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Hello to my fellow cakers.... I have been watching on the sidelines for awhile and have taken a break with the blogging.... But I have been asked by a few to continue my work here at uncovering the truth! (I say this in jest of course) For my comeback I have decided to (said once again in jest) take a look at the many options out there to achive a "sequins" effect on your cakes. I will go through the process in the following blog posts so get ready for some information coming your way. I will be examining four... Continue reading

It's that time of year again when The Cake Spouse has to think of new gift ideas for the caker who has everything. No, literally, after a decade in business, we have pretty much everything! So after years of spatulas and cake pans, where do I head for the Holidays in 2012? Take a look for yourself;) Continue reading

First off, congrats to everyone for making this year's Halloween contest an even bigger success than last year!! We topped our entry total from 2011 and the "likes" and comments were through the roof!! We had well over 4100 responses to the entries which is a huge jump in participation as we introduced the fan favorite category for Halloween! Continue reading

Just like a persistent ghost mocking a SyFy Channel TV crew, it is time once more to haunt your kitchens and whip up something fun, something scary, and something sweet for Merci Beaucoup's newest tradition, our Annual Halloween Cake Challenge!! Continue reading

Hold your hats for this fast paced retrospective of the first 10 years of Merci Beaucoup Cakes!! To keep up to date with all the Merci happenings, "Like" us on Facebook! Continue reading

Hey, one of Facebooks primary buttons is "share," look at the impact Pinterest has made, so it makes sense that in this system, there is the potential for a global audience to see our cakes. There is also the potential for that audience to take our hard work and creativity and pass it off as their own. This is the double edged spatula of cake decorating! Continue reading

Brochures in our industry today are universally awful. Reva came home from a bridal faire with a handful a few weeks back and they put me to sleep. Continue reading

We really loved the idea of roman numerals, and after playing with a couple of ideas (including using the hummingbird as part of the "X"!), Anne nailed it with this version. I love the hummingbird "sipping" from the top of the "X." Continue reading

In the fondant cakes we debated having 1st thru 3rd place awards because they were all so nice. Tina's ribbon inspired tree and Erica Heery's cute mug of hot cocoa and gingerbread men made us smile, but in the end we handed over 1st to Jaime Williams for a full bodied elf that was clean and showed off a number of techniques. Why do you guys make this so hard on us? Continue reading

When you live with a professional cake decorator, especially one with a penchant for collecting the gadgets of her trade like mine, you spend 12 months a year compiling a mental list of what you can buy later. Continue reading

Ho, ho, homemade treats are at the center of this expanded contest. After our test run at a Halloween contest, we wanted to make our next one bigger with even more opportunities for people to get their name on the winner's list;) So, read carefully, and let us know if you have any questions because there are a lot of moving parts this time around. Continue reading

Now, keep in mind, what you like is what you like. This is just some pointers based on the idea of having as clean and polished a graphic as possible on your mixer. If you like the rough texture of an acrylic daisy, then by all means go for it! I think the idea of customizing the gear you use everyday is a great one, so whatever makes you smile while you bake is a good thing. Continue reading

A month and a half ago we announced we would be holding our first ever online cake competition for Halloween! We're kind of into ribbons and trophies so we though why not offer some up to our fans and colleagues out there!! We learned a lot by running this contest, like some of you are really twisted! Continue reading

The thing is, we've done cakes for auctions and frankly, they don't bring in a lot of money. Any potential bidders have to need a cake for something, so you immediately exclude a good chunk of the people in the room. An in-home class with a TV personality? That is a mini party for you and your friends (you know there'd be wine!) or maybe for your daughter who wants to go to culinary school and can be had at anytime of the year for any reason you'd like. Continue reading

World's Finest Chocolates, you know, those candy bars famous for being sold as fundraisers by every child in America, created a record setting world's largest chocolate bar this week. (as a side note, the picture of the little girl with the big eyes in the article is adorable) At 21 feet long, 3 feet high, and *gulp* a whopping 12,000 pounds, there is no doubt this is a Godzilla sized treat! Continue reading

If you're making cakes and you don't know who Debbie Brown is, we cannot be friends. Seriously, I love Debbie's work and I would feel safe in saying that her cakes are one of the reasons I really wanted to start up my own business and do this for a living. Yes, I'm saying it: Debbie is one of my inspirations Continue reading

The very first winner of the very first Merci Beaucoup sponsored cake competition will receive their very own plaque of distinction to hang in their place of business, home, or around their neck in a bold fashion statement! Design pending, but let's face it, to possess this plaque will be to hold pure awesome in your hand and you know you want that!! Continue reading

I was going to title this week's Shop Talk "customer service," but that's just really a fancy way to say "doing your job" isn't it? Or, selling your product without getting yelled at! Customer service is just a business phrase that makes customers feel like they're important. "Look, we're getting service! Aren't we special?!" No, you're a customer. You're entering into a simple barter agreement for goods or services. I get something, you get something. I intend for it to be pleasant for both of us, but if it gets out of hand, "I reserve the right to refuse service to anyone." My point? Business catch phrases are not necessarily business policy. Continue reading

If you want to know if you can reproduce a copyrighted image, the smart money is on that technically you cannot. For those of you who read up on our Facebook contest dilemma last week, the safest path is to just avoid it all together. But obviously that is not what we want to hear as a business trying to sell cakes and satisfy customers. We want to know what we can do, we want answers and solutions. Prepare for disappointment my friends. Continue reading

First up, nothing gets sillier than flavored vodka. Seriously, have you looked at the vodka section at a BevMo lately? No one needs bubblegum flavored booze and while bacon is awesome, keep it out of my cocktails please. But now, you can have your cake and drink it too! (Sorry, could not resist that pun!) Continue reading

Really, this should be Chapter 1 in the "Shop Talk" book, and maybe it will! Networking is the cornerstone of starting any business, one you will probably engage in before you even start selling your wares. Your relationship with your industry and the business community around you is as important, if not more so, than your relationship with your clients. Continue reading

Most of our friends are laughing it up at the ICES convention this weekend, but alas, we are stuck here in sunny California. It's a hard life. However, before I can head out to enjoy my beloved home state, I am here in front of the trusty Apple iBook to deliver the gospel according to Silly Cake News! Continue reading

We were very lucky, as you saw on Amazing Wedding Cakes, in that we could turn to our friend and colleague Marc. We knew him both personally and professionally and that we could depend on him to provide Merci Beaucoup with quality workmanship. Unfortunately for all of you, not everyone is gonna have the kind of collaborative relationship to call upon that Reva and Marc share. That means you're gonna have to put on the "big kid" pants and venture out into the scary world of human resources!! Continue reading