Featured photo: Venee Pawlowski cropped (photo by Dhanraj Emanuel Photography)
She’s done it again.
On Thursday, it was announced that local baker and community favorite, Venee Pawlowski of Black Magnolia Southern Patisserie won the national General Mills Foodservice Biskies contest.
The ask was simple, use Pillsbury’s Southern Style Unbaked Biscuits and combine them with two or more additional ingredients to create a unique new recipe. The grand prize was $20,000, a check that has now been cut to Pawlowski.
For her entry, Pawlowski created a fluffy buttermilk biscuit layered with brown sugar roasted apples, served with bourbon buttermilk sweet biscuit ice cream and topped with bourbon caramel, pecan pralines and salted toffee.
The judges noted that The Upside Down Apple Praline Biscuit is “an innovative twist on a simple classic” where “the biscuit shines as the star of the dish, blending perfectly with unexpected flavors to create a culinary masterpiece. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, the addition of biscuit ice cream takes this dessert to a whole new level of deliciousness!”
She told TCB that one of her all-time favorite desserts is the classic Tarte Tatin, “so it just made sense to try this with a fluffy, buttermilk biscuit. (Plus, adding a scoop of ice cream never hurt anything.)”
In 2020, Pawlowski won another General Mills contest, that time for her mouthwatering Bourbon Banoffee Pecan Rolls which she serves on her bakery’s menu.
“Our family and team are beyond overjoyed for this win and what it means for the future of Black Magnolia Southern Patisserie,” Pawlowski told TCB. “We’re forever grateful for such an amazing community of people that help make our dreams come true every day.”
When asked if the Upside Down Apple Praline Biscuits would be added to her regular menu, Pawlowski said that she plans to make the item available starting this weekend available as a biscuit by itself or “all the way” with their house made Bourbon Sweet Biscuit Ice Cream, Bourbon Caramel, Praline Pieces and Toffee.
As reported by TCB in the past, Pawlowski has been baking for years.
She had previously worked in a coffee shop before the pandemic and had been training to be a pastry chef, when she decided to start baking with her daughter; as they baked, they found that their favorite item was cinnamon rolls.
That’s how Black Magnolia was born.
In the summer of 2022, Pawlowski opened a brick-and-mortar, grab-and-go location at Revolution Mills where she serves her baked goods daily. Her pastries can also be bought at Borough Coffee at Double Oaks, Common Grounds, Cille & Scoe and Danny’s Restaurant in Greensboro.
Using her new influx of cash, Pawlowski said she plans on expanding her business into a sit-down model in the future “where we can expand our menu to more café fare with a full service coffee bar and lunch items.”
“We’d like to thank Greensboro, General Mills Foodservice, and everyone else that helped make this win possible,” she said.
Learn more at blackmagnoliagso.com or follow on social media at @blackmagnoliagso
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