Behind the kitchen with Melanie from Mini Melanie

Mini Melanie desserts have been popping up all over instagram, and for good reason! They are as beautiful as they are delicious! Seriously though one look at these cakes and you will be drooling. Already with their goodies listed in the Michelin Guide to NYC, the girls at Mini Melanie are not slowing down. I got to ask Melanie herself some questions about baking, fall flavors and what’s next for Mini Melanie.

Tell me a little about how Mini Melanie began, what inspired you to do this?

I’ve been baking pretty much my entire life, and I went to culinary school in New York City and worked in kitchens in Paris and in New York. This all made me very much want to be my own boss and to introduce something new and different to the New York City desserts scene.

The first cake I ever baked was when I was six with my grandmother. Once we placed the cake into the oven, we took a quick break to sift through her colorful jewelry box. This became something of a ritual, and it’s stuck with me throughout each recipe I test and each order our team fulfills. I focus on making everything special and celebratory. Our products are the epitome of the connection between the beauty found in jewels and in desserts, and it couldn’t be more of a fun or natural collaboration!

What does a typical day look like for you?

Coffee, pronto! After which, I pack a giant bag to bring with me from my apartment/office downtown up on the 4/5 train to East Harlem to Hot Bread Kitchen, where we rent incubator kitchen space amidst other artisanal food businesses. My sous-chef Alex and I fulfill the orders for that day and bake away, while accepting deliveries from local purveyors, dispatching deliveries, answering phone calls and website inquiries. Oh, and we’ve been big into social media as a form of marketing since day one. So you’ll find us snapping away in the kitchen and snap-chatting stories – all while filling cupcake tins and icing a mini cake or two!

What has one of your comfort desserts always been and how to you bring that into your own food?

Tender, moist vanilla cake! I know everyone has no love for the word “moist,” but it just accurately describes a good cake, so I use it. The vanilla cake I grew up baking with my Viennese grandma (Vienna rivals Paris desserts, and even as a Francophile I can admit this) is the inspiration for our tender vanilla cake that comprises our Diamond Jewel Box Cake, White Chocolate Funfetti Party cake, and Salted Caramel Party Mini Cake/Party Cake. It’s also the base for our Diamond Jewel Truffles and Sapphire Jewel Truffles! The whole idea of our desserts is that nostalgic, classic flavors lay just behind a beautiful, eye-catching exterior.

What are some of your favorite fall and holiday flavors that we can expect to taste in the coming months?

My family cooks turkey and sweet potatoes year-round because we just love the holiday season so much, so you can expect lots! We change our specials each month, posting the new mini cupcake, mini cake, and Jewel Truffle flavors on the first of each month. A hint for November: I love chocolate pecan pie!

What is the best advice you’ve had about working in the food world?

 Keep it simple – oh, and beautiful! Our desserts are by no means easy to make, but our menu is concise and our message is specialized and unique. Whether prepping for a party of four or a party of four hundred, we focus on each and every detail and make sure that what travels to our customers will give them great value and ensure a return experience.

Now that you are officially into the Michelin Guide to NYC, what is your next goal?  Where do you see Mini Melanie 5 years from now?

This was some extremely exciting and very gratifying news! Our next goals include incorporating a social good component into the Mini Melanie mission statement – something that we truly believe in, so that we can become a greater part of the New York community and Michelin guide. Five years from now, we expect to see our Jewel Truffles lining store shelves and to be the ultimate party favor for weddings and other celebrations. Once you taste our chocolate truffles, you’ll see what we mean!

To order some Mini Melanie treats for yourself, check out their website www.minimelanie.com We love the Salted Caramel Jewel Box Cake!