Kimmee Masi, 42, is a rocker who loves baking. The drummer and manager for the band Our Last Sin, married her love for music and sweets, opening Confections of a Rock$tar bake shop with co-owner Lisa Lasky, in August 2012. Offering custom cakes, cookies, cupcakes and other confections with a rockin’ sensibility and style, the bakery has developed a following from the shore and beyond.
A native of Freehold who started banging on drums at age four, Kimmee developed a love for rock music and baking early on. Her father owned two bakeries where she worked alongside him after age 9, helping bake breads, rolls, cakes and other sweets while getting to know customers and working the front of the store.
Baking was a hobby for Kimmee, who worked in the insurance business for several years while moonlighting as a rock band drummer. But after years of baking for friends and family, word of her talent spread and requests and orders began eclipsing her insurance job. She decided to open her store in Asbury Park, famed for Bruce Springsteen, because of the town’s rock ’n’ roll music history.
Confections of a Rock$tar is best known for its cupcakes. In fact, the bake shop was recently named CBSLocal.com Editor’s Pick as one of New Jersey’s 6 Best Cupcake Shops.
Kimmee’s cupcakes (starting at $3.50) have rockin’ names to match their musical inspirations:
Don’t be Cruel – an ode to Elvis with a banana cake, peanut butter frosting, topped with honey dipped bacon
Sweet Emotion – Aerosmith’s tribute with a vanilla bean cake filled with custard and topped with chocolate ganache
Strawberry Fields – Beatles tribute with a strawberry flavored cake with lemon butter cream frosting
OREO Speedwagon – Confections’ vegan offering – a chocolate cupcake with OREO frosting
S’more Than a Feeling – a tribute to the band Boston; chocolate cupcake with a graham cracker and chocolate chip base topped with marshmallow frosting
10th Avenue Freeze Out – Bruce’s cupcake, chocolate cake stuffed and topped with mint OREO frosting
Happy Birthday vanilla confetti cake with Swiss butter cream and rainbow sprinkles
Road Trip chocolate cake baked with chocolate raspberry ganache and topped with peanut butter frosting
Kimmee’s cupcakes may be her greatest hits, but they certainly aren’t the only big sellers in her shop. Cookies also rank at the top of Confections of a Rock$tar’s charts.
Cookie flavors include:
Vintage ’77: Vinnie Masi’s (Kimmee’s Dad) original chocolate chip cookie
Sweet Trio Sandwich cookies: Two chocolate chip cookies stuffed with a choice of mint, butter-cream or peanut butter fillings
Haulin’ Oats: Vanilla bean buttercream sandwiched between two oatmeal raisin cookies
Hot Pink Animal Print cookies/Decorated cookies: sugar cookies decorated with royal icing
Confections of a Rock$tar’s other specialties include specialty cakes, custom occasion cakes, layer cakes, éclairs, tarts, cake pops, cake shots, brownies and gluten-free French macaroons, which are all baked fresh daily and from scratch. Quarter sheet cakes, which feed 15-25, start at $45.
Masi and Lasky haven’t ignored the bake shop’s four legged friends. The bakery has added cupcakes for dogs in flavors such as honey, carrot and peanut butter, which are chocolate free. They are available all year round and start at $1.75.
Confections of a Rock$tar’s product names aren’t just inspired by famous artists. Some cakes have also been named after local bands. Visitors to the hot pink Confections of a Rock$tar bakery will find a plethora of signatures on one wall from area bands and other celebrities that have stopped in.
“I’m living, breathing and sleeping cupcakes,” said Kimmee. Even though she goes to sleep at 10:00 PM and gets up at 2:00 AM every day, she added, “I couldn’t be happier.”
Visiting Asbury Park soon? Be sure to visit Confections of a Rock$tar and check out some of Kimmee’s favorite spots:
Ivan and Andy’s
Toast (great breakfasts)
Brick Wall
Confections of a Rock$tar
550 Cookman Avenue Unit 104
Asbury Park, NJ (732)455-3510
Store Hours:
Wednesday: 1:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Thursday: 11:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Friday: 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Saturday: 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM
Sunday: Noon – 8:00 PM
The bakery is closed Monday and Tuesday for cake consultations (by appointment). Look for extended daily hours in the Spring.
Heidi Raker Goldstein is our Bergen county regional editor. A locavore, cooking enthusiast, publicist and mother of three junior gourmands. Heidi is equally comfy in greasy spoons and high-end restaurants. When not visiting local farmers markets and farm stands in Bergen and Rockland counties, this New England native, former Manhattanite and Bergen county resident is busy running her PR and green marketing agency, Raker Goldstein & Co., buying food, planning menus, cooking food, writing about food or simply eating. Heidi also writes at Redhead With A Fork, a life|style blog. To reach Heidi, email her at heidi@rakergoldstein.com.
