Angelica's Bakery, Hazel Crest

Angelica's Bakery was built on years' worth of family recipes, the support of a few friends, and a decision to go into business. The sweet endeavor began in the owner's own basement as she baked cakes for friends and family members. But soon word got out and businesses came calling, eager for a slice of one of the signature desserts––especially her famous, multi-tiered caramel cake. The demand grew so much that the bakery eventually needed not one, but two locations in order to meet it.

Today, the cakes can be found on the menus of soul food restaurants throughout Chicago, as well as in the dessert cases of many supermarkets. 50 employees stay busy baking desserts around the clock, filling bundt pans with homemade batter, and drizzling the resulting pound cakes with homemade lemon icing, or portioning out individual servings of sweet potato pie or crumbly peach cobbler. Despite the hectic schedule, the bakery accepts orders for custom wedding cakes and also creates themed cakes for birthdays, graduations, and extra-special after school snacks.