Happy New Year! We all say it every year—the days flew by! My 2023 was packed with more amazing experiences, recipes and fun. Season 3 of Zoë Bakes hit the air. My newsletter featuring recipes, Q&As, and so much more continued to grow. And, of course, I got to share all kinds of recipes and fun with family, friends, colleagues and all of you! To wrap up the year, I put together a list of my 10 most popular recipes of 2023. As always, it’s an eclectic and fun list featuring all kinds of flavors and treats. If you’ve tried any of these recipes, would you be so kind as to leave a rating/review? It helps other people find them more easily. Cheers to a new year!
Top 9 on Instagram in 2023
- Graham and I celebrate our 32nd wedding anniversary!
- Happy birthday to me! Learn how to do the sprinkle technique here.
- Heart-shaped pavlova for Valentine’s or Galentine’s day.
- Valentine’s Day mini cakes requested by my son Henri about 15 years ago now.
- Lemon Mascarpone Crêpe Cake perfect for Easter, Mother’s Day or any old weekend.
- RIP sister André, the oldest person in the world, who passed away at 118 years old. This famous nun was remarkable for many things, including her age, but what I related to most was her fondness for Baked Alaska.
- The incredible Lemon Nemesis from Company by Amy Thielen
- A Q&A with my friend Andrew Zimmern, which sparked the idea for our holiday special on Magnolia Network!
- Strawberry Passion Fruit Sheet Cake! A lovely option for a spring or summer soiree!
10 Most Popular Recipes of 2023
A pavlova is a study in perfect imperfection. It bakes into a delicate, smooth shell that collapses in the middle, begging for any manner of filling.Watch me make this on Instagram!Want to try mini pavlovas? You can watch me make those too.
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These chocolate chip cookies are the result of what I learned making countless batches for decades. I also explain what the ingredients do to a cookie and how baking can change them. You can tweak your cookies to be just how you like them using my cookie guide towards the bottom of the post.
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Once you make your own homemade vanilla extract you will be ruined to the store-bought stuff! It's so easy to make, but you do need to have patience. The longer it sits, the better it gets. You'll need to wait at least 5 weeks to crack into the bottle. I use 18 vanilla beans for a 750ml bottle of vodka.
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A wonderful snack and breakfast treat for fresh blueberries, these blueberry scones are flaky, fluffy and delicious. This recipe makes a giant batch, which is great for sharing. If you want to make a half batch, you may need to reduce the baking time by about 5 minutes.
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Perfect blueberry muffins are studded with fruit, with blueberries in every bite. It should have a crunchy streusel top and be tender inside. These blueberry muffins deliver on all of these.
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This carrot cake is perfectly spiced, moist and unbelievably good! Using candied carrot peels as decoration (optional), cream cheese frosting and sweetened shredded coconut, this cake is simply the best — I make it all the time!
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Breakfast Cookies are the answer when you need a healthy breakfast but you're running out the door! Make these ahead of time and you won't need to skip the most important meal of the day.
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With its perfectly moist texture, soft crumb, and depth of apple flavor, this apple cider bundt cake is perfect for any occasion. I like to use a variety of apples in this cake such as Honey Gold, MacIntosh, Haralson and Prairie Spy. Drizzle with a simple honey-cider glaze and serve.
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A shatteringly thin crust and a super light and stretchy interior is the bread most beloved by my family. This loaf delivers on all of it. The simple ingredients mixed with a short autolyze (just a fancy word for making a slurry of flour and water, then a quick rest), gives the bread the beautiful interior texture.
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This is such a simple recipe that provides wonderful results every time. The 00 flour is a finer grind that gives the pizza a chewy, crisp crust.
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I was so excited to find Zoe’s tutorial for her pavlova on Instagram. I have made many a pavlova over the years but they were always the “low-rise” variety. Good & well received, but I always dreamed of being able to make a “high-rise” pavlova like I had seen in a local bakery in Vancouver, BC where I live. Let me tell you that bakery has nothing on Zoe’s “perfectly imperfect” pavlova. The tutorial & recipe ensure a stunningly spectacular “high rise” meringue. And it turns out “perfectly imperfect” every time.
This is wonderful, Marcia! We are so happy to hear you enjoyed the Pavlova. Cheers!