Baking and enjoying scrumptious and beautiful desserts are a natural part of my family life. Birthday Cakes, Pound Cakes, Fruit Cakes, colossal Coconut Cakes, Sweet Potato Pies, and Cookies, have always been presented to the table like rare jewels to be ooooooh-ed and ahhhh-ed over, and tasted with closed eyes, smiling faces, and dancing feet! Desserts are part of my heritage, and I'd like to share them with you.
My Grandmother Julia was an awesome pastry chef at the Dover Tea House and the Richardson Hotel in Dover, Delaware in the 1940's, and my paternal Grandmother Hazel was also known to be a beautiful home baker. I can still hear the early morning sounds of my Grandmother Julia in the kitchen baking cakes and pies for house guests, friends, and family. She creamed the butter and sugar, and mixed and kneaded bread, biscuit, and dinner roll dough all by hand. Yes, she had very strong arms and hands! But cakes with a fine crumb, pies with flaky crusts and heavenly fillings, cookies with crisp edges, fluffy breads, light and airy biscuits and dinner rolls were all made with tender loving care.
My Mother mastered a Pineapple Upside-Down Cake that is unparalleled in taste and texture. She never wrote her recipe down. She relied on the look and feel of the batter, the brown sugar and pineapple to guide her. I have not been able to duplicate her masterpiece, but I come pretty close!
One of my fondest memories is my Aunt Marie teaching me to bake cookies on one of her rare visits from Philadelphia. She taught me to take care with my measurements, and to make sure that whatever dessert I made not only looked good, but tasted wonderful. She was also known for her mile-high Bourbon Nut Cake.
My eldest Sister Stephani, is one of the finest bakers I know. It was in trying to achieve the fine crumb of her pound cake, that I mastered my own recipe. She also makes a simply wonderful fruitcake that she faithfully sends out to relatives every year. And not to be forgotten is my sister Julia, who makes a wonderful peach cobbler that is always a hit during holiday celebrations.
Let me share my heritage with you as your Personal Baker! Let Claire's Bakehouse take care of bringing the Joy of Dessert to your next gathering or special occasion!
Claire's Bakehouse is currently accepting orders in the cities of Arlington, Fort Worth, and Grand Prairie, Texas only.