From having the word “Cupcake” tatooed on her knuckles, to coming up with such off-the-wall creations as a Mexican Chili Chocolate cupcake, Alison Taylor is all about finding the right ingredients for both culinary and professional success.

Now Taylor, partnering with her mother, Diane Taylor, has a new recipe – one whose main ingredient is entrepreneurship.

The mother-daughter duo is banking on the combination of Alison’s reputation for creating innovative edibles and Bowling Green’s increasingly vibrant downtown to help them make a go of a new venture they’re calling Little Fox Bakery.

Located in part of a former Dollar General store at 314 E. Main Ave. next door to the Art Matters studio, the bakery is projected to open later this month and will build on the reputation Alison established during three years of baking at Spencer’s Coffee on College Street.

“Her cupcakes are not run-of-the-mill,” Diane Taylor said of her daughter’s extra-large creations that are expected to sell for $3 apiece. “She started with just a few baked goods available at Spencer’s, but after three years all of their sandwiches were being made on English muffins and biscuits she made.”

Alison, who left Spencer’s in January, is up to 35 cupcake flavors, but she said: “I have some ideas on the back burner. My favorite thing to do is take unusual flavors and add to them. One of my favorites is a jalapeno and honey cupcake.”

Like that curious combination, the Taylors are hoping downtown Bowling Green gives a smoking-hot reception to a sweet business plan that will also include ice cream, macaroons and pies.

“We’re not natives of Bowling Green, but Alison’s dad is, so we spent quite a bit of time here over the past 20 years,” said Diane. “The downtown area has really grown. It’s not quite to the level I would like to see, but it’s well on its way.

“We’re seeing apartments going up, and we have the ballpark and many stores. I love what’s happening on this little block. I feel like this is a good fit for us.”

Justin Watt of South Central Property Management, who worked with the Taylors on getting the 1,600-square-foot location, believes the bakery will be a hit.

“I think it’s a wonderful addition to downtown,” he said. “It’s something unique, and it definitely fits well with the businesses that are already there.”

Little Fox Bakery, named for the nickname Alison gave to her 4-year-old son, scouted out other locations before setting up shop downtown.

“At first we thought about a food truck,” said Alison, 26. “But the regulations were a little too strict for me to properly bake.”

Next, the Taylors flirted with the idea of setting up a cupcake kiosk in Greenwood Mall.

“We went through a lot of different ideas,” Diane said. “We weren’t certain we wanted to do the mall. It could get very expensive. We decided it might be just as well to have a stand-alone store.”

The mother-daughter team did their homework, seeking guidance from Western Kentucky University’s Small Business Development Center.

Miller Slaughter, director of that center on Nashville Road, believes the Taylors made a good choice.

“I’m delighted that they’re getting started,” Slaughter said. “There’s so much going on in the downtown area. There are a lot of opportunities for coffee shops and specialty shops, so they fit in well. We just encouraged them to be different and unique.”

Little Fox Bakery fits that description, even before its doors are open. And Diane Taylor hopes to continue adding to the store’s offerings to make it stand out in the downtown crowd.

Plans call for Little Fox to eventually offer what Alison calls a cronut – a cross between a doughnut and a croissant that originated in New York City. That tasty pastry is part of what Diane envisions as more of a full-service eatery that will include an area for meetings and parties and wireless internet service for students and other patrons.

“We would love to expand to sandwiches and other breakfast items,” she said. “But we don’t want to bite off more than we can chew.”