LABOR of LOVE

BY: KAYLA BUTTS, MS, RDN, LDN PHOTO BY: RACHEL BENAVIDES

What’s delicately smooth, packed with flavor and has just the right chewy bite? Give up? The answer is macarons from In the Mix Baked Goods.

What began as a struggling college student’s side hustle transformed into a successful labor of love by a dynamic mother-daughter duo. Cottage baker, dietitian and daughter Alexandra Romeros recalled, “My vision was to provide the freshest, most tasty treats for families and friends to share here in Corpus.” Her small business of cookies, cakes and baked goodies began to blossom, requiring another set of skillful hands. That’s when her culinary-trained mom Susan Garcia joined the team.

The pair traveled to France, eager to share an authentic French macaron. Much to their surprise, the treat was “… not what we expected,” but dry and lacking flavor. The underwhelmed bakers returned to Texas with a mission to create the macaron they’d traversed an ocean to find. The journey was daunting, but the persevering pair triumphed by grinding their own flour and perfecting their procedure. “There is a lot of love that goes into the macaron process,” Romeros said. “Macarons take hours to make, with painstaking precision, for a few moments of enjoyment — they are truly worth it!”

Romeros and Garcia don’t stop at macarons. They bake melt-in-yourmouth cookies, luscious chocolate bombs, decadent cupcakes and elaborate cakes for all occasions. Each dessert is made from scratch, no shortcuts, using only the freshest ingredients. “I love making people smile, saying I bake and sell sweets, but also work and help people make healthier lifestyle changes,” said Romeros, who is after all also a dietitian-nutritionist. “I believe food and desserts have a special place in our lives. It brings families together and is something we love to share that makes all of us happy.”

With a little sweet talking, they agreed to share their best-selling red velvet cake with our readers just in time for Valentine’s Day. While other cakes verge on cloying, this crimson sponge gets a balancing bitterness from cocoa powder. Garcia tops her red velvet with rich cream cheese frosting, whose tangy notes contrast the sweet macarons that adorn the cake. And just in case you’re wondering, we’re still working on getting that macaron recipe.

Order a red velvet cake, macaron or other baked goods from In The Mix Baked Goods on Facebook or @inthemixbakedgoodscc on Instagram.

Cream

Cheese

Makes one 8” round x 3” deep layer

PREP TIME: 20 minutes

COOK TIME: 20-30 minutes

Chef’s Note: Review recipe before starting, making sure you have all ingredients on hand.

INGREDIENTS:

Butter, parchment paper and cocoa powder for dusting to prep cake pan

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups oil (vegetable or canola)

2 large eggs

2 tbsp red food coloring

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups cake flour, not selfrising

2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for dusting

1 tsp salt

1 cup low-fat buttermilk

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp white vinegar

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter pans and line with parchment paper. Butter lining, dust with cocoa powder, tapping out any excess.

Mix sugar and oil on medium speed of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attached, until combined. Add eggs one at a time and mix well after each one. Mix in food coloring and vanilla. Add flour mixture (all dry ingredients except baking soda) in two batches, alternating with buttermilk and beginning and ending with flour mixture. Scrape down bowl after each addition. Do not over-mix batter.