Herndon Resident Opens Indian Fusion Dessert Business

Herndon welcomed Cardamom Cupcakes, a new Indian dessert vendor, to the community last month. 

Nehad Javid, the founder of Cardamom Cupcakes, came up with the idea during the pandemic. She wanted to take classic Indian desserts and converting them into something more Western, such as a cake. 

“It’s a new and interesting twist. It’s a nice introduction to Indian culture and Indian food,” said Javid. 

The cake flavors include ras malai, gulab jamun, jalebi, and mango kulfi. All desserts are made from scratch, according to Javid’s comment on her Facebook post. 

Javid runs her business from her home in Herndon and offers both pick-up and delivery. She requires that customers wear a mask when receiving, and she will wear a mask as well. 

The opening happened “completely by surprise.” The idea for the business came out of her family’s inability to celebrate Eid due to the pandemic. She wanted to do something nice for her friends and family and decided to make cupcakes with an Indian twist. After receiving good feedback from her friends and family, she decided to create a business out of it.

At the same time, Javid works at a gym experiencing setbacks due to the pandemic. 

“Our hours have been really affected, and we have to take a lot of precautions into account,” said Javid about the adjustments. 

Javid said she doesn’t plan on adding new items to the menu right now, but that is subject to change.

“You never know what the future holds,” said Javid.

Photo courtesy of Nehad Javid