Mosaic Cakes – Interview with Mehmet Tascioglu | Tasty Chomps: A Local's Culinary Guide

A Mosaic Cake – known as Mozaik Pasta or Mozaik Kek in Turkey – is a visually stunning, handcrafted gourmet treat featuring crushed cookies blended into chocolate sauce with fresh fruits or nuts, shaped into a chilled triangular prism. It’s a company started by Mehmet Tascioglu who we spoke with recently about his inspiration behind the brand.

Mehmet, what inspired you to start Mosaic Cakes, and how does your cultural background influence your baking, especially with the creation of the Turkish Mosaic Cake? Could you share the story behind your Mosaic Cake?

Hello! My name is Mehmet, and I’m the proud founder of Mosaic Cakes (mosaiccakes.com), a family-owned pastry business based in Southeast Michigan.

I have always been very entrepreneurial, as this started from a young age. My dad, an automotive professional, was one of many who lost his job in the Great Recession. My mom only worked part-time, so it was very scary for them when the recession struck since they were raising two very young children – myself and my younger brother. She ended up losing her job a few months later as well. With two young children to support, my parents made sacrifices, including giving up vacations, to maintain financial stability.

While my parents focused on rebuilding their careers, they also vowed to raise me with the spirit of the entrepreneurial American dream. That meant no allowances, cash gifts, or freebies, ever – I had to work for every nickel. As a teenager, I explored various ventures like mowing lawns, tutoring, e-commerce, blogging, and graphic design, but those markets were saturated.

When I was 18 years old, I realized the right idea was right in front of me all along – Mosaic Cakes! Growing up, my mom would always make these delicious chocolate cakes, the original recipe rooted in over a century of Turkish culinary heritage. The premium chocolate and butter cookies gave a mosaic tile resemblance, hence the name. I realized one important thing, though, as I learned the recipe and shared Mosaic Cake with my friends: very few people in the US had ever tried a Mosaic Cake. My friends loved it, but no one knew what it was!

We founded Mosaic Cakes in 2022 with a mission to share a piece of our Turkish heritage by introducing one of our most nostalgic and delicious recipes. While chocolate mosaic cake is a beloved treat in various parts of the world, it remains a hidden gem in the U.S.

Mosaic Cakes (mosaiccakes.com) now serves all 50 states with a dozen flavors and unlimited love. We offer wholesale to premium coffee shops, restaurants, hotels, catering companies, and businesses looking for unique, premium desserts. We also retail from our website and ship nationwide.

With my parents’ support, we are on a mission to spread our handcrafted, gourmet Mosaic Cakes across Michigan and the world. We believe Mosaic Cakes will become a popular dessert in the U.S. They are a joy to make, a joy to eat, and a joy to share!

What challenges have you faced in introducing traditional Turkish desserts like the Mosaic Cake to a broader audience, and how have you innovated or adapted your recipes to suit different tastes or dietary preferences?

Initially, we didn’t sell a single cake as we focused on perfecting our recipe using fresh, premium, Michigan-sourced ingredients. We spent countless hours sampling and gathering customer feedback, developing flavors like Pistachio, Raspberry, White Chocolate, and Carrot through trial and error.

After our public launch, we faced significant challenges with online orders. Expanding our reach required strategic marketing and creative solutions due to limited funds. Encouraging consumers to embrace a new culinary concept was not easy. We had to gain support from customers who loved our cakes and relied on word-of-mouth and our friends’ professional marketing help. As more customers tried our cakes, we saw an increase in repeat business. We also partnered with coffee shops and restaurants to wholesale our cakes, adding flavors like Biscoff, Hazelnut, and Oreo. Hopefully in the near future, we hope to have a gluten free Mosaic Cake as well!

As we scaled, improving production capacity while maintaining high quality was crucial. We developed systems for onboarding and training talent to ensure consistent quality production efficiently. Efficiency is key to our success. Using premium ingredients like chocolate, cacao, butter, and eggs, whose prices jumped significantly, required us to find ways to be more efficient without increasing prices. We challenge ourselves every day to improve our efficiency in every aspect of our business.

Being a young entrepreneur has its unique challenges. During job interviews, some people have abruptly left the call when they realize I’m the owner, not a sales intern. People often doubt my ability to run a successful business due to my age.

Despite these challenges, I remain optimistic and excited to grow Mosaic Cakes alongside my family. Every obstacle has been a learning experience, and every success has been a testament to our hard work and dedication.

What makes this dessert unique compared to other cakes, and how do you maintain its authenticity and quality?

Mosaic Cakes produces handcrafted, gourmet cakes made with natural, premium, and local ingredients. Each cake consists of crushed up butter cookies folded into our signature chocolate sauce, perfectly paired with fresh fruits or crunchy nuts, depending on the flavor. Served cold, our cakes pair amazingly well with coffee, milk or other treats.

We offer different flavors – Double Chocolate, Raspberry, Pistachio, White Chocolate, Biscoff, Oreo, Hazelnut, and Variety Pack! We also have limited edition specials based on the season, such as the Valentine’s Day Mosaic Cake, Holiday Editions, and custom cakes for graduations and birthday. A typical triangular cake contains 11 slices and serves 11 to 15 people. Sizes and shapes vary for specialty cakes.

Most importantly, we ship nationwide! But better yet, all customers from Michigan receive FREE shipping as a courtesy to our local supporters. We make our cakes fresh, then freeze and ship them to ensure they arrive in perfect condition and ready to enjoy!

Our cakes are shipped in insulated containers with ice packs, carefully wrapped and sealed in our signature Mosaic Cakes box. We recommend storing the cakes in the freezer until you’re ready to enjoy them. Simply thaw for 10 minutes before serving. Leftover cake can be stored for up to 7 days in the refrigerator or up to 90 in the freezer. This makes it convenient for busy lifestyles to have a delicious, unique cake on hand for yourself, to serve to guests, or to bring as a gift.

If you haven’t tried a Mosaic Cake yet, this is your opportunity! While we don’t have a brick-and-mortar store (yet), we’d love for you to enjoy one of our cakes. Order online at mosaiccakes.com!

How has the community responded to your bakery, Mosaic Cakes? Are there any plans to expand your menu or perhaps introduce other traditional Turkish pastries to your offerings?

As we don’t have a brick and mortar location, we’ve been building a nationwide community, and are grateful for support around the US! People overwhelmingly react with positive feedback to our Mosaic Cakes, and we strongly believe the amazing taste and premium quality of our cakes is the #1 reason we are growing as fast as we are!

We are always expanding with additional Mosaic Cake flavors! For Valentine’s Day, we offer the Limited Edition Valentine’s Day Mosaic Cake and the Valentine’s Variety Pack, both of which feature heart-shaped Mosaic Cakes! We also have other new flavors and seasonal specials – stay tuned for future announcements by following our Instagram page (mosaic_cakes). As for additional Turkish pastries, that is something we may introduce in the future!

We can’t forget to thank our customers for supporting our journey in growing Mosaic Cakes! Many of our loyal customers have been from all around the US – ranging from metro Detroit to southern Florida to all the way out west in California! Our customers are so valuable because they’re willing to put their trust in me and order a cake – many of whom had never tried a Mosaic Cake and had only seen photos and videos. This isn’t ice cream or another common treat – it takes courage to spend $50 on a gourmet treat you’ve never tried before. And for that, I am deeply grateful to our amazing customers who carry our family business forward.