A 'Sweet' Dream Come True

Inside a cozy kitchen, a little girl named Ashley and her sister sneak spoonfuls of sugar out of their favorite drawer. When their grandmother returns to the kitchen, the girls spend another day learning how to bake goodies from scratch.

Ashley Weber grew up in West Bend, Wisconsin. She spent her childhood baking alongside her "grammy." And she's now using those lessons as her lifework. In late summer 2012, Weber opened her first bakery: Miss Cupcake Boutique Bakery in Shorewood, 3801 N. Oakland Ave.

Weber ran her cupcake business out of her home for five years before opening Miss Cupcake.

“When a friend asked me if there was anything in the world I could do, I said I’d open a bakery,” Weber said. “So then it kind of just snow balled from there, and here we are.”

When Weber began looking for locations to open her bakery, she actually started her search with her heart set on being downtown. But after her realtor showed her the Oakland Avenue location in Shorewood, her heart soon told her differently. Weber fell in love with the space and was not going to give up on it.

“I absolutely love it; I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” said Weber.

Miss Cupcake Boutique Bakery officially opened its doors on August 20, 2012. The bakery serves a variety of cupcakes, including classics such as chocolate with vanilla frosting, or vanilla with vanilla frosting. However, Weber also creates recipes, which contain non-traditional ingredients like beer and bacon. The bakery also serves a large array of other baked goodies such as: Cookies, breads, scones and muffins. The shop also offers gluten-free and vegan cupcakes upon special request.

Megan Gray, a UW-Milwaukee freshman, has been working at Miss Cupcake part-time for about a month now.

“There’s so many things I like about Miss Cupcake … I love baking, and it’s a super-friendly environment,” Gray said. “Ashley is so happy, so fun, and so easy to get along with. She’s so creative … she’s making different cupcakes every day."

After being open for two full months, Ashley reports that her business is doing very well. She said that the response from the community has been great so far.

Shorewood residents Dale Kimmel and Dasha Dabrinina talked about their first visit to the bakery.

“I live up the street and hadn’t been in yet, but people brought some of her cupcakes into work, and they were very yummy, so I decided to come in,” said Kimmel.

“They have awesome cupcakes!” added Dabrinina.

Weber estimates that in the first couple of months her bakery has been open, she has sold about 7,000 cupcakes. She enjoys being in the Shorewood neighborhood, and she looks forward to continuing to serve yummy treats to her customers.