Hopscotch: Cakes & Confections

I followed Hopscotch’s buzz before ever tasting its baked goods. When we first moved to CU in 1993, there was only one upscale bakery in town and we longed for more and different. Now, we have a few to choose from, but more and different is always good. Hopscotch is a new take on the upscale bakery, a hipster one, with a particular décor style that is at once vintage and subdued with a modern twist. Think de-​colorsatured roses, flattened, or cakes barely iced with embedded contrasting grit. I like this aesthetic — it seems fresh and understated to me.
I first tasted Hopscotch’s products after purchasing them at a local arts pop-​up. I bought a brownie and some kind of brown sugar butter bar. The brownie was truly phenomenal if you like fudge (rather than cake) style brownies, and I love them. The chocolate was so dark and dense it was like having my tongue immersed in a deep chocolate groove. The brownie had a soft, chewy bite and wasn’t overly sweet. The other bar had good taste: brown sugar meets browned butter, but it was dry and crumbly.
When Hopscotch opened in the new Art Mart space, I tried another brownie, and it was as good as the first. So, high marks on consistency. I recently went back and tried a strawberry baby cake for me and a white chocolate brownie for my son. I loved the baby cake itself as well as the fresh strawberry compote on top. The cake was moist and tender, the compote had great strawberry flavor. Neither was overly sweet. I did not like the disc of heavy buttercream frosting that sat on top of these. It had the texture of refrigerated butter and did not eat well with the more tender components. Although I suppose my standard for all such strawberry cakes is the enchanting cassata, a softer frosting would move this baby cake toward perfection. My son did not like the white chocolate brownie, although he loves both brownies and white chocolate. He thought the brownie was greasy and salty. It had moved from a fudgy texture to a fatty one without enough flour to support a good bite. Embedded in the bar were bits of white chocolate, which he said was the only positive note.
Given Hopscotch’s stiff prices ($ 8 for a baby cake, $ 4 for a brownie), one expects products to be truly exceptional, without any missteps. I believe there’s real quality here and that products are sometimes worth the price. Hopscotch uses carefully sourced, superior ingredients; good technique; and a refined aesthetic. There’s a great deal of potential here, but all of the products are not quite yet perfected. And, to be fair, I haven’t yet tried many of Hopscotch’s other products, although the case is full of tempting options (full sized cakes, meringues, and more).
I will also add that I had one encounter with the owner (Kaya Tate) that disappointed me. When her new website went up, she asked followers on Facebook for feedback. I provided some, much of it positive, especially about the website’s look & feel and navigation. However, I also said that I thought the landing page should open with something about the deliciousness of the products rather than ethics, originality, etc. The Hopscotch owner wrote back to defend her choices. I replied that I understood why she’d made those choices — I get how important food ethics and authenticity (localism, etc.) are to the hipster culinary scene — but stood by my point that what I want first in a bakery is tasty products. How the products get that way can follow. The owner replied again to defend her choices. To me, this was a misstep in a customer interaction. She had every right to disagree with my feedback, but she should have simply thanked me and moved on. Despite this rather sour interaction, I am rooting for Hopscotch.

Whenever we crave sweets, there is nothing more satisfying than Hopscotch! She is always so friendly in helping us pick out out treats (we can never leave with just one treat!). We ordered a Tiramisu cake for my wife’s birthday – best cake ever! Not only is everything super aesthetically pleasing, but also you can taste the choicest ingredients used for everything. Thank you Hopscotch for being so awesome!

I saw hopscotch at farmer’s market last year and bought lavender honeycomb and baby cake from their stall. I liked the honeycomb but did not like baby cake. Now, after a year, I thought of trying it again as I found it located inside art mart. I bought walnut caramel bar, brownie, champagne baby cake and gooey butter cake. I wanted to try a few before writing a review. My review of each item is as follow:
Walnut caramel bar (²⁄₅): it was not overly sweet, which I liked. Had good amount of walnut. But, the overall taste was not that good.
Brownie (³⁄₅): again not too sweet, was more on bitter side. Liked the caramel on top. Overall, good.
Champagne baby cake (²⁄₅): too sweet, was not moist, felt heavy.
Gooey butter cake (¹⁄₅): extremely sweet. And that’s the only thing I could taste. I couldn’t eat it more than one bite.

The best treats in town! My favorite are the various caramels and single serve cakes. I have gifted the bourbon vanilla extract which Kaya makes/​ages herself and the recipient could not have been happier! Some of her marshmallows have been used in drink specials at flying machine coffee and really made the (already awesome) drinks supreme. I can’t say enough good things about Kaya and this lovely budding business!

Kaya will be making my wedding desserts next March.
As research (tough, right?), my fiancé and I have tried many of her goodies at various markets.
I love that she uses all natural ingredients. Taste is never sacrificed though as these are some of the yummiest desserts I’ve ever tasted. I love her caramels, cookie boxes, and peanut brittle. The salted caramel chocolate cake was great, too.
Communication is easy with Kaya via whatever method you prefer. Her website is easy to navigate and she has a strong presence on social media.
Check Hopscotch out. You won’t regret it.

Hopscotch is THE BEST. The cakes are delicious, unique and utterly gorgeous. I have been known to eat the butterscotch and mint chocolate sauces directly from the jar. My boyfriend has developed a severe marshmallow addiction. Hopscotch is my go-​to for special occasions and for everyday indulgences.

Kaya makes the most beautiful and delectable desserts! She uses natural and seasonal ingredients, which guarantees a fresh, full-​flavored taste in all of her treats. I *love* Hopscotch’s mini-​cakes and chocolate anythings.
I recommend her to anyone looking for desserts for a wedding or other special event — or for a sweet treat for yourself and your loved ones! You will love to work with Kaya!