Meringue Bake Shop's PushCakes are truly an original!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream PushCakes!

If you live in Orange County, California then you probably know all about the delicious PushCakes from Meringue Bake Shop. If not, don't worry, I'm going to tell you all about them.
Kristin Ausk is my friend, but more importantly, she is the owner of Meringue Bake Shop and the creator of the original pushcake.

As a baker and lover of cupcakes myself, I am envious of Kristin for following her passion and making a business from her love of baking cupcakes. I was thrilled when she agreed to be interviewed for this post - and even more thrilled to have met up with her last week to get some more yummy sweet treats!

Here is what Kristin has to say about Meringue Bake Shop and PushCakes ...

When did you first start baking?
I was 7 or 8 years old and living in San Diego, CA. The San Diego Union Tribune had a weekly contest for kids to enter recipes and I was always trying something new. I felt at peace in the kitchen.

When did you decide to make a business out of your love for baking?
In 2005 I was looking for a job and started baking more because baking helped reduce my stress. When I started working, I would bring what I made to work and test out recipes on my coworkers. They didn't complain. In fact, they started asking me to make cupcakes for their children's birthday parties. After a few years of filling orders for friends and coworkers, I got a business license in 2008. That is how Meringue Bake Shop got started.

Your cupcakes are amazing! Have you ever considered doing Cupcake Wars?
Actually, they contacted me during the first season. Back then there was no prize money and I didn't want to spend money or my time just for the title of winning something.  Cupcake Wars did contact me again, after they added the $10,000 prize, but I'm really not a fan of that show. It's just not my thing. I'm more of a grassroots baker - you know, like the desserts you would get in a diner. Why would I want to bake under that kind of pressure?

As the original creator of PushCakes, how do you feel about the copycats?
At first I was really upset with the businesses who were selling what I had created - they basically saw a blog post about me and stole my idea. When I first came up with the idea, the company where I bought my containers from had no idea what I was talking about. The containers were not easily found - they come from Italy!
Now, almost every food packaging company carries some sort of PushCake container.

Once I started seeing others that were using a different name I was flattered. Some would even post about their attempts on blogs and link back to me. That was cool. The worst part is when people use the word PushCakes and say they had no idea I had trademarked the name. Hello, did you even try to Google it?

What are your best selling flavors?
Birthday Cake (vanilla cake, chocolate buttercream with sprinkles), Queen of Hearts (red velvet cake, cream cheese frosting), and Orange Crush (orange crush cake, creamsicle buttercream )

Where can people buy your PushCakes?
At this time, we don't have a shop - we work out of an industrial kitchen in Fullerton. We are at the Orange Home Grown Farmers Market every other Saturday from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. and we take custom orders for everything from media events to birthday parties to weddings.

Do you have plans to open a store?
Yes and no. We have thought about it, but it's a huge financial obligation. I work full-time and at this point we just don't have the funds - we would need an investor. I do have some great ideas for a store though ... (Kristin did share her ideas with me, but I'm not going to write about them - because they are just that good and I don't want anyone else copying her ideas)

What is your favorite part about selling PushCakes?
That's easy - when kids come up to the table at the farmers market and smile. I love watching kids eat PushCakes.

Ironically, when we went to visit Kristin last week my son did just that.

PushCakes sell for $3.25 each or $39 a dozen. Kristin will even customize the sticker on the PushCakes to match your event. I could go on forever about the fabulous cakes and frosting flavors (which you can find here) but let's get on to the good stuff.
Kristin has offered to do a giveaway of PushCakes to one of my readers. Yes, you read that right. You could have 12 fabulous PushCakes all to yourself - or you could share them with some friends.

To enter the PushCakes giveaway just leave a comment below telling me what your favorite PushCakes flavor is. It's that simple.

For additional entries: (please leave a comment for each additional entry)

1. "Like" Life with Dylan on Facebook
2. "Like" PushCakes on Facebook
3. Follow PushCakes on twitter
4. Tweet about this giveaway using @bchbby and @PushCakes

PushCakes Giveaway fine print:
Giveaway will end on March 18, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. Winner will be selected via random.org and has 3 days to respond to my email before another winner is selected. The winner will receive one dozen PushCakes in any original flavor. Winner may select one or two original flavors. Meringue Bake Shop requires 2 weeks notice for the order and will only ship to a US address. Winner has until August 31, 2012 to place the order. 

For more information on Meringue Bake Shop visit www.meringuebakeshop.com