Yes, there are an appalling number of cupcake bakeries in town. I would have questioned the sanity of baker Jax, who just opened her first stationary cupcake stand at the Mississippi Marketplace food cart pod last Saturday... but this girl makes damn good cake.

The Hungry Heart kiosk was doling out free treats all morning as a grand opening promotion, so I brought a four pack to a friend making a pretty perfect breakfast with lots of strong coffee. Jax changes her menu seasonally and puts out some excellent flavor pairings. My favorite was a chocolate cupcake with cocoa nibs, dolce de leche frosting and a sprinkle of Maldon sea salt on top, and the Horchata special was a close second. It's a feat to play with flavors like those and with so much frosting without registering as overbearingly sugary, but this lady pulls it off. Small cupcakes speaking volumes in assertive flavors—as far as I'm concerned, there's room in Portland for competition like this.

Red velvet, chocolate with dolce de leche, almond joy, and horchata.
  • Clare Gordon
  • Red velvet, chocolate with dolce de leche, almond joy, and horchata.