Specializing in glitzy & glamorous custom cakes, cupcakes, desserts & more!

Meet Kara!

For nearly 20 years, Kara has been baking and decorating unique cupcakes and cakes for her friends and family - but it wasn't until 2012 that Kara's love for baking became more than just a hobby. Kara started her business out of her parents' home when she was a senior at Ramapo High School in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. After graduating, she attended the Institute of Culinary Education to study in both the Culinary Management and Baking & Pastry programs. In 2013, Kara took her home business to the next level, and rented out a commercial kitchen space where she catered to her first wholesale accounts with local supermarkets, cafés, sweets shops, and frozen yogurt shops. 

Two years later, Kara's dream became a reality when she opened her glitzy and glamorous cupcake shop -Kara Kakes. Located in her hometown of Franklin Lakes, the shop quickly gained popularity among Bergen county residents, and soon became a social media phenomenon. With each passing year, Kara has been challenged to conceptualize and create new and innovate treats that continue to set her apart from any other bakery in the area! On the store's two-year anniversary, Kara opened her second location - The Kake Studio.  This event space is used to host birthday parties, children and adult classes, and other special events year-round. 

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Kara Kakes has been ranked among the Best Cupcakes finalists for Best in Bergen since 2015; taking first place in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. With a menu that is constantly expanding, and new, over-the-top flavors being rolled out on a monthly basis, Kara Kakes is sure to impress even the most critical cupcake connoisseur. 

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What's next for us? Kara's future goals for her business is to expand into multiple retail locations; including new spaces for additional bakeries and event studios. In the short-term, we are working on a way to ship our carefully-crafted cupcakes to the tens of thousands of followers we have amassed on our social media pages from around the county. 

"Walking into that store every morning is the best feeling I can ever experience. I never feel like I'm "at work" because I love what I do so much. Seeing the smiles of my customers when they bite into their cupcakes is so rewarding, and it truly makes all the long days (and nights!) worth it"

Kara's Recommendations

Stopping in the shop for the first time?

Check out our daily menu prior to your visit! Our flavors change everyday. If you're planning on arriving after 12pm to pick cupcakes out of our case, I highly recommend pre-ordering as we tend to sell out quick of our top sellers. Do not pass up a cookie bar! My favorite is our s'moreo bar!

First time ordering a cake and don't know where to start?

Visit our custom cakes page for all of our information! We have everything listed that you'll need to know to order a cake with us.Once you know what you'd like, fill out our cake order form by clicking below! My favorite flavor combo is vanilla funfetti cake with vanilla pudding or chocolate cake with fudge filling! 

Feeding a crowd?

Always order a little extra. If you have 24 guests, plan for 30. You never know if someone might drop their dessert or just simply want seconds! My best advice is to order a small decorative cake to use as a center piece for your dessert table and mix up the rest of your desserts with mini cupcakes, cake bites, cake pops any more!