Baking a family tradition for Lima woman

Story by Merri Hanjora

Photos by Levi Morman

Angela Casey, of Lima, loves to bake. She’s never had a baking lesson in her life, other than at the feet of her grandmother and mother when they were in the kitchen.

“I used to bake with them, and then I definitely would say I took to warm chocolate chip cookies before school,” said Casey.

Casey and her husband, Kevin, have three children and she works full time at First Lima Title Agency. Finding the time to bake is something she feels is necessary.

“It’s a wonderful stress reliever, and then you have something delicious at the end also,” said Casey. “Once every two weeks we have cake and then probably every four days we make cookies.”

She enjoys cooking too, but not as much as baking.

Her baking reputation got around to her close friends, and one of them brought her a magazine that had a beautiful cake featured on its cover. Her friend knew that Casey could emulate the cake.

“One of my girlfriends came to me about a decade ago and said, ‘will you give me a birthday gift of a cake?’ I said, well sure. And she said ‘okay, I want it from the cover of a magazine.’ And that’s how I found the red velvet cake with strawberries. I’ve tweaked it over the ten years in making it for friends and family,” said Casey. “I’m better at cakes than pies, that’s for sure. Pies seem to take a lot longer.”

Like any mother, she makes special-request goodies for her children. She has a son, Jackson, who is 21 and in the Navy. He is stationed in Japan.

“His favorite is chocolate marble. I make that every time he comes home on leave,” said Casey.

She also has a son, Andrew, who is a junior at Apollo Career Center and a daughter, Lucy, 10, who attends Bluffton Elementary.

Her daughter loves to bake as well, following in the footsteps of her mom and grandmother, learning the craft in the kitchen with her mom.

“I do cupcakes for Easter and I do the icing and then a pipe cleaner and then jelly beans and such on it so it looks like an Easter basket. I got that recipe and design from my mom and she got it from her mom, so it’s a nice tradition,” said Casey.

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries Cake

Cake:

1 box fudge chocolate cake mix

1 3.9-ounce box instant chocolate pudding

4 eggs

8 ounces sour cream

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup mild-flavored olive oil

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, melted

Frosting:

1 1/2 cups butter, softened

3 cups powdered sugar

3/4 cup baking cocoa

1/2 cup whole milk

1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled

Ganache:

4 ounces dark chocolate, broken into pieces

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

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For the cake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9-inch round pans. Mix all cake ingredients. Beat on low until combined, then beat on medium for 2 minutes. Pour evenly into the prepared pans and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick tests clean. Cool completely and remove from pans.

For the frosting, beat butter, powered sugar and cocoa until blended. Slowly add milk until smooth. Spread frosting between cake layers and over the top and sides. Place strawberries on top layer of cake, cut side down.

For the ganache, place chocolate in heat-safe bowl. In a saucepan, heat cream on stove, just to a boil. Pour over chocolate and whisk until smooth. Drizzle over strawberries and edges of cake so it drips down the sides.

Salt Magazine

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