Sweet Shop: Sugar Inc. Cupcakes in Old Dublin

Ava Misseldine grew up around teas and baking. Originally from Hilo, Hawaii, Ava moved to Ohio to complete her Master’s Degree at Ohio State University. She worked as a chemical engineer for a number of years but the sixteen hour days were starting to be too long. So, she decided to use her background in teas and baking to open Sugar Inc. Cupcakes in Historic Old Dublin. Sugar Inc. Cupcakes is an elegant space to enjoy teas and cupcakes. She also offers a few delicious salads. She used her engineering skills to design and build the display cases for the cupcakes. I sampled a few of her flavors and they were quite tasty.

Ava always has Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Cake with Vanilla Bean Silk and Dark Chocolate Silk and Dark Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Bean Silk and Dark Chocolate Silk available. I tried the mini-versions of all of the flavors ($1.50 each, Large are $3.75). The cakes were rich and dense. The other flavors were Orange Cake & Silk, Coconut Cake & Silk, Elder Flower & Chamomille Gin, Horchata: Rice & Almond Milks and Cinnamon and Chai Cake with Honey Cream Cheese. All of the icings were light and sweet, not overly sugary. The standout for me was the Horchata, it had wonderful flavor. The Honey Cream Cheese icing was also very tasty. Ava finds inspiration for her flavors from pursuing markets for what is available and then doing experiments to see what works. Some of her popular flavors have been lemon-lime, strawberry balsamic and tomato basil. The flavors switch out every couple of days. 

I also tried a Strawberry and Mango Iced Bubble Tea ($3.95 each). The tea had a refreshing taste of tea with a burst of fruit flavor and a splash of milk. They were very good. Ava develops all of her own tea combinations. She sources them from small fair-trade farms all over the world. Currently she has 39 flavorsavailable and has plans to introduce 40 more. She also offers fruit smoothies and Ben & Jerry’s Ice Creams and does custom cakes and weddings.

If you go: Sugar Inc. Cupcakes is located at 39 N. High St., Dublin, OH 43017. Phone: 614.389.3459. There is free parking behind the shop and free wi-fi throughout the dining room. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday 11am to 9pm and Sunday 11am to 6pm.