Part of the mystique of Gabby Loubiere’s popular cake balls at Brew Ha-Ha! is their interactive nature. The coffee shop owner constantly invites feedback from customers on what flavors they most enjoy and what they’d like to see, resulting in 150 rotating flavor choices on the menu.
Recently, however, Loubiere realized that while she was flush with white and yellow cake-based choices, she was short on chocolate. “I couldn’t believe how few chocolate ones there were compared to the others. There were only about 15,” says Loubiere, who instantly created a contest inviting fans to suggest possible new chocolate cake balls.
After plowing through hundreds of suggestions, she and her staff narrowed the field to four: chocolate cookie dough; chocolate espresso bean; Almond Joy with chocolate, almond and coconut; and Snap, Crackle, Pop, an amalgam of chocolate cake, Ghiradelli caramel sauce and bites of caramel dipped in chocolate and mixed with Rice Krispies. Over the last few weeks, the fresh baked foursome was featured in a special “ballot box,” which customers purchased to sample and vote.