Happy Sugar Baking Land

Merci Beaucoup's 1st Annual Holiday Cheer Cake Challenge!!

Entries are now Closed!!

It's beginning to look a lot like we're having a Holiday contest!!  Reva's making her list and checking it twice before stuffing it under my pillow, so while she's dreaming of an iPad, I thought I'd rip the wrapping off our first ever Holiday Cheer Cake Challenge.

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.

The Categories:

• Christmas Cake - Buttercream
• Christmas Cake - Fondant
• Winter Holiday Cake (any other, including NYE, Hanukah, Festivus, Boxing Day etc.)
• Gingerbread House
• Holiday Cupcakes
• Holiday Cake Pops

(Please note: Thanksgiving is NOT included in the "any other" description.  December Holidays only.)

For the Christmas cakes, we will place your cake in the proper category based on which medium is used to represent your theme the most.  Ex: If it is buttercream icing with lots of fondant figures, we will put it in "fondant" because the execution of your design relies heavily on the fondant work.

In addition to all those categories, we're also going to have two levels of competition: Professional and Novice.  That's a total of 12 winners!

Novice: anyone who bakes and decorates primarily as a hobby.  A novice most likely is in the beginning stages of their decorating career/business.  It should not be your primary source of income, but it is okay if you are selling your product in modest amounts.

Professional: to enter the professional categories you should consider yourself a full time cake decorator, this includes grocery stores or any other work for businesses other than your own, including freelance.  You should have a business name and a wesbite and/or a well cared for Facebook page as your business.  You will probably have some training and/or multiple years experience.

Anyone can enter the Professional level if they wish, but if you enter the Novice level and you appear to be a professional decorator, you will be notified. This is important because a change to this contest will be an entry fee for Professional entries 

This fee is to help alleviate the cost of awards for a contest this size.  We want to do 4 to 5 contests a year and with one this size, we feel it appropriate to attach a modest fee.  It is also to lend some weight to the idea of presenting the winners with an award that states they won a "professional" level competition.  Pricing is on par with your standard county fair.

A 6 pack of entries, one for each category in the professional division, will be offered for $5.  That is for anyone who wants to enter each category once.  We will also offer any 10 entries for $7.  All other combinations will be $1 per entry.  You do not have to buy an entry for a specific category, you can use your entries for any category you like unless you buy the 6 pack, in which case you will be assigned one entry per category.

Novice entries will remain completely free.  Simply follow the rules and email us your entry.  We appreciate your honesty when entering.  We would like to reward young decorators for their hard work. 

There are no limits to how many times you may enter for either level!

Obviously, each contestant has a unique set of circumstances and if you are unsure of which level to enter, just let us know and we'll figure out the best level for you.

The Rules:

1. All entries must be received by January 2nd, 2012 by 11:59 pm PST.
2. Photos of your entry should be emailed to [email protected].
3. Use the subject heading "Holiday Challenge."
4. Tell us which category and level you are entering.
5. Please include your full contact info in your email.
6. No more than two (2) photos per entry.
7. Awards to be shipped within North America only. Winners outside this area must pay additional shipping charges to receive their prize.  An option to receive a certificate only via email for no charge will be made available.
8. Professionals, please make sure you pay for each entry via our online store here.
9. If you pay with a different name (spouse etc.) or a different email, please let us know in your entry email so we can match you up with your payment.
10. Judging will be conducted by the members of Team Merci Beaucoup.

The Awards:

• The winner of each category will receive a custom medal.
• A Sweepstakes winner will receive a special plaque!
• Fan's Choice.  The entry that receives the most comments and "likes" will receive an award.

The Sweepstakes!

If you're familiar with county fairs, you know of the sweepstakes prize.  The contestant with the most points will win the sweepstakes.  The more you enter, the more chance you have of winning sweepstakes!

1. Professional and Novice levels will be considered for sweepstakes.
2. Most points wins.
3. Each category will be ranked 1 thru 10 with the following points awarded:

• 1st Place - 12 Points
• 2nd         - 10 Points
• 3rd          -  9 Points
• 4th          -  7 Points
• 5th          -  6 Points
• 6th          -  5 Points
• 7th          -  4 Points
• 8th          -  3 Points
• 9th          -  2 Points
• 10th        -  1 Point

In the event of a tie, the highest placement will be considered first.  If still tied, multiple firsts etc. will be considered.

Fan's Choice

All entries will be posted on our Facebook page in special albums for each category (levels will be combined).  Each "like" and comment will be counted as 1 vote.  The most votes will earn the Fan's choice award.  NOTE: voting for Fan's Choice will remain open till January 6th, 2012!  This will allow later entries to earn votes.

All 14 winners will be announced on January 7th!

That enough for you?  Our Halloween contest was so much fun and we hope this time is even better.  Best of luck everyone!

The Painted Mixer: Advice on Customizing Your KitchenAid

Yesterday I noticed a very special mixer pop up in our Tumblr feed.

If only it had the glass bowl!!  You know, like it was invisible;)  Anyway, I was struck by the quality of the paint job especially since I'd recently seen someone have their mixer customized and the work was especially sub par.  With a little backtracking, the image seems to originate from the KitchenAid Brasil Facebook page, where a few more nicely painted mixers are also featured.  From the page, there was this:

Já pensou em ter na sua casa uma batedeira Stand Mixer com estampas exclusivas e divertidas? Conheça a nova coleção “My KitchenAid” da batedeira mais famosa do mundo, com 7 estampas adesivas que levam ainda mais arte à casa dos amantes da marca. Elas estão na nossa loja, localizada na Alameda Gabriel Monteiro da Silva, 1.241, em São Paulo. Telefone: 11 3081-6105.

A quick run through the Google Translate tells me this is in fact NOT a paint job!  It is a new series of stickers that are available at the KitchenAid store in Sao Paulo.  And indeed, one of our commentors on FB brought up the trend of applying decals to your mixer.  This inspired me to post here and offer some advice for the process.

Decals

First, you have to understand that the reason the Wonder Woman mixer looks so good is that it is professionally photographed!  The lighting is perfect, the mixer is as clean and polished as it can be, and the shot is most likely manipulated in Photoshop to make all the colors really pop.  That is why I thought it was paint right off the bat.  Fooled me! 

Second, decals, even the best ones, have limitations.  Mainly, they can peel and degrade.  Seek out the highest quality decals, not a set of scrapbooking stickers you get on sale at your local Michael's.  If it's as thin as tracing paper, you're gonna have problems.  A simple Google search finds a bunch of people selling decals sets designed for your mixer.  I can't tell if the sets featured on the Brasil page will be available elsewhere, but it seems likely for the future.  Brasil could be a test market.

Third, prep and finish!  Before applying, dry test the decal to make sure it bends and curves around the mixer in a way you like.  If you have any tattoos, you know how important it is to wrap the sketch around your arm etc. to make sure it doesn't distort in any odd fashion.  Make marks if needed to assure you then apply it in the same way.  

Clean the surface really well!!  Don't use anything that will leave a residue that can settle in-between the adhesive and the surface area.  Acetone would be great if you have some as it works well on metal and dries fast.  Once the decal is applied, I would highly recommend finishing it off with a durable clear coat.  Two to three layers even to give your new look both a shine and the toughness to stand up to the rigors of use.  Your local hardware store or paint shop can point you in the right direction.

 I am a hockey coach and before that a hockey goaltender.  I've been seeing paint jobs and stickers both good and bad on goalie masks my entire life.  The clear coating process is key to ensuring it will stand up to abuse.  From the look of the Wonder Woman job, I would bet they coated it.  It makes it look finished and protects from the stray nick of a spatula;)

Paint

While decals can look good and are definitely affordable, a high end paint job can give you the exact look and personalization you desire.  The downside, it's pricey.  Like I said, hockey goalie.  The paint on my mask was over $1000.  Even simple quality paint schemes are $500.  And I emphasize "quality."

Don't let just anyone with an airbrush touch your mixer!

You need someone who has the skills and experience of the proverbial hockey mask or racing helmets.  Look to painters who work on motorcycles or do intricate autopainting and pinstriping.  The bigger your ideas, the more experience your artist should have.  

Now, if you're just looking for a solid custom color, any reputable auto paint shop should be capable and the price will be more affordable.  This can also be a first step to adding a base to adhere your favorite decals too.  Really, your only limited to your imagination.

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.

Anyone have any other tips and tricks, leave 'em in the comments or better yet, any pictures we want to see what you've created!  Have a great day cakers!!! - Mic

Merci Beacucoup's 1st Annual Halloween Cake Contest: The Results!!

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!  Creepy clowns, gory zombies, dismembered body parts, we were thinking we'd get some cute pumpkins and stuff, but no, the horror side definitely came out!  We got cute stuff too, but they were always followed up by an open chest wound;)

First off, before we get to the winners, just for fun I wanted to say that far and away, the creepiest, scariest, and really the grossest cake we received was from Stacey Connors who sent us this decaying head in a pool of blood (avert your eyes if squeamish!):

Talk about photo real, seriously Stacey, should we inform the police?  Is there anything you wish to confess outside of you are one twisted cake decorator!  This is actually an alternate view from the one we posted on Facebook so you can see the rat she made.  We didn't make an award for the scariest cake, but clearly, Stacey runs away with it!  We just had to mention it, excellent work.  I can now skip lunch.

 Okay, with 61 entries, you guys stepped up and really knocked our socks off!  We found ourselves applauding the computer screen often as everyone delivered wonderful examples of Halloween cakes.  Even our more beginner decorators showed us really fun and creative cakes and we cannot wait to do this again next year and see how far you've come!  If judging was hard this year, next year might kill us!

And judging was really, really hard.  It's especially difficult given we only had photos and couldn't look around the cakes in person to inspect all your awesome details.  But, it was our contest and we had to do it!  All of you, every last one, will be getting an email from us in the coming week with our thoughts and compliments as well because eliminating any of you seemed cruel;)  We really appreciate all your hard work!!!

Okay, after an initial pass of the entries, we came up with about 25 second rounders.  From there, we narrowed it down to a Top 10, which was more like a Top 12 for a few hours as we debated back and forth!  Here are the entries (in no particular order) that placed in the Top 10:

• Mani Surendra  "Birthday Halloween"
• Loren Ebert "Witch's Brew"
• Jessica Collier "Sugar Skull"
• Pam Williams  "Witch Cauldron"
• Cake Nerds  "Puking Pumpkin"
• MAD Crafted Cakes  "Nightmare Before Christmas"
• Sarah Myers  "SAW Cake"
• Rita Clemmons  "Football Fan Witch House"
• Sweet Cakes by Rebecca "Built on Sin"
• Samantha Hally  "Smiling Jack-o-Lantern"

That was hard, I mean really hard, but we made decisions based on a number of qualities and tried to pick a good cross section of our entries.  But our Halloween dilemma was just beginning!  The Top 5 represent those of you who would receive an award with a Finalist Medal going to the runners-up (2nd thru 5th if you will, although we will not rank the finalists) and a personalized plaque going to the grand champion.  Here then (in no particular order) are the Top 5:

Jessica Collier    MAD Crafted Cakes

Samantha Hally       Mani Surendra 

Pam Williams 

Congratulations to all of you!  Samantha, your pumpkin flashed us that buttercream smile and made us smile right back;)  Pam, we loved your cute little witch sinking into a boiling cauldron.  Likewise Mani, you made such a cute Halloween cake with a black cat and witch, it had a lot of story to it.  Jessica, you killed it with your meticulous piping work and MAD, we got a few NBC cakes, but yours was over the top!

Four of you will be getting our Finalist Medal, one of you will get the champions plaque, and that award goes to.......

MAD CRAFTED CAKES!!!

A frontrunner from the second it came in, MIchele and Derek Smith (M.A.D., get it?) wowed us with a big, bold Nightmare Before Christmas theme featuring a pumpkin tier, an architectural element hanging off the side and a Halloweentown of supporting characters.  And you all agreed, as this cake earned more than double the amount of "likes" on Facebook than any other entry.  This cake tells the story of Jack Skellington and is truly an impressive piece of cake decorating.  Superb work guys! 

There you have it cakers, our first attempt at a contest.  Again, we cannot thank you all enough for your entries, everyone which made us smile!  Except for Stacey who gave us the creeps;)  Thank you for sharing your talents with us, it was truly inspiring.

Next up we will be doing a more elaborate Christmas/Holiday contest with a few different categories and levels to enter so we can try and spread the award cheer to as many as possible!  Stay tuned for details shortly!  Till then, have a wonderful Day of the Dead my friends!!

Reva, Michael, and Marc