eat dessert first
Happy Birthday! If you’re reading this you’re on the hunt for birthday desserts, which means it’s somebody’s birthday. I love choosing birthday treats because you can make anything that the birthday celebrant loves. Sure, you’ll find a bunch of cake recipes below, since it’s the faithful symbol of birthdays, but […]
I will start out by saying that I am not a vegan and therefore I have not experimented much with vegan desserts or substitutions. I do have friends who avoid dairy and/or gluten and/or eggs, so I have dabbled a little bit with vegan swaps, but I am by no […]
This lovely Passion Fruit Meringue Cheesecake is a spin on a recipe from Wild Sweetness by Thalia Ho! It is a beautiful book. A book about baking and desserts, but it’s also about Thalia Ho’s artistic vision of the wild and beautiful world she occupies. I immediately went for her Lemon […]
The holiday season is upon us! It should come as no surprise that in my house this is a time of year for desserts and baked treats (as if there is a time of year that isn’t). It’s also a time for gathering with friends and family and sharing some […]
This is a cake from Zoë Bakes Cakes and in the book, I baked it with grapes; juicy, sweet, but slightly tart, table grapes. It’s curious why grapes are rarely used in baking, unless dried into raisins. They are juicy and have such a wide range of sweetness and flavor, […]
If you’re looking forward to fall and winter parties — from the fun and informal to big holiday gatherings — this post is for you. There are all kinds of desserts you can make for your get-togethers, but some of the best feature fruit, sugar and topped with something delicious. […]
When I think of graham cracker crust, I think of cheesecake. The graham cracker flavor is just the right amount of sweetness for the rich filling. Plus, one of the best things about a graham cracker crust is how simple it is to make. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can […]
From Memorial Day to the Fourth of July to Labor Day, summer is all about weekend gatherings with friends and family. A good meal should always accompany a get-together, which means you’ll need some tasty desserts for a crowd. I put together a list of some of my favorite cookies, […]
How do you choose the perfect Mother’s Day dessert? You need to know what mom loves, of course, but I think you also need something beautiful and sophisticated. For me, something with meringue is perfect, but every mom loves something a little different. I’ve put together a list of some […]
I often get asked about my go-to baking equipment and one of the things people ask the most is what I think is the best stand mixer. A good mixer is the workhorse of a baker’s kitchen—it does so much of the work for you. In fact, I have three!
At a super young age I discovered baking brings me joy and feeds my soul. What I’ve learned from a career in professional kitchens is that I love teaching other people how to bake even more! Now I get to do both, on TV. Joanna and Chip Gaines have given me a series on their new Magnolia Network where I can bake, teach and be inspired by some phenomenally talented bakers (and chefs, farmers, bee keepers and more …) in my Minnesota community.