The Joy! Cakes Story: Making the Best of A “Mistake”

 “What happens when you have leftover pound cake batter and left over sweet potato pie batter?? You end up with the mini pound-sweet cake! The best of both worlds.” This is a Facebook Post from Thanksgiving 2015 (11/27/15), about nine months before Joy! Cakes was a business or had a name. It was just “mistake”, now believed to be a divine mistake. When asked how Joy! Cakes came to be, I often like to to say “I didn’t choose Joy! Cakes. It chose me. And I’m extremely grateful it did.” I’m also extremely grateful for my Mom.  She taught me how to bake from scratch at a young age. My earliest memories of baking are of my Mom letting me help her make cake batter and then giving me a small portion of it to bake my own cake in my Easy Bake Oven when I was three or four years old. And it grew from there. 

And entrepreneurship is in my blood. My maternal grandmother, Gladys Wade Dillard, was the first Black person in Michigan to own an accredited school of music (The Community Music School) that she owned and operated here in Detroit beginning in the 1940s for over three decades. And my paternal Grandfather, John Reynolds, had a real estate business here in Detroit and in Idlewild. And my Father owned a Telecommunications company here for many years prior to the tech boom. And there are a host of other immediate and extended family members who have successfully navigated the entrepreneurial landscape. 

 Joy! Cakes products are simply hand crafted, “old school” desserts made with REAL ingredients, the same way our moms, grandmothers and aunties used to make. Our signature item, The Original Joy! Cake (pound cake filled with sweet potato pie) and some of our other customer favorites are a unique hybrid combination of some favorite traditional desserts. And most importantly, all of our products are made with love. Joy! Cakes is indeed in the heart of the big city of Detroit. And when they engage with our dynamic team, our amazing customers often tell us that part of what they love about Joy! Cakes is they definitely experience that small-town feeling and genuine hospitality from us. Our goal (and company Vision) is to always deliver an amazing taste AND service experience! 

The love and encouragement from the immediate community, across the state and to the customers in 22 other states where Joy! Cakes have been shipped is overwhelmingly supportive and at times intense because the requests keep coming for something on a larger scale for their new favorite treat(s). That time has finally come. Joy! Cakes is ready to spread the Joy! to the world! And a key step toward that end is our Joy! Cakes Bakery, located inside of Royal Fresh Market, in Detroit.

 Our growing product line now includes:

- The Original Joy! Cake (pound cake filed with sweet potato pie) in cake and muffin cake format

- Sweet potato pie (various sizes)

- Cream cheese pound cake (plain or with lemon, chocolate, cream cheese or vanilla glaze)

- Cheesecake (various sizes)

- Other Joy! Cake flavor fillings/toppings (peach cobbler, apple pie, chocolate chunk, cheesecake, pecan crunch)

- Jumbo soft cookies (chocolate chip, brown sugar and peanut butter)

- Traditional and Crustless Quiche (direct orders only)

~ HOMADE + GOURMET + IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD = PURE JOY! ~

The Joy! Cakes Bakery (JCB) is located in Rosedale Park, inside of Royal Fresh Market.

18551 Grand River Ave

Detroit, MI 48223

517.449.7359

 We look forward to seeing you soon!

#TeamJoyCakes