Mom’s cupcakes a hit with Conrady students and staff

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Vicki Sladowski and her son, Kevin Pluard, bring trays of Vicki’s famous cupcakes to students at Conrady Junior High School. Vicki is the owner of Babycakes, a homemade cupcake business. | Supplied Photo

Updated: February 16, 2012 8:05AM

Vicki Sladowski is known around these parts as the “Cupcake Mom,” and it’s a moniker the Hickory Hills woman feels perfectly comfortable with.

She’s recognized in the hallways of Conrady Junior High and St. Patricia School for the variety of mouthwatering cupcakes she concocts in the kitchen of her home.

Sladowski occasionally stops by the schools with trays of her cupcakes to present to teachers, staff and children for various accomplishments or milestones or “simply because,” she said.

Sladowski, owner of Babycakes homemade cupcakes, also is the mother of two children: Kevin and Rebecca Pluard. Kevin is an eighth-grader at Conrady, and Rebecca is a second-grader at St. Patricia School in Hickory Hills.

Sladowski often is asked by teachers, staff and even the priest at St. Patricia to bake her specialty cupcakes. Recently, she brought in several dozen of her cupcakes. But there doesn’t have to be a reason for the request.

“Sometimes, it’s just because they want some cupcakes,” Sladowski said.

Sladowski said she always has loved to bake and started experimenting with various flavors about six months ago.

“I’ve always baked for my kids’ school bake sales,” she said. “I just thought I’d try my hand at a small business.”

Everything is homemade, including the cupcakes and the frostings. And regarding variety, there are nearly two dozen flavors of cupcakes including pistachio, peanut butter, peaches and cream; cinnamon, chocolate chip, chai latte, candy cane, cookies and cream; cotton candy, eggnog, pink lemonade and banana.

They cost $25 per dozen, and a tray of 35 cupcakes costs $55. Sladowski donates lots of cupcakes to Rebecca’s and Kevin’s schools.

Kevin even has a T-shirt that on the back playfully reads, “Cupcake Boy.”

Sladowski said she loves baking the cupcakes.

“It makes me feel good, and I know the people truly appreciate it,” she said. “What more can I say?”