News
August 02, 2015
Bundts: A Great Wedding Idea
By Kyle Hojem
11/16/2012
Weddings are a time of happiness, joy and thanksgiving. However, if one isn't careful, it could turn into an extremely stressful and unpleasant time. Why do it all yourself when wedding professionals can handle the most important aspects of the happiest day of your life?
For instance, a wedding cake and assorted sweets must come from an expert baker. Jeff Beasley is one such professional. He owns an upscale bakeshop with his wife in Bixby Knolls. Opening this past Fathers Day, the shop is new but Jeff is a seasoned veteran of the industry.
He started baking with his grandmother around the tender age of eight. His first experience of baking for others took place a couple of years later. "My aunt was part of a social club and she asked me to bake a cake. People got chills after eating it and still do now. It is a passion but had no idea I'd make a career out of it," he said.
Beasley worked for Ralph's warehouse bakery for nearly 15 years and has 35 years of culinary dedication. He strives for excellent customer service and quality in his shop. "If you feel 'good' when you walk in, you'll feel better when you walk out," said Beasley.
His specialty is the single-serving bundt cake, which Jeff makes in at least six flavors and two different sizes daily. He is also open to other forms of baking such as wedding cakes. Both options can help to relieve the stress of wedding preparations and the result is something guests will swoon over for a long time.
Beasley continued, "The wedding cake filling is the same as our bundt filling, but is a traditional wedding cake. The ingredients in both cakes are the same: passion and love." If passion and love are supposed to be a part of any long-lasting marriage, shouldn't your wedding cake and sweets feature the same choice ingredients?
For more information regarding Bundts On Melrose, a gourmet gifting and baking company, please visit their website at www.bundtsonmelrose.com or call (888) 9-Bundts. The shop is located at 4147 Long Beach Blvd. in the heart of Bixby Knolls.
The Sweet Day-After: Let Us ALL Eat (Bundt) Cake!
Located in the Bixby Knolls neighborhood of Long Beach (CA), Bundts on Melrose is open for business!
I rarely if ever attend a business' so-called "grand opening" or "opening day." I've found such events to be watered-down, mostly PR-driven vehicles that are ripe with a false sense of customer service (think over-staffed and not necessarily even regular staff persons). These types of events also have too many freebies – yes, I said too much free stuff! Think about it, RMT'ers, if you are getting something for way cheaper than you normally would or are receiving it for free, human nature dictates that it's automatically a better product or service even if it's not that great to begin with. Oh, and not to mention that these events are simply far FAR too crowded for my taste; plain and simple, I hate crowds, especially crowds that have no idea what's going on in a place they've never been before.
For all of those reasons and more, that's why you shall never find me at opening day of Dodgers baseball in the spring, Del Mar Racetrack in the summer, or the mall on Black Friday.
T enjoys knocking at the balloons from the grand opening of Bundts on Melrose the day after their grand opening event.
Now a day after a grand opening – color me there! I've found that the day-afters generally are the best way to get a truer sense of a new store or restaurant and their products. My take is that you are catching that business the day after their public debut and thus in a much more relaxed and honest atmosphere. Their guard is down, they are back to normal business pace, and in turn, they're usually in a much better mood – all which are things that put me in a good mood as well, and definitely put me in a better position to actually buy a little something, too!
Bundts on Melrose is now open in Long Beach (CA)! This was the same advertisement my friend had emailed me about this new bakery.
So when a friend of mine told me about a Grand Opening last weekend for a new bakery in town, Bundts on Melrose, I looked over the advertisement and decided that Sunday would be my day to pop in for some cake (PS – Saturday was the Big Event). In a crazy coincidence I'd JUST driven past Bundts on Melrose not the day before my friend told me about this place, and I'd already memory-banked it as a new place I wanted to try ASAP due to my obsession with anything bakery-related . I actually can't remember now why I didn't stop that day I drove by the first time, but good thing I didn't as it might not have even been open for business yet!
Just a small sampling of the bakery case at Bundts on Melrose. On the far left you can see the regular sized bundt cakes and the rest are all minis.
The sample platter at Bundts on Melrose in Long Beach (CA). Clockwise from top: Orange, caramel, and vanilla.
Here's the short and sweet summary on Bundts on Melrose. One, it's not on Melrose or anywhere close, but tucked back in a small mini-mall in the 4100 block of Long Beach Boulevard just south of Carson Street in the Bixby Knolls neighborhood of Long Beach (CA). Two, yes, they just sell bundt-style cakes – for now anyway (not sure of future plans). Finally, there's an ample variety of cake flavors to choose from on a daily basis; on the day we were in, the flavors offered were vanilla, red velvet, pineapple, German chocolate, lemon, strawberry, orange, and caramel, and three of those six were available for free sampling (vanilla, orange, and caramel).
The walk-in price list at Bundts on Melrose in Long Beach (CA).
There are two sizes of cakes, regular and minis. Regular cakes are 4 oz. each and minis are 1.5 oz., and pricing is one regular cake for $5 or two for just under $10 or six minis for $10, plus other counts and pricing available depending on quantity and sizes desired. If you calculate that one out, RMT'ers, you will find that getting a nice little sampler box of minis versus just two regulars is a much better and tastier value.
Our box of mini bundts from Bundts on Melrose. We got (L to R, clockwise): two vanilla, one strawberry, two orange, and one lemon.
As for the taste, the best way I can describe the texture is that of a nationally renowned creamy, crispy donut crossed with a more traditional old-fashioned glazed donut or buttermilk bar. All of the bundts from Bundts on Melrose literally melted away in my mouth bite after bite, especially the orange cake as it was fresh and hot from the oven within the hour of our visit; the orange flavor also resembled that of a 50-50 ice cream bar. We also brought home and tasted the vanilla, lemon, and strawberry cakes. T's favorite was the vanilla (of course) and C and I look forward to getting more of the lemon cakes in the future. All of the bundts are glazed lightly and dolloped with a dot of cream cheese frosting in the center of the cake, giving it just the right touch of icing to let folks taste the cakes for what they are: Scrumptious.
Address information for Bundts on Melrose in Long Beach (CA). Our friend did their labels – love the teal color!
More contact and store hours information on Bundts on Melrose in Long Beach (CA).
Bundts on Melrose is open six days a week (closed Wednesdays) for all of your bundt cake needs. Whether you walk in to get a small box for a play date (hint, hint) or you need to call ahead and order larger quantities for a catered event, Bundts on Melrose's owners will be there with smiles on their faces and a friendly, helping hand to ensure that you CAN have your cake and eat it, too.
