My Grandma Jo

I have many memories of my Grandma Jo.  She was good at many things but the two that inspired my business are her green thumb and her cakes. 

In the late 90's, I decided I wanted to learn to bake cakes like her.  I made colossal mistakes!  I remember being so proud of myself, I baked a cake for work.  Epic fail!  I forgot to put sugar in it.  Talk about embarrassing!

I kept trying but they never seemed to taste like hers.  One day, I invited her to Savannah when she was in her 80's to show me how to plant a box garden and to bake a cake.  She brought hen and biddies from her garden because she said there was no way I could kill them.  Wellllll, they are now rescue plants at my sister's house.  They have been there for years but I digress.

After the garden, we moved inside to the kitchen.   She didn't measure one ingredient and couldn't tell me how much of anything was anything!  I was in awe and equally frustrated.  I messed my cakes up in the kitchen with her! I suppose you can tell from the pictures which cakes are mine.

I kept practicing off and on over the years.  When I finally thought I had it, I took my grandma a slice of cake when I visited her in the nursing home.  By this time, she had dementia; which made it even more special when she closed her eyes after the first bite and said, "Cook it about seven more minutes and it will be perfect." She ate every crumb!  Every since that day, I bake my pound cakes one hour and twenty minutes; even if they look done or smell done before the timer goes off.  

It was my honor to name my business after Grandma Jo. JoCakesByJosephine. She's been gone since 2013 but she would be so proud.  It's about time I got it right, Us 'Josephine's' have a reputation to uphold!