Kelly Merklein is a dessert person.
And in 2017, she decided her sweet tooth needed to be shared and founded Cake4One, a dessert company that specializes in cakes sold in 10-ounce mason jars down to bite-sized, 2-ounce cake minis.
Merklein started selling individual cakes as a vendor at the Dallas Farmers Market, and in February — in the midst of that terrible ice storm that made travel impossible for a week — Cake4One moved into a new location on Beckley Avenue.
“We had the opportunity to move into the kitchen that’s attached to the Lone Star Donut shop,” Merklein says. “We do all of our baking here. We also ship all over the world, cater events, weddings and stuff like that. But Lone Star Donuts allows us to use the donut shop in the evening, so we’re open to the public each evening.”
Cake4One is open 6-11 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday, but Merklein says the late hours don’t bother her.
During the day she mixes, bakes and ices the cakes, which are all individually baked and cool off just in time for a nightly opening.
“For me, desserts have always been an evening kind of thing,” Merklein says.
Cake4One is able to customize orders with photos, logos or labels that are printed on a UV Printer for events such as weddings and birthdays.
Initials are popular for wedding orders, and a “huge honor” of Merklein’s career was when Cake4One designed custom-labeled cakes for the Medal of Honor recipient dinner at the American Airlines Sky Ball.
“It’s what sets us apart, that we can do that custom image or photo, anything that the customer might like on the tops of any of the size lids,” Merklein says.
Red velvet is the shop’s year-round best seller, with chocolate and carrot cake trailing close behind.
The store also sells Amy’s ice cream — hugely popular with Austin transplants and UT grads — and will expand into the cheesecake market by the end of summer.
