%20(3).png)
Mercy Fabila
Founder + Baker
I was a Marketing Consultant for health and wellness businesses throughout LA for nearly a decade but baking was always the tool I used to reduce anxiety and turn off the multiple tabs open in my head. Coming from a business background but with a deep interest in baking, I wasn't sure how I could combine the two so I continued baking as a hobby for many years. With the pandemic temporarily closing most of my clients' businesses, I used this free time to bake for friends and family and bring them some sweet joy during these unexpected times. I began testing out various rustic dessert recipes as I've always been drawn to the aesthetic of an imperfect-looking but incredibly delicious pastry or cake. After a few months, the most requested dessert was my Basque Burnt Cheesecake and once I realized that this cake is not easily found, especially in the South Bay, I wanted to get it out there to my community.
After surviving a brain tumor in 2017, I made a promise to myself to always pursue what truly makes me happy and brings me peace. Nothing changes your priorities quite like a near-death experience! Baking just so happens to bring me peace and so much happiness... especially when customers share their joy with me after taking that first bite of my unique Basque Burnt Cheesecake. I look forward to growing Bashi Bakes by incorporating more rustic desserts to the menu that are inspired by my Mexican, Spanish, and Italian background.
NEWS
Spectrum News
Manhattan Beach home baker specializes in burnt Basque cheesecake
​
​
MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. — In America, we are used to a specific type of cheesecake.
​
But have you heard of the Basque style? One local baker is making a name for herself, serving this unique, burnt dessert.
​
Bashi Bakes owner Mercy Fabila is a self-proclaimed multi-tasker, but had to slow down and find patience to bake the perfect Basque cheesecake. She even realized the best brand of cream cheese for the dessert is Philadelphia Cream Cheese.
​
“I like to think of this as a meditative process. I put on some music or get lost in my thoughts when I’m doing this, because you need time. It’s a good time to meditate,” she said.
​
This style comes from Basque Country in Northern Spain that’s known as one of the best fine dining destinations in the world. La Viña restaurant created the recipe in 1990 and now the crust-less, fluffy, souffle-like cheesecake is served throughout the world with its notable burnt edges.
​
PRESS
The MB News
Manhattan Beach Baker Brings Basque Cheesecake to the South Bay
​
​
A Manhattan Beach baker began producing specialty Basque cheesecakes during the pandemic - and the demand for her cakes is growing almost as fast as she can keep up with new orders.
Bashi Bakes, a baking company founded by Mercy Fabila of Manhattan Beach, specializes in Basque "burnt" cheesecake, a special rustic cake that has a distinctive caramelized top and a creamy, slightly sweet interior.
Fabila's cakes started growing in popularity over the past year due to word of mouth. But increasingly her cakes have appeared at pop-up events (including the Manhattan Village's Village Market) where they have drawn a larger audience. Lately she has been filling large-scale orders, such as for an El Segundo Rotary Club meeting and for several upcoming weddings.
In her research on Basque cheesecake, Fabila had discovered that the delicacy was only available in two other locations in the greater Los Angeles area. "I thought, it‘ll be fun to have our own little special thing in our community that in other communities it is hard to find," she said.
​
PODCAST
Amiga, Handle Your Sh!t
Baking as a Spiritual Calling with Mercy Fabila
Season 2, Ep. 49
​
Sometimes the most challenging and stressful moments of your life can bring you unexpected gifts if you listen and accept what the universe is sending your way. In the past year, the Covid pandemic turned upside down millions of people's lives. For the most part, people still struggle to overcome everything that happened and start again to live a normal life. However, some people took this bad event and transformed it into something positive, embracing a new way to live their lives.
​
Today's guest, Mercy Fabila, will tell us how the loss of her marketing clients during the pandemic brought her to open a successful baking business, embracing a childhood dream again and finding a new way to live a life full of joy and positivity.
​
Podcast available on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, and Amazon Music. LISTEN BELOW: