Jackson Free Press

Ever had a Suzy Q? The moist, chocolate cream-filled, cellophane-wrapped confection? Seen one lately? I haven't. And I've looked.

A couple of months ago, my husband and I were at our neighborhood Kroger hunting and gathering. You must understand, my husband Mike is a picky eater—actually, that's an understatement. Mike only eats meat, potatoes, and macaroni and cheese. If it's green or red, forget it. I, on the other hand, will eat anything. What's worse, I can cook, bake, sauté and grill anything. I decided several years ago that marrying a picky eater must be my penance for some bad deed.

So while I was scouring the aisles looking for Mike-friendly foods, he had wandered off, in search of Suzy Q's. Up until then, the only sweet treat Mike wanted was chocolate pie. I'd nailed the chocolate pie recipe, and I was looking for a new challenge.

When Mike told me how he loved Suzy Q's, I joined the hunt. I looked in Clinton, South Jackson, North Jackson, Byram, Pearl and even braved the traffic on County Line Road in search of the elusive chocolate treat. But my search was fruitless. So, what's a good cook to do? Make it from scratch, of course.

I poured over cookbooks, magazines and old recipes before I came up with the perfect recipe.

I got my inspiration from a Moon Pie recipe in an old issue of Cook's Country magazine. But the filling was marshmallow cream, which works for Moon Pies, but not for Suzy Q's. But the cake recipe had promise. After a few adjustments, I had a winner. Now my challenge was finding the right filling.

I remembered my mother's recipe for Red Cake frosting. It's the best frosting I've ever had. And I'm not just saying that. I have been delighting in its creamy richness my entire life.

My mother found the recipe in a magazine in the 1960s. It was used to frost New York's Waldorf Astoria Red Cake. It's known in the South as Red Velvet Cake. But the frosting is different. In the south, Red Velvet cakes are frosted with a cream cheese frosting. The Waldorf Astoria frosting is lighter and fluffier. The reason why may stop you in your tracks, but stay with me here. Crisco makes its creamy goodness possible. Yes, Crisco. The recipe originally called for Oleo, which is essentially lard. My mother wisely substituted Crisco. I know it sounds scary, but you'll have to trust me on this. This frosting rocks! But when you make it for your friends and family, I wouldn't tell them about the Crisco. It'll be our secret.

I now had my very own version of Suzy Q's. The chocolate cakes are moist and rich and the creamy filling is oh so decadent. The best part? My Suzy Q's passed the Mikey taste test. He renamed them, though. He calls them Cream Biscuits.

Read the tasty recipe in this week's Jackson Free Press!

Previous Comments

ID

84616

Comment

Read the tasty recipe in this week's Jackson Free Press! Aaaarrrrggghhh! Please start posting the damn recipes! I don't need another excuse to go to the liquor store- the closest JFP drop-off point!

Author

Rico

Date

2006-10-07T14:11:15-06:00

ID

84617

Comment

The recipe should be online. I'll have to go rattle a cage on this. Sorry, Rico. Although, you should be picking up the print version, too, if you can find one. There is fun stuff (and great photos) that you can't see online. ;-) So, go on to the liquor store, friend. I mean, you don't have to also buy a bottle of JIm Beam, you know.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-10-07T18:10:38-06:00