Indulge In Temptation At Tampa’s Irresistible New Bakery
The 3rd times the charm for business owner Shonnika Denise. After her delicious Snickers cupcake was awarded first place at the Tampa Desert Wars in 2021, she quit her job and made her passion for baking a full-time career. Shonnika went from an starting an online catering business from her home, to eventually opening her own bakery, Synergy Sweets. What she did NOT expect when starting this journey, was to open her new business in the middle of back-to-back hurricanes. But that’s not stopping people from driving in droves to try her sweets.
Shonnika originally planned for her grand opening for Synergy Sweets to be in mid September. But as Hurricane Helene came barreling to the west coast of Florida, that plan quickly changed. Then she thought she was in the clear to open in Early October, but had to put away the red velvet stuffed chocolate chip cookies to prepare for yet another major storm.
She told the Tampa Bay Times how difficult it was to get the new Tampa bakery off the ground. Shonnika admitted to multiple tear-filled days as she had to “toss hundreds of pounds of batter and eggs and cheesecakes after power was out for nearly a week.”
Still, when Shonnika attempted her first grand-opening after Helene on October 4, she was met with dozens of people lined up outside the bakery. Her presence on social media has already gained her over 18 THOUSAND followers, and they did not want to get any FOMO for her big opening. One customer even drove all the way from Land o’ Lakes o get her hands on a classic Oreo cheesecake brownie for her husband’s birthday.
What’s On The Menu at Synergy Sweets
We have a feeling this bakery is going to become a Tampa staple, much like Cake Girl and Wrights Gourmet House. The menu is made up of cupcakes, cookies, blondies, and brownies, cheesecake cakes, and cheesecakes. Their signature sweet is the Black Velvet collection, which consists of black velvet cupcake, cheesecake cake, and Oreo brownie. The Black Velvet Cheesecake cake is made from the award-winning cheesecake, nestled between two layers of our super moist black velvet cake, all wrapped in a fluffy cream cheese icing.
I had to stop by and try some goodies myself. Everything looked so good and it was so hard to choose just 1 thing, The brownies looked so fudgy and decadent, the cookies are HUGE, and there were so many enticing cheesecake and cupcake flavors. They had guava cheesecake, s’mores, Oreo, and cookie butter. All that and a Snickerdoodle option for cupcakes.. I ended up leaving with a Red Velvet Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookie, a Snickerdoodle cupcake, and a Twix cheesecake! But best believe I will be back for more! Pro tip: the cookie is best served warm, so if you take it to-go, try heating it up in your oven or air fryer for a few minutes before digging in.
Synergy Sweets is open on Wednesdays & Thursdays from 11a-6p and Fridays and Saturdays from 11a-7p. You can find them at 4016 W Hillsborough Ave Tampa, FL 33614, not far from Raymond James Stadium, they are in the same plaza as the Guitar Center, Applebee’s, and Ross. They’re located in the back of the plaza which makes them kind of a hidden gem. They’ll be hosting a Fall Festival on Saturday, November 2 as their official grand opening party. There will be face painting, games, food, and fall flavor goodies! Click here for catering orders and more info!
