Sweeten Up Your Life With Cupcakes

Whether it’s a special occasion or simply “just because,” you can always count on cup-cakes from Hokulani Bake Shop to bring a smile to your face.

Since opening its first shop in Restaurant Row (Waterfront Plaza) in December 2005, owners Ana and Tushar Dubey have expanded their cupcake business to three additional locations — in Hyatt Regency Waikiki, Pearlridge Center Uptown and Windward Mall.

“We make our cupcakes fresh daily,” says Nicole Ferriman, general manager. “It’s never the same products in the showcase the next day. Everything is homemade from scratch, and there are no preservatives, no hydrogenated oil and no artificial flavors.”

Hokulani offers a wide variety of flavors, and each cupcake is hand-decorated to perfection. The most popular choices are Red Velvet, Lilikoi and Strawberry Guava. Also, starting this month, three new flavors — Kalua, POG and Guinness — will be introduced and available through the end of April. For a somewhat healthier option, try Carrot Spice cupcake, made with carrots, walnuts and apples.

Hokulani also offers a great assortment of decorated cookies ($4 each), which is what the company first started with. More recently, Hokulani added chocolate and oatmeal cookies, as well as brownies. Custom cakes and custom cup-cake cakes also are available.

“In the beginning, it was just a business idea,” says Ana, noting that the bake shop has new packaging for orders of a dozen or half-dozen cup-cakes.”At the time nobody was baking cupcakes. Before this, I never had a cupcake in my life. My husband is the one who likes desserts and cup-cakes.

“So, we started with decorated cookies. I love decorating cookies. And then I learned to bake cup-cakes, and we would test them out with our customers and get their feedback.”

The business opportunity soon turned into a passion for the couple, and that’s something cupcake lovers around the island can be thankful for.

Each cupcake is priced at $2.50. Customers also can sign up for Hokulani’s loyalty program to receive $5 off their next purchase after spending $50.

Hokulani Bake Shop

Restaurant Row (Waterfront Plaza)
500 Ala Moana Blvd.
536-CAKE (2253)
Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.