The Sweetest Heritage

Some people inherit handmade quilts orfine china from their grandmother; Jocelyn Delk Adams inherited a passion. The baker and creator of the blog Grandbaby Cakes has built an empire on heirloom recipes twirled up with modern flavors. Jocelyn knows that everything that has come since Grandbaby Cakes’s inception—the television spots on TODAY and the Food Network, the award-winning cookbook, the brand partnerships—all started with her baking in the kitchen with her grandmother Maggie Mae Small. “In every sense of the word, my grandmother is my muse,” Jocelyn says.

Growing up in the hustle and bustle of the outskirts of Chicago, Illinois, Jocelyn and her family spent summer vacations and holidays visiting her grandfather and Big Mama, as Maggie was affectionately known, in Winona, Mississippi. “It was always such an interesting change of pace. It’s a small, quaint town, and there wasn’t much for us to do except bake.” And bake, she did. With Big Mama as her guide, Jocelyn was inducted into the magical world of batter and dough, learning to frost coconut cakes, bake sweet potato pies, and whip up biscuits. “Every morning, without fail, she made her biscuits for breakfast. For more special occasions, she made her dinner rolls, and this would always accompany her classic Southern