I really like to bake, y’all. It brings me so much joy to see people enjoy what I’ve created. And since I can’t eat gluten and have friends with food allergies, I relish the extra challenge of making things that are gluten-free and dairy-free. I especially enjoy baking for my friends’ birthdays – I always want to make them something that will be as special to them as they are to me. 😊
Here’s a selection of things I’ve baked over the years. I’m really proud of all of them, even when they haven’t come out exactly as I wanted them to.
Laura’s birthday cake – July 2023
Laura absolutely *adores* chocolate and peanut butter (but not mint, lol). So I made her a chocolate cake with peanut butter buttercream and dark chocolate ganache. It got a little battered in the car on the way there, but it tasted good. 😊
Darcie’s birthday cake – July 2022
This was actually my first baking commission. Darcie asked me if I would be willing to bake her birthday cake for her 40th birthday party. She was having a beach-themed party, and she also wanted some extra cupcakes for the kids and to accommodate allergies. I made her a vanilla cake with almond Swiss buttercream, and chocolate cupcakes (one batch of cupcakes had dairy-free frosting to accommodate dairy allergies – my favorite chocolate cake recipe is already dairy-free). I was really pleased with how they came out. Everything except for the candies was made from scratch by me. Look at that smile! 😊
Billy’s birthday cake – March 2022
Billy requested a solar system cake, so that’s what I did. Mirror glaze on the cake and homemade Swiss buttercream. I was really pleased with this!
Thanksgiving pies – November 2021
Pies! Apple and pumpkin!
Halloween cake – October 2021
This is probably one of my favorite cakes I’ve ever baked. It’s a pumpkin spice latte cake – pumpkin spice sponge with an espresso Swiss buttercream frosting. I handmade all of the fondant pumpkins. I was super pleased with how it turned out, and it tasted heavenly to boot!
Galette for no good reason – August 2021
We had nectarines and blueberries, so I made a nectarine blueberry galette. I was pretty pleased with the taste, but the crust’s appearance left something to be desired (but also I didn’t make it for anyone so we didn’t care what it looked like)!
Pie for no good reason – August 2021
Blueberry honey balsamic pie is my very favorite pie, and August is a very good month in which to bake it.
Kyle’s birthday cake – May 2021
I made Kyle a Minecraft cake cake. I think I understood the assignment.
Pie for no good reason – August 2020
Blueberry season means blueberry honey balsamic pie. 😊
Easter cupcakes – April 2020
They’re nests! With eggs! 😊
Bill’s birthday cake – November 2019
Billz came over to play board games for his birthday, and I baked a triple chocolate mousse cake for him. Because that is what I do. 😊
Halloween cake – October 2019
Boo! It’s a scary spider web cake! 😊
Carrot cake – July 2019
It’s carrot cake, of course! I don’t remember what occasion I made this for, but I do remember I loved making the little carrots. 😊
Vertical stripe cake – May 2019
I don’t remember what I made this cake for, but it had blueberry buttercream frosting, and a very interesting profile when cut. I loved the frosting job, but the inside left something to be desired – it certainly wasn’t as crisp and impactful as the one I made Thanksgiving one year (see below).
Cheesecake – May 2019
My signature cheesecake – Oreo crust and cherries on top.
Billy’s birthday cake – April 2019
Billy had his 4th birthday at our dojo, so I made karate-themed cupcakes and a cake with a surprise inside. I was super proud of this, but I definitely didn’t want to see fondant again anytime soon!
And hey, Billy got to cut his cake with a katana! 😊
Kevin’s birthday cake – December 2018
I had a lot of fun with this one! I made two dairy- and onion-free (he’s allergic) meatloaf “cakes” and mashed potato “frosting”, and didn’t tell Kevin what it was. The jig was up when he licked the “frosting” off the candle, stopped, and then looked at me and said “Taters?” 😂
Kevin’s face here is *everything*, and is why I love baking for my friends. 😊
Laura’s birthday cake – July 2018
For Laura’s birthday that year, I decided to make mirror glazed mini chocolate mousse cakes with red wine poached pears and a walnut sable breton crust. I think they came out pretty good. 😊
Elisabeth’s Birthday Cake – December 2017
Oh, I had fun with this one. I decided I wanted to make a mirror glaze galaxy cake, and then made it Elisabeth’s own by making the frosting purple and adding the Tardis. If you look reeeeeaaally hard, you can see that the frosting between the layers is ombre, but I didn’t add enough food coloring to make it super obvious. Oh well!
Thanksgiving vertical stripe cake – November 2017
I made a cranberry lemon vertical striped cake for Thanksgiving. The frosting job left something to be desired, but it tasted really good. I definitely saw a couple of double-takes when I cut open this unassuming cake and people saw the inside – success!
Valentine’s Day – February 2016
My first mistake was watching the Great British Bake-off. My second mistake was deciding to make the most persnickety cake I could possibly have chosen – a Schichttorte. It tasted great, but hoo it was a lot of work!
Sheila’s birthday cake – February 2014
Cannoli cake! The sponge didn’t have enough rise to it so I’d definitely try a different recipe for the cake itself, but the frosting was great and it tasted good as a whole!
Thanksgiving pies – November 2010
It’s not Thanksgiving without pumpkin and apple pie. 😊
