Reviewing Brown Sugar Bakery: A Southern-style bakeshop that specializes in traditional sweet treats & custom cakes in Chicago.

Two words: caramel cake! I remember it like it was just yesterday. A coworker brought these amazing caramel cupcakes to work and I was blown away.

When I first heard about Brown Sugar Bakery, I was told about their one-of-a-kind caramel cake. Stephanie Hart and her fabulous team make delicious Southern-style sweet treats and custom cakes on a daily basis.

Back in 2004, Hart decided to open Brown Sugar Bakery. She says she was inspired to open this shop to pay homage to her grandmother’s at-home baked goods recipes. Clearly, her hard work is paying off. In 2013 the bakery won The Steve Harvey Show’s Best Bakery in America Award! They have two storefronts, one on the Southside, their original location, as well as one on Navy Pier.

When you walk into Brown Sugar Bakery, the first thing you will notice is the fantastic smell and stacks of freshly baked cakes, donuts, cheesecakes, and cupcakes. Unique flavors, such as caramel, sherbet, and the Obama, are there to greet you until they sell out, which happens more often than not. Expect to wait in line if you go on the weekend, but don’t worry, it goes by fast! If waiting in line is not your thing, you are able to order ahead at either location so that your baked goods are waiting for you all packaged up when you get there.

Brown Sugar Bakery was so popular and busy that they had to open a Northside location at Navy Pier so that people all across the city would be able to experience these amazing treats. In the past few years, Stephanie acquired a Chicago staple called Cupid Candies Factory. There, she curated a line of gourmet handcrafted chocolates. I personally don’t know what is better than homemade chocolates besides, of course, homemade baked goods!

If you take a look at the owner Stephanie, you can see her passion and love for her product. Everything you get from the bakery is made with care and tastes like it was prepared in a family member’s kitchen. I got the caramel cake for my daughter’s first birthday, and she absolutely LOVED it. My husband and I decided that we would make it a tradition because we both love to support local businesses. It’s also a bonus that it is a woman-owned and a Black-owned business!

Brown Sugar Bakery recently got more eyes on the storefront when it was featured in Chicago Magazine’s “50 Iconic Eats” issue. If that is not enough to entice you to visit, many iconic figures, including former President and First Lady Barack and Michelle Obama, as well as current Vice President Kamala Harris, have gotten a taste of this heaven.