eat dessert first
I am obsessed with cake. So much so, that I wrote a whole book on it. If you’d like more of my cake recipes, check out my book, Zoë Bakes Cakes! Looking for video tutorials? Check out my Cake Basics series on YouTube! You’ll learn how to trim and slice, how to fill a layer cake, how to crumb coat and how to decorate!
This Strawberry Rhubarb Fool Cheesecake was a happy mistake. You know how they say you learn from your failures? Well, I was going for a tourteau fromage and it went wrong in a big way.
Oh, you know me, I love a flourish. Sometimes it’s a rose crown on a bundt cake or a ruffle of gossamer apples topping a tart or maybe, just maybe a crazy swirl of toasted meringue on anything! But, sometimes simple is best. A summer snack at the lake, a […]
Last week my youngest son turned 18. It hit me that he’s a man and about to head out into the world to make his mark. I am so excited for him and looking forward to watching him and his brother become their own men, but it’s a touch bittersweet […]
There is nothing more quintessentially breakfast than blueberry muffins. This recipe is easy to make and creates perfect, moist muffins packed with blueberries. For me a blueberry muffin has to be chock full of contrasts. It should have enough sweetness to feel decadent, but balanced by the tartness of the […]
At the core this almond cake is a pound cake that has a perfectly dense crumb and is rich with almond paste, but it is also a tribute to spring. The buttercream roses are a fun way to add beauty for a celebration! The decoration came to me after I […]
This pear-cardamom cake, with a cardamom confectioners’ sugar glaze, slices up so beautifully. I love leaving the stems on the pears for extra drama. It’s a fun fall cake, and perfect for the holiday season! Cardamom is the quintessential flavor of the holidays in Scandinavian countries. I hadn’t used it […]
This post is from a while back, but I was inspired to bring it to the fore when I created a Baked Alaska for the Holiday issue of Better Homes and Gardens. You will find a picture of my Egg Nog version at the bottom of this post, along with […]
This past summer I created cake recipes for the Holiday issue of Better Homes & Gardens. Once I baked, tested and ate dozens of cakes, I went to Iowa, home of the magazine, and created the final cakes for the issue. It was about 99°F and the midwest sun was […]
This triple chocolate mousse cake is as rich, decadent and delicious as it sounds. It’s a simple recipe that is sure to please every chocolate lover! Chocolate Mousse was one of the very first recipes I tried to make, way back when I was a middle schooler. Making a quintessentially […]
This Raspberry Paris Brest is a beautifully nontraditional take on a very traditional French pastry. The name, Paris Brest, comes from a bicycle race that happens in France between (you guessed it) Paris and the town of Brest. According to Larousse Gastronomique, a pastry-cook, whose shop was along the route of […]
What’s better than chocolate and pumpkin for a fall cake? I’ve made this chocolate pumpkin swirl cake as both a bundt and a loaf. Both are easy options, and you’ll find a fun pumpkin themed loaf pan below! I first made this Chocolate Pumpkin Bundt Cake with my friend Andrew […]
Looking for video tutorials? Check out my Cake Basics series on YouTube! You’ll learn how to trim and slice, how to fill a layer cake, how to crumb coat and how to decorate! For those of you who have followed my blog for a while, you’ll know I am a […]