Category: 101

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Zoë François 165 Comments

Homemade vanilla extract is probably the most-used ingredient in my kitchen after flour and sugar. It is also my go-to DIY holiday gift. It is perfect for all the bakers on your list and makes a quick and simple host or hostess gift for when you’re invited to a party and want to bring something fun, unexpected, and practical.

Two bottles of Zoë François's homemade vanilla extract

I always have a stack of beans in the freezer and bottles of homemade vanilla extract in my pantry. I admit I don’t always make my own, but it is something, like homemade yogurt, that once you make it, you’re ruined to the store-bought version. *I do have a hack below for a SUPER QUICK way to get more flavor out of the store-bought bottle! Be sure to check it out.

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A Red Velvet Birthday Cake (basket weave 101)

Zoë François 97 Comments
Red Velvet Birthday Cake Recipe | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

About 30 years ago my father introduced me to Patricia, the most glamorous woman I’d ever seen. She wore a light blue polyester pant suit with eye shadow to match and had a pile of perfectly coiffed blond hair. She was lovely and clearly not from Connecticut, where we lived at the time. Just one word from her mouth and you could hear the south, Alabama in fact. Patricia is my stepmother and in honor of her Southern roots I made her a Red Velvet Birthday cake. Her mom used to make them for her when she was a kid. I wish I had her mother’s recipe, but I found one that was fascinating and dated back to WWII. The milk chocolate cream cheese frosting done in an elegant basket weave adds to the romance of the cake.

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Peach-Raspberry Jam + Blue Ribbon Jammin’ with Barb Schaller!

Zoë François 45 Comments

Jars of Plum jelly and Peach-Raspberry jam

(Jars of Plum jelly and Peach-Raspberry jam)

I’ve come to understand that the key to really great jam is a good dose of humor and a dash of sass! No one better to have taught me this lesson than the blue ribbon jam lady Barb Schaller. She does magic with fruit and pectin and never steps foot into the kitchen without her pearls (a nod to June Clever). She has been winning ribbons at the Minnesota State FAIR since 1981 and holds its Prestigious Processor of the Pantry award along with countless blue ribbons. She also has developed 2 jams for M.A. Gedney Company’s Award Winning State Fair Recipe line of preserves.

I met Barb, and her charming husband Rob, at a book signing for ABin5. She handed me a bag of home made jams and I’ve been a devout follower of hers ever since. I’ve been begging to get in the kitchen with her for well over a year and this past weekend she graciously allowed me and my friend Jen to watch. What an incredible honor to spend a day in the kitchen with a true master of her craft and watch this year’s blue ribbon recipe in the works.

Barb Schaller’s Peach-Raspberry Jam: Read More