You all know how much I love Jessica Foster’s truffles (remember this editorial?) and now she’s offering hot chocolate bars for weddings and events. With Valentine’s day around the corner I thought it would be fun to show two different ways you could style a hot chocolate bar. This version, is my “manly” version, lots of brass, decanters and, of course, vintage 60′s glasses. (And yes, there will be cocktail ideas with hot chocolate, check back on Friday for those ideas).

Vintage heart shape plates from Tricia Fountaine, layered with mid-century glassware and of course a few of Jessica’s truffles make for one delicious looking plate.

For this setup, Jessica made a spicy dark hot chocolate and we kept it warm in a copper round chaffing dish from Town & Country Event Rentals.

And of course what hot chocolate bar would be complete without marshmallows? These are made by Jessica and are so light and airy they’re like eating a cloud. Stay tuned for the “lady-like” version of a hot chocolate bar next Monday and of course cocktail ideas this Friday.

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In honor of Halloween and the ridiculous amount of sweets I’ll be eating this week, I thought I’d highlight my absolutely favorite chocolatier on the planet, Jessica Fosters Confections. I’ve been obsessed with Jessica’s choclate well, for years now, and I wanted to capture her art in action. Josh Gruetzmacher was in town for a wedding and captured these gorgeous images on film…

Jessica specialized in handmade truffles indused with a variety of unique and unexpected flavors.

Some of my favorite flavors? Milk chocolate madras curry, and dark chocolate earl gray…

Unlike most chocolate you buy at the store, all of Jessica’s chocolates are based on 3 simple ingredients, cream, butter and chocolate.

Aside from traditional truffles, Jessica also makes mint infused truffle sticks that are super refreshing and very addictive (Josh and I may have had a few during the shoot…).

The sticks are made be pouring out white chocolate and letting it set, then the choclate is cut into sticks. The white chocolate sticks are painted with milk chocolate and tossed in granulated sugar.

On the market for homemade carmels? How about ones made with no corn syrup? She makes those too. And her carmelized almonds dusted with coco powder are way too good. They never last more that an hour in my house.

Intrigued? Well we’re GIVING AWAY one of Jessica’s 8 piece truffle boxes! Just leave a comment below with your favorite flavor (check out the list here) and we’ll randomly select a winner on Friday, Nov 2nd (contest closes at 5pm PST).

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For the cake design I really wanted a bottom tier that was twice as tall as the top tier. I love the proportion of April Reed’s cake and that was definitely an inspiration to me.

The cake was created by Robyn Loves Cake and she is an expert at sugar flowers. Can you believe this sugar flower peony?

The pattern of cut fondant was taken from the bottom of Stow House. Its a very Victorian detail on the house and I loved that little bit of texture on the bottom of the cake.

This is the sketch I gave to Robyn. I debated using a dahlia versus a peony, and ended up going with the peony. But as you can see Robyn executed the sketch to a T!

Photos: Kirsten Ellis of Beaux Arts Photographie

Cake: Robyn Loves Cake

Design: Kelly Oshiro Events

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Hope everyone is having a good holiday weekend! I just got an email from the lovely Katie Moos that the photos from a wedding I did a few weeks ago are going to be released today. Here’s a sneak peek image of the cake and seashell letters I made by hand (I bought Styrofoam letters from Moskatels and hot glued sea shells onto them).

Stay tuned for more of this lovely wedding…

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Jessica Foster has a passion for making outstanding truffles that are beautiful to look at and taste sinfully delicious. Jessica is a local (she actually shares her kitchen with Christine Dahl) and is passionate about creating truffles that are unique and hand made.

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I love showcasing the best of Santa Barbara and Christine Dahl Pastries is just that. Christine has been in business for the past thirteen years and runs a boutique company focused on fresh ingredients and great taste. And her cakes are beautiful to boot! She has also been featured in In Style, Inside Weddings, just to name a few.

I love this simple white and green cake with the tiny pipped details. Plus, I’m always a sucker for cymbidiums.

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