Favorite of the Day: TAG's Carrot Cake

It’s September—and finally less than 90 degrees—which somehow flips the switch for every American to suddenly crave drinking a Pumpkin Spice Latte while navigating a corn maze in a giant flannel shirt. Don’t worry, I’m guilty of that, too.

Good news: I’m here to tell you there’s more to fall than pumpkin-flavored-everything. Really, all you need is this:

TAG’s Favorite Carrot Cake.

You might ask, “What is a TAG?” but the correct question isn’t what—it’s who.

TAG (Theodore Alfred Guarasci) is my grandfather, or Papaw as our family knows him. His initials not only serve as the name we give to hostesses at restaurants and to baristas at Starbucks (good luck spelling “Jorie” or “Hodapp” in a hurry), but more importantly they made up the name of TAG Market, his grocery store in Ohio.

What’s important about my grandfather is that the man loves (LOVES) carrot cake. His standards, though, for carrot cake are very high: can’t be too dense, too dry, to carrot-y, too crunchy, too smooth, too sweet, or too spiced. At least, those are the characteristics I’ve gathered from our family’s evaluation of multiple types of carrot cakes, and we like to consider ourselves experts.

It’s no secret that the road to any good Italian’s heart is through their stomach, and carrot cake has an express pass. Just mentioning the words causes a Pavlov’s Dog-type response among the famiglia. Well, except for one member.

Full transparency: Carrot Cake has always been one of my least favorite cakes to make. Thankfully, I’ve outgrown that opinion and now I enjoy creating the rustic swirls of cream cheese and pecans. But for the longest time, my grandpa would literally ask for one thing—one thing ever!—a carrot cake, and I would dread making it because of the temperamental nature of the soft cream cheese frosting. So I just wouldn’t make it unless it was for a customer. Seriously, I used to groan at the very thought of having to decorate with that stuff because it would just slide of the cake and be an ugly mess.

What I didn’t realize, though, is that ugly mess tastes FANTASTIC.

So I learned how to make a stiffer, workable frosting, and taught myself how to like making carrot cakes. Clearly, they aren’t going out of style any time soon, especially not when you have 76 Italian relatives.

I’m here to say that I might have been wrong about carrot cake. Though I still don’t understand WHY there are CARROTS in a CAKE, or better yet, WHO came up with that idea(?), I’d like to point out the simple fact that it. tastes. good.

My grandpa-approved carrot cake includes a high ratio of finely shredded carrots and chopped pecans flavored with a cinnamon undertone that seems to refine the aromatic batter. Top the golden orange cake with generous swirls of vanilla cream cheese frosting, and you’ve got yourself breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

At first you think it tastes the best warm from the oven (even without frosting), and then you try it chilled to perfection after the flavors have macerated, and you realize that it just got even better. There’s moisture from the carrots, crunch from the pecans, and silky smooth cream from the frosting. It really has something for everyone.

If you’re looking to complete your fall menu, carrot cake is the way to go. Don’t take it from me, just as my grandpa. He’ll tell you it’s the best thing you’ll ever eat (that is, if I’m in the mood to make it!).

Good news, now I’m always in the mood to make it. ;)

Happy fall, y’all!

jorie

Birthday + Business Update!

Remember these Dairy Queen ice cream cakes? The Blizzard ones with layers of ice cream and Oreos and whipped cream and, oh yeah, the Oreo Fudge center??

I do. I love them. I remember having a DQ cake for most birthdays as a kid, except for the year my mom got me a Barbie Doll cake (a classic).

Anyway, in the spirit of growing up (23 years of life today!), I’ve decided to make a grown-up DQ cake in the form of a Mocha Kahlua Oreo Ice Cream Cake:

• Rich Chocolate Cake Layers

• Oreo + Fudge Crunch Filling

• Kahlua + Espresso Ice Cream

• Coffee Whipped Cream

• Chocolate Ganache Drip

But before I started on the cake, I made my own version of a Kahlua & Cream Cocktail. If you’ve never heard of Kahlua, it’s just the perfect ratio of rum + coffee liqueur. It’s a very rich, smooth flavor with a thicker/syrupy texture that really enhances any coffee drink. Add some vanilla coffee creamer (y’all know I love that stuff) and you’ve got yourself a killer cocktail.

And before the cocktail, I seriously couldn’t decide how I wanted to ring in twenty-three, but everything really lined up for me to make this new chocolate & coffee cake.

First, Miss Jordyn Lemons of The Coffee Snob and her simple suggestion to make “something coffee!” kickstarted my brain into full-blown coffee shop mode (by the way—I loved reading everyone’s submissions on my social media giveaway; you may see some more of those in the future!).

Second, I subtly suggested to my parents that maybe I would use a home espresso machine. And by maybe, I meant I really really wanted one. But the very next day, during a trip to Goodwill for a new cake stand, I found a seemingly usable espresso machine for $3.99—$3.99!! So I bought it, along with a $7 set of brand new Williams Sonoma espresso mugs and saucers. Call it fate, if you wish. (PS—I thoroughly cleaned the machine, and it actually works!)

Third, I get to begin playing around with dessert + drink pairings, which is something that’s been on the back burner for awhile, and is hopefully a venture in the future for Jorie Cakes.

Here it is, my birthday cake! That I made for myself!

I do owe a shoutout to my housemate, Gabby, for picking up the cutest gold birthday candles, because “if you insist on baking your own birthday cake, I thought at least we could help you decorate it.” That, my friends, is my love language!

In my mind, making my own birthday cake is a no-brainer. I mean, I’ve done it since I was twelve. I forget that most people think that’s weird, or maybe even a little sad. But I assure you, it’s a very happy thing for me. I get to share a cake I created with the people I love, on a day that celebrates life, in a place that feels like home.

Onto the business stuff:

Many of you know, and many others may be wondering, what I’m up to now that I’ve graduated from Berry. Well, I’m back at Berry! I decided to never leave, at least for the next two years. I’m in the process of earning an MBA while working as a graduate assistant for the Center for Student Entrepreneurship & Enterprise Development.

When I try to figure out how I got here in the midst of such uncertainty—i.e. graduating from college, moving to Rome, and starting a job all during a pandemic—the only explanation is that God had a plan, and now I’m living it, and I get to live it on a tree-lined historic street, on a plant-filled front porch, with two incredible housemates.

So what does all this mean for Jorie Cakes? As a home bakery, I’m still able to operate, just on an adjusted schedule. With some planning and some determination, I can still make you beautiful & delicious cakes from my registered address in Villa Rica. Please, don’t hesitate to order! I’d love to bake for you, no matter the occasion.

Maybe on my 25th birthday, after I’ve added the letters MBA to my name, I’ll be writing to you about the opening of a storefront. Until then, I’ll keep enjoying my Grown Up DQ Birthday Cake and finding more ways to spread joy to anyone who will listen.

Cheers, Friends, and Happy Birthday to Me! :)

jorie

FAQ #3: What should I order?

FAQ #2: So what should I order, cakes or cupcakes?

It’s wedding season, friends! Especially if you’re almost 23 and a recent college grad living in the South. Weddings all around! And with weddings, come wedding cakes. And now wedding cupcakes.

One of the conversations I have the most with my wedding/event-planning customers centers around deciding on the perfect balance of cakes and cupcakes, and which one better suits their vision.

Often times, the answer is both.

A gorgeous 3-tiered cake and dozens of minis, August 2019. One of my forever favorites!

Here’s what you should consider when deciding on your order:

• Cupcakes offer convenience, flavor options, and, well, fun! They’re a great way to supplement serving sizes and offer flavors for everyone. You don’t need to cut, plate, or serve them, which makes them about the easiest party desserts around.

• Cakes are showstoppers. They start conversations, can be customized to the nth degree, and will likely be remembered long after the event. Bonus points if your guests ask, “that’s a cake?!”.

Graduation cake and minis, May 2020. The perfect combination!

If we were sitting at a tasting right now and you asked my advice for your wedding, birthday, office party, etc., I’d tell you this: order both. Yeah, sounds a little over the top. But you’ll thank me later!

The convenience of cupcakes is unbeatable, but sometimes the presentation can leave a little to be desired. Don’t get me wrong, a cupcake table done right is exquisite. However, it takes lots of cake stands, vases of flowers, and bunched up table clothes to make the display come to life. I mean, have you ever seen any of the displays they make on cupcake wars?! Those things are works of art in themselves, and those carpenters are the real winners in my book.

A cupcake display, May 2020.

Where cupcakes might lack a little luster, that’s where cakes, um, take the cake (pun intended). They’re their own centerpieces. You simply can’t have a cake cutting at your wedding without a cake! It doesn’t need to be an 8-tier waterfall cake with 200 gumpaste roses on a moving platform to be a statement, either. A 6” cake with a rustic buttercream texture and a fresh flower does the trick. Cakes give your eye a resting place on a dessert table. They’re the glue that brings everything else together.

Wedding cake table, June 2015. Quite a big statement!

So here’s why this world needs cakes and cupcakes: customization and convenience. Just think, we’re all driven by these values. We shouldn’t have to settle for one or the other. And, heck, if we want to try 7 different flavors of cupcakes, we should have that option.

My second wedding cake table, October 2014. I’ve learned a lot about tablescapes since then, but for a 17-year-old, I think it’s pretty good!

Thus far in my baking career, I’ve done 12 weddings (the first one when I was 15), and 10 of those have been a mix of a cake and cupcakes. Some couples only wanted cupcakes! Which just shows us the power of convenience paired with our industry’s obsession with the bite-size cakes.

But please, don’t do that!

Get a cake too!

If only for the sake of appeasing your baker (me) and for the cake-in-each-others’-faces picture that will sit in a frame on your desk forever. Order a cake with your cupcakes!

If you’re feeling even more dainty and petite, order mini cupcakes. And order a lot of them. Because—not to point any fingers—most men tend to eat them in one bite, and usually eat a minimum of 3. So plan on ordering about 2 per person.

One last cake & cupcake table, September 2019. Stunning with that mirror in the back!

At the end of the day, if I’m going to have dessert, nothing beats a piece of cake (see my post about my favorite cake for an example). However, I’ll never turn down a cupcake— I’ll just make it into a sandwich before I eat it (you know, like I wrote about here!).

Next time you’re torn between ordering a cake or cupcakes, either order both or call me. I have a lot of opinions on this topic, and I’m happy to share anything that will bring your vision to life.

Talk Soon!

jorie

**Given the covid-19 circumstances, cupcakes may be your best bet. Single-serve, wrapped, and easy to package. However, never underestimate the celebratory power of a slice of cake!

Home Run Biscuits

Fox in the Snow Biscuits.

It’s okay if you stop right here and admire this picture for awhile.

If you’re from Columbus, Ohio, you know that after visiting the garage-turned-gourmet-cafe called Fox in the Snow on 4th Street in Italian Village, your life will be changed. Seriously. It’s the most incredible place I’ve ever been. It’s everything I can aspire to own one day!

Fox in the Snow Photo from ABC6.

I dream (daily) about the industrial-yet-rustic atmosphere monogrammed with the world-famous fox logo; about the natural light beaming in through the ivy vines along the glass garage door panels; about the wood grain tables and personal pourover coffee pots; about the windows above the counter where you can set up your laptop and let the background be the ballet of bakers working on the most decadent pastries you’ve ever eaten.

Then there’s the pastries. The pastries! The pastries that greet you from the hallway entrance behind clean glass panels and force you into choosing one for that day—but it usually results in two or three because the choice is nearly impossible. And then there’s the biscuits.

Fox in the Snow pastry case, Summer 2019. That’s not my arm reaching for that Blueberry Galette, but it very well could be.

Truth be told, I’ve never had a Fox in the Snow biscuit. Until the pandemic, I didn’t even know that was a menu item (I’m always blinded by the stunning blueberry galettes, like above!). However, with a brilliant marketing strategy and an effort to keep people baking while quarantined, Fox in the Snow released their official biscuit recipe for us to try at home, along with this incredible video from one of the owners.

I’ve wanted to try these biscuits for the past 8 weeks of quarantine, but haven't because I’ve needed to ration my butter and flour to use for customers’ orders. Then I was going to make my mom a Mother’s Day cake, but seeing as we still had approximately 8.2 pounds of my graduation cake left, we didn’t need more. So, finally I had a reason to make these beauties!

Here’s how it went:

I woke up unintentionally around 6:30am on Sunday, because apparently that’s how the day was going to go. What else would I do besides make biscuits?

I snuck upstairs, brewed myself a cup of coffee which I had to put in my Fox in the Snow mug, and pretended I was drinking a vanilla latte made by a barista instead of French vanilla black coffee made by my Keurig. Sigh.

Then I made some dough, following their recipe to the T with big chunks of butter and just enough sugar to bring a subtle sweetness throughout the flaky layers.

When it came to cutting the biscuits, I chose my medium biscuit cutter and got 12 rounds out of the dough (as opposed to their 8, oops!).

An interesting instruction from the recipe is to not twist the biscuit cutter at the bottom of the cut. You push straight down and lift straight up. That gives the biscuits a clean edge and a flat bottom to set on the baking pan.

But that clean edge doesn’t really matter when you brush on the egg wash. This isn’t just any egg wash, either. The addition of heavy cream in this pre-bake glaze makes such a smooth and velvety wash…you’ll just want to drown them in it.

Pro tip: Don’t drown them. Because then the excess wash will settle on your baking pan and it'll make your oven and entire kitchen smell like burning scrambled eggs.

Here they are out of the oven. I could admit that they’re leaning, or I could just use the industry go-to term, “rustic,” to excuse their uneven and misshaped form. So we have rustic biscuits now!

I’m guessing the lean resulted from the dough being cut too thick, and then when they rose in the oven, they got a little top-heavy and, well, toppled. However, this didn’t affect the taste one bit! If anything, it gave a perfect visual to see each flaky layer between the crisp bottom and the golden brown top.

In fact, after I brushed on the honey butter and topped it with some turbinado sugar (the recipe calls for salt, but I’m a sweet fan myself! I also have 176oz of Turbinado that I didn’t order, so I’m using it in literally everything), we cancelled breakfast.

Please notice the fruit bouquet I made at 7am on Mother’s Day because my mom’s gift didn’t come in the mail in time. When all else fails, see what you can do with what’s in your fridge!

Have you ever taken snacks to a group of kids and been straight-up mobbed? Well, that’s what happened when I took these biscuits out of the oven. My parents came running. They begged “can we pleeeease have one before church while they’re hot?” Obviously I allowed it, because I wanted one too.

They were so good that we each had one, watched a 60-minute church service, and decided we didn’t need my dad’s famous Mother’s Day breakfast. Usually nothing comes between us and his Sunday morning pan-fried sausage, hash browns, and scrambled eggs; but when there’s hot Fox in the Snow biscuits, nothing else matters.

If you’re wondering why this post is called “Home Run Biscuits,” it’s because as my mom was leaving the kitchen, one bite into a warm biscuit, she yelled from the hall “home run!” I’ll take it.

The last thing I’d advise you to do, though these would be good hot off the baking sheet or with some butter slabbed across the top, is to make some strawberry jam.

I have no idea how to make jam. The only thing I know about canning comes from watching those apocalypse prep reality shows that feature people who live in underground bomb shelters with 42 years’ worth of home-canned food.

However, I do know how to cut up some strawberries, throw them in a pot with sugar and lemon juice, and let it simmer until its super thick and syrupy and good enough to eat with a spoon. So that’s what I did.

Take that spoonful of jam, carefully break apart one of the dozens of layers of your biscuit, and generously (liberally) spoon it over the top. WOW.

That’s all it is!

For my Columbus friends, do yourself a favor and drive to Fox in the Snow (they have multiple locations!) and BUY EVERYTHING. Please think of me while you’re there! Also please tell them to open an Atlanta location.

For everyone else, do yourself a different favor and MAKE THESE BISCUITS! They’re simple, fun, and oh-so-delicious. Put them up on Instagram, tag @foxinthesnowcafe, and they’ll repost your creation!

This isn’t affiliated with or sponsored by the cafe, however I just love it so much I wrote a whole post about it, and I think you’ll love it too.

Enjoy, Biscuit Lovers!

jorie

Finding Your Hope

To be honest, I have no idea why God’s given me the ability to bake cakes (other than it’s fun and I like to eat them). Twelve-year-old Jorie had no real plans to scale her hobby into a small business and (hopefully) a career.

I just know that no one has ever not smiled when I’ve brought them a cupcake, and that shared joy is what propels this whole thing forward.

So today, I want to use this cake-baking platform I’ve been given to offer encouragement the two best ways I know how: faith and cake!

Easter is one of my favorite days of the whole year. And it couldn’t come at a better time this year.

I don’t believe in coincidences. Things can’t just happen, you know? There has to be something bigger. SomeONE bigger. There has to be.

And there is.

With this post, it is not my intent to preach at you, to bait-and-switch you into a conversion through a blog post under a cake picture, or to claim that everything is sunshine and rainbows.

Seeing as one of my personal core values is belief—a fundamental, complete, and confident trust in the good of God, others, and myself—my intent with this post is to simply offer hope. I want to share the same encouragement that has kept my hope alive over the past few weeks when it was very tempting to give it all up to the world’s circumstances.

Three of the most powerful words over the course of human history: He is Risen.

At a time when everyone wanted answers, and there were none, He rose.

At a time when death had conquered all, He rose.

At a time when all hope seemed lost, He rose.

Maybe I’m so in search of hope that I’ve abandoned all human logic and rationality in pursuit of the heart of Jesus. Or maybe I’m just scared to live a life without it, hopeless. Either way, the hope of Christ is something I desire for every single person to experience. Because with that hope comes comfort during the unknown, peace during the storm, and strength during the battle.

“Jesus told her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this?’” - John 11:25-26

Friends, as Easter approaches, I pray you find your hope. I pray you find your hope from the only source that carries the weight of eternity, that shines the brightest light in the midst of the darkest night, that searches every mountain and every valley until every soul knows its overwhelming joy.

I pray you find a reason to celebrate. To be grateful. To recognize the good happening all around.

We are all looking for joy.

We are all yearning for new life.

We are all in need of hope

It’s up to you where you place your hope. But right now, here on earth, we seem to be running out of options. We’ve been reduced to the bare minimum—no sporting events, no concerts, no school, and in many cases, no work. We’ve been forced to think about what’s really important. Who is really important. And I believe that to be a beautiful thing.

So, where is your hope? And where would you like it to be? I urge you to put it at the foot of the Cross.

And if that sounds absolutely crazy, and it kinda does, then I urge you to try it, and see what happens. Because chances are, God will pick it up and turn it into something bigger than you can ask or imagine.

I’ll leave you with Forever, a song that illustrates the mighty power of the crucifixion & resurrection of Jesus. When God moves, He moves BIG.

One more thing I’ll leave you with—a challenge to make something that inspires hope. Doesn’t have to be anything fancy, or elaborate, or even creative. Just take some time to bake some hope and spread some joy. That’s what I did with this petite little watercolor Risen Cake!

Cheers & Love,

jorie

“The ground began to shake
The stone was rolled away
His perfect love could not be overcome
Now death where is your sting
Our resurrected King has rendered you defeated”

— Forever, Kari Jobe

Oh, and what’s a blog post without a baby picture? A waste of a blog post, obviously.

Fun fact: I cried after that bunny moved. Never really been much of an animal person.

It's Macaron Monday!

Are Macaron Monday’s a thing in the baking world?

I’m not sure, because the truth is, I’ve always been too intimidated to make them! The precision required to weigh, sift, fold, pipe, bake, and assemble the little French meringue cookies scared me off…and I’ve owned a home bakery for ten years!

Because of this extended social distancing time, I decided to give macarons a shot since I’m not filling orders and have time for a little R&D. Let’s be honest, baking research and development trumps all other industries. I get to look through Pinterest, browse other blogs, take mouth-watering pictures—and it usually ends with a taste test.

For my first bake with macarons, I wanted to try a standard, vanilla recipe that would give good feedback and had clear instructions. You can find the whole thing here at one of my favorite blogs, Preppy Kitchen. I read through his tips and committed them to memory, and then just started baking.

You’ll need a few special ingredients for macarons, namely almond flour. I’ve never worked with almond flour, but it needs sifted. A lot. And then you need to throw away all of the parts that are too big for the sifter so they don’t impede your delicate meringue.

Oh, and the vodka. Like I said, this is strictly for R&D (wink), so I used the vodka to wipe down my mixing bowl and attachment to sterilize them and rid them of any excess oil that may deflate my meringue. But, if you find any secondary uses for the leftover vodka, by all means, continue that R&D! And please let me know how that goes.

I’ve also never baked with a scale before—I know, shocking. But I decided to put my new scale to use, since macarons have an incredibly low margin for error. Measuring in grams (as opposed to cups, ounces, etc.) really isn’t that difficult and there wasn’t as big of a learning curve as I expected.

Next came the actual making of the batter, or macronage, which, from what I gather, is a fancy word for stirring. It requires patience, attention, and some arm muscles (no seriously, folding 40-50 times really works your upper body!). The most important part of the mixing, once you get stiff peaks in your meringue, is folding. Fold, fold, and fold those dry ingredients some more until you get “figure 8 ribbons” in your batter.

Figure what? That’s about the most vague description I’ve ever heard. But this video from Sugar Geek helped me see that, yes, you actually do fold until your batter can make a continuous figure 8. So that’s what I did!

Then I filled my piping bag and piped 1-inch circles all over my parchment paper that I stuck down with some batter. I wasn’t sure how much the meringue would spread in the oven, so I spaced them out a good bit. After you pipe them, you let them rest until they set up and are firm to the touch.

The 40-minute resting time went pretty quick, because we had a family Zoom call to distract me!

Sorry, you probably don’t care about that. But I do! So that’s why I put in on here. Because it’s my blog and I do what I want (kidding, sort of).

Back to the Macs:

Here they’ve rested and are ready for the oven. The resting period lets them rise up in the oven instead of spreading out, or so I’ve been told.

And that’s exactly what they did! *silently fist pumps alone in my kitchen.

I put nonpareil rainbow sprinkles on half of them, just to further my R&D work. And because I love them.

Okay, the hard part is done! All that I did after celebrating their seamless baking process was whip up a batch of my favorite vanilla buttercream, threw it in a piping bag, and piped a circle onto the bottom of half of the cookies, then topped them off with the other half of the batch.

Well, then I rolled some in sprinkles, because like I said earlier, I can. And I love sprinkles.

To answer your question, yes, I did get a little heavy-handed with the buttercream. But again, buttercream is my favorite part of any dessert, and I made these macarons for myself. Therefore, I put lots of buttercream in them.

Now we’re done!

Except, don’t eat them. At least not for another day or two after they sit in the fridge. Supposedly the flavors develop to give you a cohesive Mac, but clearly I couldn’t wait, so I took a bite. But I needed a good picture (see above), so someone had to do it.

Best of luck with your own Mac bakes, and be sure to let me know how it goes! I promise, it’s not as scary as it looks.

If I can do it, you can too!

xoxo,

jorie