LIFT UP LOCAL 031
Written by Pamela Patton
📷 courtesy of Amber Rose Photography
The Creamy and the Crunch: Town-to-Town Cream Horns
He’s known to fans and followers as Chef Joe O. He’s a fan of polka dancing, a baker, a lover of desserts, and the creator of a variation of a pastry favorite of Pope John Paul.
Polish-Ukrainian Joe Oginsky didn’t come from money. “I grew up poor, and we rarely had desserts, but whenever we got to go to a bakery and pick out something, I always chose a cream horn instead of a donut. It looked like it had a lot of frosting, and I love frosting!”
Joe grew up, worked at General Motors, married his wife Susan, and together, they attended many polka dances. “Susan’s girlfriend's mother used to bring cream horns to the dances for us. I loved them! The mother taught the daughter (my wife’s girlfriend) how to make them, and then the daughter taught me to make them. This was about 35 years ago.”
📷 courtesy of Amber Rose Photography
Word spread of Joe’s cream horns. “I’d make them to take to parties or polka dances. I’d also bake them for school bake sales. Then people started requesting them for parties or graduations. Eventually, I started getting phone calls from strangers asking me to make them for their daughter’s wedding!”
But Joe wasn’t ready to go into business. He felt guilty charging for his creations. “But I got over that. I remember that, about 15 or 20 years ago, we constantly made them in my kitchen at Christmas time. Finally, I decided to go into business. My kids were out of school, and I was more experienced, so I decided to make my baking a business.”
📷 courtesy of Amber Rose Photography
Joe called his business Town-to-Town Gourmet Pastries and began working out of a commercial kitchen at the Shiawassee Conservation Club. He slowly began selling them in stores, making cold calls with samples in hand. “I called on the owner of a liquor store and he showed a jar of pickles made right there in Owosso, He recommended that I contact the Michigan State University Product Center. I worked with Diane, who got me going in the right direction regarding production, packaging, and marketing.”
Ten years later, Joe’s cream horns are sold in over 50 stores throughout Michigan and Ohio, including Meijer Supercenters and three Meijer Marketplace locations.
“ I’d make them to take to parties or polka dances. I’d also bake them for school bake sales. Then people started requesting them for parties or graduations. Eventually, I started getting phone calls from strangers asking me to make them for their daughter’s wedding!””
📷 courtesy of Amber Rose Photography
The Secret is the Filling
Typical cream horns are made with puff pastry dough and a fluffy and creamy filling usually made with butter, marshmallow fluff, and powdered sugar. But not Joe’s.
“The outside is puff pastry, but the filling is the Polish version. It's not frosting consistency; some people say it’s a custard, others say it’s pudding, but it’s not. It’s made with heavy whipping cream, whole milk, butter, and flour. Then, it must be continuously whisked low to medium heat so it doesn’t scorch. You think your arm will fall off because you must keep whisking it!”
Joe is proud to say that his cream horns are made with the best ingredients, without preservatives. “They’re sold in boxes of six or twelve and stocked in the refrigerated dessert case. They are fresh for about 10 to 14 days. I don’t wait for them to reach room temperature. I love to eat them cold. That’s when the unique contrast between the cream and the crunch really lights up!”
📷 courtesy of Amber Rose Photography
Joe and Susan travel the country and the world to participate in polka dances and festivals, and everywhere they went in the United States, Joe would take a box of his cream horns. And it just so happened that one was held in Wadowice, Poland, Pope John Paul the Second’s hometown. “While we were there, I had the Pope’s favorite dessert, called Kremówka Papieska or Papal Cream Cake. It is made of two layers of puff pastry, filled with whipped cream, cream pâtissière or just thick milk Kissel enriched with melted butter, or sometimes filled with egg white cream. Then it’s cooled overnight, cut into squares and dusted with powdered sugar. Of course, I had to try it.”
Joe and his friend, Lenny, the leader of the polka band and tour, were enjoying Kremówka Papieska, when something began to bother them. “Lenny kept saying there was something familiar with it, and I agreed, but we had never had it before our trip to Poland. We returned to the States, and like I always did, I took Lenny a box of my cream horns at the next dance. He took a bite and said, ‘Joe! This is the flavor of the Kremówka!’ The only difference is Kremówka is cut into squares, and I like to say that mine is round.”
Joe continued to take his cream horns to polka dances, and the fame spread to Pittsburgh, where yet another friend saw the recipe for the Pope’s favorite dessert in a Catholic magazine. “He challenged me to make it—and I won.”
📷 courtesy of Amber Rose Photography
Ten Years of Cream Horns
Joe’s business continues to grow, including the years of the pandemic. “I began making pies and cupcakes during COVID, but we stopped because everyone wanted the cream horns. I guess that’s what people wanted: toilet paper and cream horns!” Joe laughs.
Today, Joe’s team makes approximately 8,000 cream horns weekly from his commercial kitchen in Owosso. A couple of days a week, Joe handles the deliveries, sharing the job with two other drivers. “I enjoy delivering because it gets me a chance to get into the stores, see customers, and see how well the cream horns are selling.”
Eventually, Joe would like to sell the business and retire (again), but the demand for his confection continues to grow. “I’ve got people overseas wanting them. So, I guess I’ll have to figure out how to ship them or take a trip and show them how to make them.”
Either way, Joe will continue to bake his cream horns with the perfect blend of cream and crunch.