A Labor of Love: Crafting Seasonal Sweet and Sips

Seasonal and holiday menus are no longer only for large chains like Starbucks and Dunkin’; local bakeries and coffee shops have been quick to adopt the trend, creating complex flavor combinations to reflect the changing seasons.

Maggie Blackham, owner of The Maroon Monkey, said she has a love/hate relationship with holiday specials. On one hand, the business sees a noticeable spike in sales when seasonal and holiday menus are launched, but she admits it can be a lot to keep up with. She encourages her baristas to experiment and share ideas for specialty drinks.

“We take some inspiration from other things we’ve heard of,” said Blackham. “But we really like making stuff from scratch or based on what we like to drink. It’s a good thing we all drink a lot of coffee.”

Blackham said sometimes they make slight adjustments to popular drinks to make them more seasonal. For example, the Hibiscus Cooler is something the coffee shop serves year-round, but it has been enhanced for Valentine’s Day with fresh raspberries and a bit of simple syrup, which is shaken to produce a light, airy texture.

Other Valentine’s treats you’ll find this week at The Maroon Monkey include The Love Letter,
a shaken espresso with white and dark chocolate topped with strawberry cold foam and dried strawberry pieces and served with a little love letter and the Hugs & Kisses Latte with spiced brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and white chocolate.

Husband and wife team Wes and Kristen Bechtel of Boombalatti’s Homemade Ice Cream say the holidays and changing seasons keep them thinking creatively.

“For the most part, Kristen and I think about the flavors that are nostalgic to us,” Wes Bechtel said. “Some holidays are easier than others – chocolate-covered strawberry for Valentine’s Day, for example, is pretty much a given, but other holidays let us experiment a little more.”

Boombalatti’s Valentine’s lineup includes strawberry and raspberry cheesecake ice cream cakes, a chocolate-covered strawberry ice cream cake and four-packs of mini heart-shaped ice cream cakes available in two flavor profiles, as well as a vegan option. All are available for pre-order (which is recommended) and pickup while supplies last.

This spring, Boombalatti’s will launch its Bloom Boom flavors based upon flowers, herbs and spices sourced from North Carolina-based Spicewalla. The lineup includes Lemon Elderflower, Blueberry Basil, Honey Lavender and Blood Orange Cardamom.

Lauren Wright and Keala Yu, of Pie Slayer, also like to draw upon nostalgic desserts and flavors when developing holiday sweets.

“We like to take familiar favorites and make them a little extra,” Wright said. “But experimentation takes time, so we have to be careful to make sure we’re allowing enough time to get it right.”

For the month of February, Pie Slayer is offering its heart-shaped StrawBB pie with a dark chocolate buttermilk crust, strawberry filling and elderflower whipped cream. This week, the bakery features a Date Night Box with mixed sweets.

Here’s a look at some other treats you’ll find around town this week:

 

The Jelly Cabinet

– Strawberry biscuits

– Raspberry Nutella cinnamon rolls

– Iced strawberry matcha lattes with homemade strawberry milk and strawberry compote

Hidden Grounds

– The Cupid Shuffle, a velvety raspberry white mocha latte

– Kissing Kate, salted caramel and dark chocolate topped with whipped cream and a sprinkle of toffee

– The Cosmo Cowgirl, white chocolate matcha with strawberry cold foam

Apple Annie’s Bake Shop

– Chocolate-covered strawberry cake pops and classic chocolate-covered strawberries

– Strawberry cupcakes

– Heart-shaped bonbons

– A vintage heart-shaped cake, heart-shaped cheesecakes

– Assorted Valentine’s cookies

Wake N Bake Donuts

– The Velvet Love – a red velvet cake donut with cream cheese icing and velvet cookie crumbles

– Cheesecake My Heart – a heart-shaped strawberry cheesecake donut

– Whip Me With Strawberry – vanilla whipped cream icing, strawberry drizzle and powdered sugar

– MMmm Chocolate – a chocolate cake doughnut with chocolate icing and Valentine’s M&Ms

– Bite My Ferrero Rocher – chocolate iced, red vanilla drizzle and a Ferrero Rocher chocolate

– Oh Chocolate Cream – cream filled with pink vanilla icing, red sprinkles, a Dove chocolate heart and chocolate drizzle

One Belle Bakery

– Mini heart-shaped chocolate cakes with chocolate glaze

– Heart-shaped cookies and cookie cakes

– Chocolate-covered strawberries

– A mini cheesecake box, a chocolate lover’s box and assorted cookie boxes

Little Loaf Bakery

– Bread bouquets

– Heart-shaped chocolate bombes

– Chocolate covered strawberry fudge brownies (gf)

– Black currant bundt cakes

– Heart-shaped raspberry jam spritz cookies

– Iced strawberry milk lattes and raspberry mocha lattes