JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Happy Cake Shop located in Jacksonville’s Avondale neighborhood is the perfect place to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Formerly known as Sivadas, the bakery has rebranded with a new name but the same passion for handcrafted desserts.
Raised in the small town of Wildwood, Florida, owner O’Jaye Williams discovered his love for cooking in the 4th grade, baking alongside his grandmother.
“The very first thing I did was bake a cake, so my grandmother let me watch her bake a homemade cake,” said Williams. “From there I was able to explore the kitchen more.”
Williams kicks off each day in the kitchen, baking more than 15 cupcake flavors from scratch. He arrives by 5 a.m. to ensure everything is fresh and ready for the doors to open at 11 a.m.
Flavors include Tiramisu, German Chocolate, Red Velvet, Creme Brule and the top seller, Wedding Cake. Each one is soft, moist and packed with flavor.
“Wedding Cake is a plain vanilla kind of but it has an almond flavor to the cake then it has our vanilla butter cream. If you find one in here, you really want to get it because they don’t really last,” said Williams.
Williams also draws inspiration from restaurant seasonal menus, creating rotating flavors like pumpkin spice in the fall, lemon in the spring, and Neapolitan in the summer.
In addition to cupcakes, The Happy Cake Shop offers cinnamon rolls, bread pudding, and their popular savory crab pies, available exclusively on weekends.
“The crab pies has blown up recently over the last two to three weeks, we introduced it and when I got back from vacation, the phone was ringing,” said Williams.
From birthdays to weddings, The Happy Cake Shop offers custom creations for every celebration.
Williams, a well-rounded and self-taught chef wears many hats. In addition to running The Happy Cake Shop, he works as a private chef crafting everything from homemade pastas to buttery biscuits and also has his own catering company.
Williams says his mission is simple, to spread joy through his desserts, reminding everyone to live life one cupcake at a time.
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