“I have been interested in baking since I was a young girl,” Alexis Duca fondly recalls. “My mom had me sitting on the counter helping cook when I was 2 years old. I was a Girl Scout from age 5 and we did cake decorating at a Camporee. I used to make my friends cupcakes and bring them to school.”
She also recalls another sweet memory from her childhood that had a profound impact on her future involving a local bakery named Just A Cupcake.
“I would get birthday cupcakes from here every year,” she explains.
When the original owners put the eatery up for sale, Duca, now all grown up, couldn’t resist the temptation to put her baking skills to the test. So she went ahead and bought it.
Now, she can have cupcakes from there every day.
“We have unique flavors of gourmet cupcakes for any occasion,” Duca shares. “I enjoy being creative with custom cakes for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and showers. And our soups are incredibly popular with customers; we make 26 different kinds.”
While Duca bakes up delicious sweets, her mom, and the cafe’s manager, Lisa Haselkamp, makes the sought-after soups. The eatery also offers flavorful salads and appetizing sandwiches.
Some of the baked goods they “can’t keep in the case” include cannolis, Napoleons, pies, dessert breads and a chocolate ganache covered cheesecake.
“But people come for the cupcakes,” Haselkamp boasts. “Alexis has her own recipe for the buttercream frosting. I don’t know that anybody has a better buttercream!”
The duo pride themselves on the quality of their ingredients.
“We have a lot of people who want to know what’s in each item because they might have a food sensitivity or an allergy. We know what goes into everything,” Haselkamp explains. “We use fresh, whole ingredients.”
352.601.0047 | justacupcakebakery.com | fb.com/justacupcake | IG: @justacupcakebakeryandcafe
