It all began with a last name.
Sophie’s father is Umatilla and Arapaho, where his tribe once had the last name Hungrywolf. But when European settlers came, they changed their last name to Hungry to make them sound more European.
For years and years after that, Sophie’s family’s last name remained Hungry.
That all changed when she was born.
Sophie’s father decided it was time to take back the family name, giving Sophie the last name Hungrywolf. Now, she’s the only one in her family to use their original name.
A name like that deserves to be up in lights. And Sophie did just that, adding her own delicious twist.
A vibrant, turquoise cart filled with freshly baked cookies and fruit tarts features a giant banner on its side where a cute, cartoon wolf enjoys a pink cupcake. On top in big cursive letters reads, “The Hungrywolf Bakery.â€
At , Sophie combines her heritage with her talents for crafting delectable treats, making sure we all get the opportunity to satisfy our sweet tooth cravings. After stopping by her cart, you’ll look just like her wolf mascot, smiling big while holding a pretty pink cupcake.
Sophie, who is Tohono O’odham, Umatilla, Arapaho and Modoc, first picked up a whisk when she was young, baking alongside her mother for fun. Once she got into high school, she began to get more creative with her hobby, learning how to decorate her tasty creations.
“I've always been around it, and it’s always been an outlet,†Sophie said. “I know how to do a lot of stuff creatively, but I feel like this is the one place where I feel like an expert.â€
She even began making cakes for other families. But things got harder in college and Sophie found herself only being able to bake in the summertime.
That all changed when the pandemic hit. Like the rest of us, Sophie found herself with a lot of time on her hands, so she did the thing she always loved. She started watching various Youtube videos, mastering new recipes and decorating techniques.
By the end of 2020, Sophie was determined to start her own business and in the new year, The Hungrywolf Bakery was born.
In the beginning, Sophie was mostly making extravagant chocolate-covered strawberries. Each berry was dipped in a smooth, chocolate base and intricately decorated with neat lines of drizzled chocolate.
“Over the years, I just slowly started incorporating different pastries and different desserts, becoming more like a bakery instead of just a treat maker,†Sophie said.
Four years later, Sophie and The Hungrywolf Bakery continue to grow, getting more and more fans by the day. This year, she made it a goal to pop up at more markets, even hiring a baking assistant to help relieve some of the pressure.
Cookies, brownies, blondies and cakes are just a few of the treats The Hungrywolf Bakery has to offer.
Recently the bakery got an upgrade. Sophie, her partner and her baking assistant worked together to create a bakery cart for markets.
It’s in this turquoise cart where you'll find cookies, brownies, raspberry white chocolate blondies, cupcakes with perfectly piped swirls of frosting and the cutest mini cakes all lining the shelves.
While staring at the treats inside, suddenly everything turns black and a single spotlight shines on a fruit-covered treat.
These heavenly treats are Sophie’s fruit tarts, her favorite on the menu.
“I love the mini fruit tarts,†Sophie said. “They’re bite-sized so I can eat like 10 and not feel so bad.â€
Fruit tarts are Sophie Hungrywolf's favorite treat on her menu.
To make her coveted tarts, she firsts starts by making the buttery, golden crust. Butter, flour and other ingredients get mixed together until they form a dough. It’s then rolled into a log and put in the fridge to chill overnight.
While the dough is chilling, it’s time for Sophie to move onto the fresh pastry cream. Egg yolks, sugar, milk and heavy cream are all combined and slowly brought to a boil, thickening up along the way. Once it’s the perfect consistency, it’s put on a tray and into the fridge.
“I try to put it in the fridge as long as we can, just because I feel like the colder the pastry cream, the better it tastes,†Sophie said.
Once everything is ready to come out of the fridge, she cuts the dough into discs, gets them onto the tart pan and into the oven. When the oven timer dings, it's time for assembly.
The bite-size tart crusts are filled with creamy pastry filling and topped with pieces of ripe fruit — and they are finally ready for you to shovel into your mouth.
Right now, Sophie and her assistant are working on a new cookie flavor: Fruity Pebbles. The flavorful cereal along with white chocolate chips are added to her cookie dough. When they are done baking, they are then finished off with a marshmallow filling, giving you a bowl of milky cereal in the form of a delicious cookie. (I’ll give you some time to wipe the drool off your phone screen.)
With rave reviews about her treats, Sophie is excited to continue serving up desserts to her hungry customers, showing the world that there’s space for Indigenous people in the baking community, one fruit tart at a time.
“I am Native American and I just want people to know that you don't have to get a degree or go through a program to do what you want. There’s a lot of food sales and bake sales and if they put their mind to it and they want to bake something, they can do it,†Sophie said. “They don't have to go through school, because some of them don't have the opportunity or they take care of their family. They just really have to put their heart in it.â€
To see where The Hungrywolf Bakery pops up next, check out their .