A Dundas West café is putting an edible spin on the classic paint-and-sip night, trading synthetic acrylic paints and dollar-store boards for thick slabs of sponge cake and scoops of sugary frosting.
Evana Cafe & Lounge is hosting its first Cake Paint Night, where your finished piece actually belongs on a dessert plate. You grab a seat in front of a fresh cake, pick up a palette knife and smear tinted buttercream directly onto it like oil paint.
Founder and executive pastry chef Eva called it their “cutest event yet,” offering up a rare arts-and-crafts night where you won’t get stuck finding closet space for a dusty board you’ll never look at again.
The guided theme is Monet, meaning plenty of soft blues, pastel greens and thick floral dabs built to mimic water lilies. Still, there’s no art teacher hovering over your shoulder — you can ignore the French gardens entirely and pipe on whatever cartoon or random pattern you want.
Everyone gets a 9.5-by-7-inch rectangular cake to work with, baked in either vanilla bean or chocolate. Tables come packed with small easels, decorating spatulas, food brushes, aprons and pots of colourful buttercream to use as paint. You don’t need to know the first thing about crumb coats or palette blending to make it work.
A drink from the counter is thrown in with the ticket, so you can nurse an iced matcha or a flat white while you smooth out your edges.
Seats start at $58 for early birds and bump to $68 for regular admission. Space inside the café is pretty tight, so spots will likely go fast. Just remember to take your picture before you break out the fork and eat the whole thing on the way home.