Sound the trumpets!! Here it is folks, our brand new logo courtesy of the marvelous CJ Metzger!! We first met CJ in 2005 and have become good friends since, so to be able to have her design our logo and be a part of our family means a whole lot to everyone here at Merci Beaucoup. Thank you Candace!!!
Look forward to some cool shirts, buttons, bags, and whatever else we can figure out with this cool new logo soon!
Just thought I'd toss you a quick behind the scenes picture of the new location as we prep it for the film crew to arrive in just a couple of days!!
I actually have to put a bunch of stuff in storage because they don't like clutter on the TV, but as we bakers all know, clutter is life!!
We also took a quick break for adventure and hit up the Northern California Renaissance Faire last Sunday and guess who we ran into?
That's Dan ze Man from the season 2 Renaissance Cake!!! He obviously did something with his hair, but he's still a great guy and performing in a little two man Shakespeare/Improv show at the Faire so if you're there, check it out and tell 'em Reva sent ya! We actually didn't know he and Christina would be there so we had a great surprise greeting in the street and guess what? They haven't seen their episode yet!! Silly Rennies.
Well, Tuesday is the day for Season 3 to begin here at Merci Beaucoup! We obviously can't show you any pics or dish too many details, but we'll try and keep you up to date as much as we can through the process. Have a great weekend!
Things are really cooking... er, baking here at Merci Beaucoup!!
A few weeks ago we met a nice guy in an antique store in Petaluma, CA who recognized Reva from the show. We're still pretty taken aback when this happens, but we really appreciate all of you watching Amazing Wedding Cakes and after we left we realized we didn't even catch his name!! So, we talked about how to handle these moments in the future to make sure everyone knows how fun it is to meet all of you and this is one of the ideas we came up with:
"The Renaissance Faire is no place for buttercream." - Reva
Hey cake-heads, today WE tv is running a marathon of all of the Amazing Wedding Cake episodes with a season finale finish line where we get our Renaissance on!! Tune in and get frosted up on all our adventures this year!
Like most of you, most of what I know about Russia centers on old Yakov Smirnov jokes and that submarine movie with Sean Connery. Thankfully, Marc and Reva knew more than me and whipped up a towering Russian architecture theme cake this week on Amazing Wedding Cakes!
Topsy no turvey? What in the world were they thinking? Husband Mike here once again with the tale of the tail that inspired Tiffany's peacock wedding cake.
This was a stressful cake. When you are lucky enough to develop long relationships with clients, they become part of your little cake family and we did not want to let Tiffany down on her big day. What's that saying? The best way to make God laugh is to make plans. Things didn't go 100% according to the plan, but in the end I think we whipped up a fun and whimsical design that our couple really dug.
First of all, I think I need to grab that image of Reva holding the peacock feathers over her eyes so I can frame it for the house. She was on fire this week. My favorite quote is a toss up between "It's not a wedding without the cake" and "sometimes fondant wins." So funny. But isn't it true about the wedding? Honestly, the dress and the cake are the most photographed parts of any wedding and once you cut the cake, guests tend to leave cause what else is there? Cake is awesome!!
So, we aimed for the topsy minus turvey tiers and we ended up with the topsy a little turvey tiers. We're so used to the turvey, it is so popular, that it is impossible for us not to do it! But yes, those tiers were a pain this week. I think the camera crew did an excellent job in capturing how much that cake was shaking around when Marc was tapping that dowel in. Then we had to do it again! Oi vei, it was nerve racking. We also made a rookie mistake in that the cake was on its decorating turntable the first time. I mean, it's not really a mistake, but for the best stability you should lift the cake onto a solid table surface first. Maybe someday soon, we'll write up a "how to" on dowels.
But, after some off screen collaboration, the cake structure was firmed up and looked very vibrant and fun! Then Reva and Karyn teamed up to add all the elements inspired by those crazy peacocks. Lots of purples and golds etc. We had a few cakes going at the same time, but every time I walked in that peacock really caught my eye.
My role this week was to paint up that green board for the base. I used a pre cut table top again. These are not cheap, but we're really liking them for these heavy cakes because they are so strong. Much stronger than your typical glued together cake boards. And, with some inexpensive craft paint, you can match them to your design. Remember way back in our first episode when I'm on the balcony poking fun at Reva for being a camera hog? That was actually me painting this board! Editing is weird isn't it?
The delivery was smooth. The colors of the cake looked so great next to that funky white tree they had in the restaurant. We always get excited to see venues with features like that. They really make your cakes pop and since we were channeling a bird, the tree was perfect.
Through all the stress we put on ourselves this time out, the cake was awesome and tasted incredible. I so wish you viewers at home could taste these things as well! Where is our taste-o-vision?
I really loved the Cake Girls simple white with the bows wedding cake they did this week for a bridal show. That is the direction where the majority of great wedding cakes go and a prime example of what we, as an industry, do on a weekly basis. The show likes to showcase all these other crazy creatures, but brides and grooms out there, don't feel ordinary if you just want something elegant and simple. Those are the truly memorable designs that will last well beyond all of us.
Next week we take a week off from Amazing Wedding Cakes, but look for us in two weeks as we unveil a really neat tribute to a classic film and an iconic movie star, Audrey Hepburn. Can't wait to show you!
Why did the Lakers win a championship this year? I think the answer is pretty obvious. Our awesome Lakers cake. You didn't see the Celtics with an awesome cake by us did you? How about the Cavaliers? Nope. It was our Staples Center sweet treat that put the purple and gold over the top. Kobe, you know where to send the thank you note... filled with cash.
Husband Mike here as we slide into the second half of WE tv's Amazing Wedding Cakes season 2! And the pressure was on this week as we dove into the world of basketball for a groom's cake modeled after the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. Stadiums of all sports are pretty popular in the cake world. Few things inspire such passion as supporting your favorite team, and people love seeing their home field/court/ice etc. made of cake. By the way, doesn't it seem weird to make something you love for the sole purpose of eating it?
The Staples was a challenge because we knew that it is one of the most televised and therefore familiar arenas in the country. It's not just some round or oval behemoth, it has its own personality and shape. So, Marc and I decided as the men of the bakery we should venture out for a little recon since the Staples is just blocks away from us. We grabbed some pictures and it was really helpful. We saw the slope of the roof, the red accent on top, the palm trees, the lights, the big windows and all that. We opted not to recreate the distinctive jut out section because it would have just interfered with the aesthetics of the cake too much.
The field trip was a blast. As you saw, there was that awesome dude drumming his way through downtown L.A. blasting Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein." He had sticks and fingerless gloves and was going for it like his driver's seat was the throne of the biggest drum kit ever known to man! It was legendary. He was spinning his sticks and banging his head and I love this guy. Big ups to our camera operator Pyongson for leaping into action when I spotted this guy! One of my main goals during filming was to make Pyongson laugh cause she was usually very serious and focused on her work (which is awesome). So it brought me great joy to see her giggling as she shot this guy "rehearsing" for his big break. And as a drummer myself, I meant it when I said, "you gotta practice sometime!"
Now, before we get back to the cake, you might have noticed that silly headband I was wearing. Marc and I stopped by the store and picked up a basketball and some headbands to mess with Reva when we got back. We dangerously kept passing the ball around the bakery and at one point I bounced the ball off her back. Note to husbands: no matter how funny you might think it is to bounce a basketball off your wife's back, it isn't. Sorry honey!
The cake itself virtually designed itself. We knew it had to have Kobe's jersey and look like Staples, so that was a given. From there we all jumped in on this one. Reva assembled and laid out the fondant, Marc piped and hit all those design elements, Karyn worked on the palm trees and some other details to add on, and I went out and found some purple lights to give it that extra pop. You'll notice the actual Staples Center is silver, but when they shine colored lights on it, it takes on that hue, so we made the fondant purple-ish to highlight that aspect of the arena. Clearly, without those lights on that cake, the Lakers are not inspired enough to win a championship. Am I right?
The ball itself was styrofoam because we didn't want to add the weight to the top and the size of the wedding didn't call for extra cake. It got covered in buttercream and the lines piped and then the big argument. First of all, Marc did not get "ganged up on." The conversation of where to put the ball circulated for a couple hours and what you saw was the very end where we all were just reasserting our opinion. My argument was that putting it on the top made it look like it was teetering on the edge of a basket. What do you think?
The details came out great. Karyn's palm trees looked perfect, really adding to the sense of visiting the Staples. Marc nailed the signs and the windows and the giant jersey and ball cast no doubt as to what team this groom roots for. Jerseys and other fabric are tough to apply to cakes properly, but at least with basketball jerseys, there are no sleeves to contend with! We gave the top some form with some foam-core board and let the rest of the fondant hang over the edge of the building. Reva had a great save when she noticed the board on the back didn't have any fondant on it! Sometimes you're so into the overall look from the front, you can forget about people walking around the cake!! So she fixed that and with a couple wood dowels the cake was finished.
This was one of the very few deliveries we had Marc do by himself because Reva and I were actually on our way to deliver that Arboretum cake you saw a few weeks ago. But it was close by and even though Marc can get a little stressed out with the idea of delivering a cake, he loves being there and seeing the reaction of the clients. From what we heard, the reception site was incredible and the guests were swarming around the cake. As I said, nothing inspires passion like sports, and L.A. folks love their Lakers.
All in all I think this was one of my favorites this season. I know Reva said no one in the bakery was really into sports, but that's not true. I am a huge hockey nut and have spent more hours watching SportsCenter than I care to mention. So seeing such an iconic building come to life through the talents of Marc and Reva was really really fun. And did you see those lights? Who was the genius behind that?!
Next week we have a wedding cake inspired by peacock feathers!! Reva spent a lot of time on this one so tune in and see how it turns out!! Thanks for watching and keep your eyes on the blog for some big announcements coming soon from Merci Beaucoup! (Hint: get your wallets ready)
