Dessert

The Story: How Cake Pops Stole My Valentine's Day So let me just say, I never thought I'd be a cake pop person. Cake, yes. Pops? Eh, felt too trendy. But last Valentine's Day, after the store-bought chocolates vanished (and yep, my kids totally sniffed out my chocolate stash!), I gave these red velvet cake …

Baking Up Some Love (and a Few Cookie Mishaps) Alright, pal—if you’re here for Instagram-perfect, bakery-worthy heart shaped chocolate chip cookies for Valentine’s Day... well, bless your heart. This recipe is for those of us who just want to make something sweet and maybe a little quirky for someone we care about (or ourselves, honestly, …

If You’ve Ever Wanted to Share a Cookie, This One’s for You Okay, confession time: the first time I made Valentine’s Day Heart Cookies, I totally botched the shapes. Like, Picasso would’ve been proud, but probably not my family. My niece still calls those “abstract love cookies!” Altogether, there’s just something sweet (pun very much …

Alright, Let’s Chat About This Heart Swiss Roll Thing You ever start a recipe with big plans... and then halfway through, the kitchen looks like Cupid’s had a food fight? That’s me every single Valentine’s Day since I tried to make this heart-shaped Swiss roll for my other half (best part, he actually thought I …

So You Want To Make Heart Shaped Doughnuts, Eh? Alright, pull up a chair. I’m gonna let you in on my not-so-secret ritual every February: I make heart shaped doughnuts for Valentine’s Day. I say every year, but truth is, I skipped one year thanks to a rather dramatic flour shortage (don’t ask), and my …

Let Me Tell You About These Red Velvet Cookies… You ever have one of those recipes that’s become so much a part of your family rituals you forget the first time you made it? That’s these red Velvet sugar cookies for me—Valentine’s Day just feels emptier without a batch. Years ago, my sister dared me …

Let's Chat: Why Do I Make These Valentine Sugar Cookies? I have this vivid memory of making sugar cookies with my best mate in high school, right before Valentine's. We got flour everywhere (honestly, it looked like the kitchen threw a party and forgot to clean up after itself), but the cookies came out… well, …

Let’s Make Puff Pastry Hearts for Valentine’s Day! Okay, honest moment: I’m never more popular in my own house than when I make these Valentine’s Day Puff Pastry Hearts. I stumbled onto this idea after a not-so-romantic February years ago, when I realised I had two sheets of pastry stuck in my freezer, just begging …

Diving into Valentine’s Day Brownie Baking Alright, let me just say—making heart shaped brownies for Valentine’s Day has totally become my thing. Not saying I’m some kind of Cupid in the kitchen, but you know how it is when someone tries one and suddenly you’re that person who ‘always makes the brownies’ every February. Funny …

Let Me Tell You About Heart-Shaped Cupcakes (And Why I Can’t Stop Making Them) Alright, so you know how some people swear by store-bought chocolates on Valentine’s Day? Yeah, that’s not me. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love a cheeky chocolate truffle, but there’s just something about baking these slightly wonky heart-shaped cupcakes …

Let me set the mood: it's a cold winter evening (which, okay, is rare around here but let's pretend), I walk into the kitchen rubbing my hands together like some plotting villain, and I know what comes next—carrots. Loads of them. Whenever I make Gajar Ka Halwa—Carrot Halwa if you wanna sound fancy—I think of …

Let's Chat: Why I Can't Quit These Jam Cookies Alright, pull up a chair. I first made these jam cookies on a Saturday when the skies were doing that weird not-quite-rain, not-quite-sunny thing, and honestly, I was just craving something properly cozy (also, my pantry was an absolute disaster except for jam). My mum used …

Okay, Let Me Tell You About This Chocolate Caramel Dump Cake... You ever have those days where you just need something sweet and don’t want to deal with fancy steps? That’s me, like, at least once a week. I made this dump cake once when I’d basically run out of energy for anything more ambitious—and …

Let's Talk Cookie Dough Cups (and my kitchen disasters) Alright, friend, have you ever started making cookies, then just thought—hang on, what if I just eat the dough as it is? Trust me, I've had more than a few "accidents" where the cookie dough never actually made it to the oven. That's where these Easy …

The Best 7 Layer Bars, With a Side of Chaos Alright, friend: let’s talk about 7 layer bars. Or as my cousin calls them, "those everything-but-the-kitchen-sink bars." I remember the first time making these—somewhere in my teens, borrowing a too-small pan from my neighbor (don’t ask, I still think she wants it back). Anyway, hot …

Let Me Tell You About My Italian Cookie Obsession Okay, imagine this: you’re a kid and you walk into your grandma's kitchen on a Sunday afternoon. You get hit with a wall of buttery, almondy goodness—like the kind of thing that just stops you in your tracks. That’s what Italian cookies are to me. Honestly, …

So About This Pie... The Story (and Maybe a Bit of Rambling) You ever have those recipes that just pop up in your mind whenever you need a dessert that impresses but you're feeling lazy (or it's mid-July and turning on the oven sounds like torture)? That's me and this No Bake Peanut Butter Pie. …

No-Fuss Chat About These White Chocolate Raspberry Cookies Alright, I have to tell you upfront: these white chocolate raspberry cookies are one of those treats that bring back a strange mix of memories for me. Like the time I made a batch in a sleep-deprived haze after my kid’s sleepover—turns out, negotiating cookie dough sharing …

Let's Talk: Why Almond Joy Cookies? Alright, so here's the thing: Almond Joy Cookies have been my go-to for bake sales, random late-night cravings, and—I'll admit it—a couple of those “I promised I’d bring something for the office tomorrow but totally forgot” moments (we’ve all been there, right?). Last Christmas, my brother tried to steal …

Okay, friend, let’s talk about Shoofly Pie. I swear, the first time I ever made this thing, I forgot to set a timer (rookie move) and let’s just say the house smelled… complicated. But here’s the thing: Shoofly Pie is basically the dessert equivalent of a warm hug, especially if you grew up where sticky …

Let's Talk Vanilla French Beignets—and My Kitchen Fiascos Okay, so these vanilla French beignets are a little dangerous in my house. If I make a batch in the morning, they’re usually all gone by lunch. I blame my sister—she sneaks back into the kitchen and stashes these behind the breadbox like no one’ll notice (we …

How I Fell for Strawberry Crunch Cheesecake Tacos Okay, so hear me out: the first time I made these strawberry crunch cheesecake tacos was for my cousin Tara's birthday, and I probably wore more filling than I managed to put in the shells. They're messy. They're also glorious. (Picture a vibrant pile of pink and …

So, Ready for Some Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies? I have to laugh, because the first time I made these, I was elbows-deep in pumpkin puree and managed to drop a spatula right into the batter. Still, when my cousin came over and tried one, she just went "Who cares about spatulas? Make these again." So here …

A Cheesecake Memory (And an Honest Confession) Alright, let’s just put this out there—cheesecake isn’t one of those desserts you make on a total whim at midnight (believe me, I’ve tried, post-pub, not my proudest). But there’s something kind of magic about it; every time I make this perfect cheesecake recipe, I remember my aunt …

Let's Talk About Zeppole (or, Why My Kitchen Smells Like a Carnival) Alright, you ever have one of those days where you’re standing in the kitchen, looking for something sweet, and suddenly you remember those puffy, powder-dusted donuts from the county fair? Or maybe Nonna (that’s grandma, for those not of the Italian persuasion) swooping …

Let Me Tell You About These Cupcakes... Okay—so every time I make these vanilla cupcakes, I think about the time I thought baking was just for folks with nerves of steel and expensive gadgets. (Spoiler: I'm neither.) The first time I baked these, I was probably 16, slightly flustered, and used a fork to cream …

Let Me Tell You About White Chocolate Brownies... Alright, so imagine this: it's raining, you're totally over your day, and all you want is something fudgey but—not the usual brownie. That's sort of how I stumbled into white Chocolate brownies for the first time. (Honestly, I just ran out of cocoa powder, and well, necessity …

Let’s Get Cozy: My Chocolate Chip Cookie Story Alright, picture this: rain’s coming down, socks are on (the fuzzy ones!), and you can already smell chocolate wafting from the oven. Yep, that’s where these chocolate chip cookies always take me. There’s this one time—I think it was a Tuesday?—I tried to make cookies between two …

Let Me Tell You About Chai Cake, Friend So, there was this one autumn (seems like a lifetime ago), I wanted a cake that tasted the way my kitchen smells when I make masala chai. But every recipe I found was just... bland or fiddly. So I started messing around with spices, nearly set my …

Okay, So Why Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Cookies? I swear, these cookies started as a desperate attempt to impress my book club, but let's be honest—half of them come more for the snacks than the discussion (can you blame them?). First time I made these, I had a near meltdown because I couldn't find my lemon …

So, You Want to Make Creme Brûlée Cake? Pull Up a Chair Alright, so here’s the thing—if you’re after a Creme Brûlée Cake that tastes like you just swanned through a Parisian patisserie but still lets you blast your music and wear your fluffiest socks while baking, you’re in the perfect spot. I made this …

So Here's the Story Behind This Cheesecake The first time I made this Lemon Blueberry Crumble Cheesecake, I had a little—okay, maybe a huge—crisis halfway through: mid-mix, my cat leapt onto the counter, somehow got flour everywhere, and, well, let’s just say the kitchen was a war zone. But my friend Sophie showed up with …

So Here’s Why I’m Obsessed With Sticky Toffee Pudding Cookies Okay, honestly, Sticky Toffee Pudding is basically the blanket I wish I could wrap myself in after a rough week, but in actual, edible form. There was this one time (not even that long ago—I think it was raining for about five days straight), I …

Have You Ever Tried Baking Magic Into a Cupcake? I still remember the first time I attempted these Harry Potter Butterbeer Cupcakes. I was probably running on too little sleep, and my kitchen was a disaster (seriously, butterscotch everywhere — even in my hair). Anyway, my niece is a massive Potterhead and basically demanded "something …

Let Me Tell You About These Creme Brûlée Cookies You know those days when you want something fancy but, honestly, can't be fussed with a blowtorch and a water bath? That's how I ended up with these Creme Brûlée Cookies. The first time I tried them was after a night binging British baking shows — …

So, You're Thinking of Baking Chocolate Cake with Raspberries? Alright, you want to impress a room full of hungry party-goers with a chocolate cake crowned in juicy raspberries? Grab a chair for a second, because I’ve been at the heart of too many family gatherings where this cake—this exact chocolate-and-raspberry wonder—stole the show, even when …

Gather Around—The Best Kind of Mess: Ginger Bread House Decorating If you’ve ever tried to keep royal icing off your elbows, welcome to the club. Ginger bread house decorating in my family? Let’s just say there’s frosting in places it shouldn’t be, sprinkles underfoot, and last year someone’s dog ate a gumdrop chimney (he survived; …

So, soft & chewy gingerbread men cookies... has there ever been a more nostalgic bake? I mean, my kitchen practically smells like a childhood winter every time I make these. Honestly, when December rolls in (and, okay, sometimes in July if I'm feeling rebellious), out comes my old, slightly dented gingerbread man cutter. It's the …

Let Me Tell You About My (Slightly Messy) First Try I’ll never forget the first time I attempted the Cracker Barrel Coca Cola Cake. I’d been craving that ooey, gooey, unmistakably Southern chocolate cake—part nostalgia, part sugar rush. The thing is, I’d just moved into a new apartment and apparently thought my oven doubled as …

If You’ve Ever Wanted Cannoli, But Didn’t Want the Fuss… I’ve gotta tell you, these cannoli cookies are kind of a love letter to my big, slightly chaotic holiday kitchen. The first time I baked a batch, I thought, ‘Oh, I’m just making regular cookies with a fancy hat.’ Nope – little did I know …