ONE VERY SWEET JOURNEY

By Trishna Buch
Last Friday, after having eaten healthily for four weeks, I
decided that I wanted/needed a sugar fix and made my
way down to Campeche Coffee ETC on Sixth Street in
Texas City. While I was there and waiting for my drink,
I was having a casual conversation with the café owner.
While talking, I noticed a dish I had not seen before and
when I asked what it was, I was told it was a homemade
tiramisu and was offered a sample. I was then given the
business card of the woman who made the tiramisu and
was told that she makes a number of other desserts and
delivers them to anyone who orders from her. I knew this
would be a great story, so I contacted the business and
here we are.
The business, Sweet Bea Gourmet Fudge and Pralines,
was opened on October 11, 1995. Its owner, who is
best known as Sweet Bea, gained a love for baking from
her mother. “My mother made this amazing crème filling
cake,” she told me. “And, one day, I decided I wanted to
learn how to make it so I asked my mom to teach me. But
she told that if I wanted to learn, I had to get in the kitchen
and watch her at work.” So that is exactly what Sweet Bea
did, and she was eventually able to master the crème filling.
“I now use it as a base for my Pecan Pralines,” Sweet
Bea told me.
Once she mastered the crème filling cake, Sweet Bea
knew she had found her calling and decided she wanted
to develop her talents and branch out in the baking world.
She told me that, when she was younger she sat in a folding
chair outside of a location in Louisiana and only sold
pralines. “Eventually I began selling peanut-butter fudge
as well, and for the longest time all I sold were pralines
and peanut butter fudge.” Sweet Bea continued to work
hard and develop her baking talents, and today she can
say that she has accomplished her dream of branching
out in the baking world. Sweet Bea Gourmet Fudge and
Pralines’ menu consists of several desserts including flavored
pralines, cheesecakes, pie and fudge. If you are
interested in having blueberry cheesecake, coconut pralines,
mocha cayenne fudge or several other choices of
desserts, Sweet Bea’s Gourmet Fudge and Pralines is the
best option for you.
So how can you get hold of these desserts? I asked
Sweet Bea and she told me that people can place orders
through the website—sweetbeapralines.com—or through
the Facebook page at facebook.com/sweetbeapralines. “I
deliver to anywhere in the Texas area and I ship to anywhere
outside of Texas,” she told me. Sweet Bea’s desserts
are so loved that, when Harvey came through and
caused her to have to stop production for a few months,
she started getting calls from clients asking when she
would be starting production again. She told me that she
was able to re-start production in November, and is now
working on getting everything back on track.
If you would like to order some of Sweet Bea’s desserts,
you can do so at her website or on her Facebook page.
Custom orders cost $30, the Sweet Bea’s Half Dozen Pralines
cost $25, the Sweet Bea’s Dozen Pralines cost $35
and the Sweet Bea’s Half Dozen Fudge cost $35. And if
you would like to order items on an individual basis, they
cost between $8 and $10. For more information, and if
you are interested in volunteering to help Sweet Bea out
at vendor shows, you can contact her at 281-704-1744.