there on the spot.

Happy Wedding Planning!

We need a pastry chef, bakers, decorators, and counter service.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFJDS3FPeUxxY2R1N0Y1THp4d3Axd0E6MA

Assortment of chocolate, vanilla and bloody red velvets.

Cupcake liners often add some needed pizazz.

We’ll start this dessert tour at Billy’s Bakery.

There was a lot to like about Billy’s Bakery. It was super busy when we got there and oddly, all the customers were male. That’s not me being gender-biased, that’s me being a bakery owner and noting that that’s a different slice of demographic than we normally see. So noting it was odd, I struck up a convo with the guy in front of me. He said they’re his favorite and also his girlfriend’s favorite so he likes to surprise her with a box every now and then. Good man.

This Turtle Cheesecake was bomb.

Genius packaging. And super convenient.

Next was Buttercup Bakeshop.

My shallow confession is that at first, their display and store interior was a little off-putting. It was very grocery-store esque. But we ordered a few things and really liked it, thus humbling my judgement. Their pricing was the lowest of all the bakeries we tried so it’s perfect for picking up and taking it out, but it wasn’t a very cool dine-in option.

And lasty, Sweet Revenge.

I like a lot of things, but I only rave when I love something. And I’m raving about Sweet Revenge. It was like a tavern full of cupcakes, but not any ole cupcakes, their special cupcakes. They don’t use cupcake liners, they use squares of parchment and then only decorate with extras that compliment the cupcake flavor, like cocoa on chocolate or nutmeg on spice. No sugar flowers or sprinkles and no artificial colors. Their menu also offers wine and beer pairings for all their cupcake flavors. Talk about high-end.

I love their packaging. And to give a fair review, I have to say that their cupcake called “Pure” was my favorite cupcake of the entire research tour. Cheers to you Sweet Revenge!