Lush Desserts

Lush Desserts mixes alcohol with cakes, brownies and other sweet treats to create one-of-a-kind delicious dessert items.

A couple of years ago, Julie Alexander tried an Irish car bomb cupcake at lunch, and she loved it. She went home and did a little research for the recipe online, and she found one she liked. “This opened the door,” Alexander says.

Baking wasn’t really anything new. She had grown up in the kitchen with her mother and grandmother. “I’ve been baking since I stood up to the kitchen counter,” she says. But for most of her adult life, Alexander worked as an executive recruiter, and baking was only a hobby. Things changed earlier this year.

Last March, Alexander, who now owns and operates Lush Desserts, LLC (417-818-8582, mylushdesserts.com), noticed that the Springfield Sertoma Club was having a St. Patrick’s Day dinner. Looking for an opportunity to share the cupcakes and other alcoholic-infused desserts that they had concocted, Alexander and her former partner, with whom she originally started the business, offered to bring some treats to the St. Pat’s dinner. For free. By the time they left that evening, they had taken a couple of orders from friends. Next came samplings, where the alcoholic-infused treats were given out at Harter House and WineStyles.

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“There was a great response from there,” Alexander says.

Lush Desserts, LLC offers a variety of sweet treats that are made with alcohol. The menu ranges from cocktail cakes and cupcakes to brownies, bars and cookies. Flavors are all across the board, with many cocktail cakes and cupcakes being named after popular drinks. And while the treats aren’t enough to make you intoxicated, they are made with real alcohol, and you can taste the flavor.

But if you’re not a drinker, that’s okay. Alexander also makes non-alcoholic treats, too. And with products that have been favorites at everything from birthday bashes to bachelorette parties, Alexander is keeping busy with a job she’s crazy about.

Taste Test
We sampled some of Lush Dessert’s treats, including a cupcake with tequila and brownies made with beer.

Margarita cupcake White cake made with tequila, triple sec and lime with a margarita buttercream frosting
What it tastes like: Holy cow! I was shocked at the true margarita flavor in the cake, and the addition of lime really stands out and makes it taste fresh. And that buttercream... Well, let’s just say it was delicious.

Guinness stout brownie: Triple-chocolate fudge brownies topped with powdered sugar and fresh strawberries.
What it tastes like: These brownies have a rich chocolate flavor, and the beer enhances it. I’m normally not a fan of beer, but when it’s combined with chocolate to make these treats, the results are pleasing.  

Strawberry daiquiri cupcake: Sweet strawberry cake with rum and fresh strawberries, topped with a rum-infused buttercream frosting
What it tastes like: Everyone in the office who tried this had the same reaction: “It really tastes like a strawberry daiquiri!” The fresh strawberries made this cake a bit sweeter than the margarita, and equally tasty.

Irish car bomb cupcake: Dark chocolate cake with Guinness stout filled with a bourbon-infused chocolate ganache and topped with Irish Cream buttercream frosting.
What it tastes like: This one is for the chocolate lovers. It’s heavier and richer than the fruit-flavored cupcakes, and the ganache filling is a real treat.

White Chocolate Amaretto cake: Italian classic with amaretto and white chocolate topped with an amaretto-infused glaze
What it tastes like: This was my favorite of the Lush Desserts. It’s an unbelievably moist cake, and the white chocolate and amaretto make a perfect sweet-rich combo.

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