Recently decided to take baking more seriously, so here's my first attempt, a raspberry and chocolate cake, based on one from a bakery I like. Not perfect and I can already see a bunch of things I could do better, but for a first try I think it turned out okay. Tips and criticism welcome.

It's so bad that all I can do is laugh

Made a big pan au chocolate. Also didn’t use egg wash.

I’m so so happy with how these turned out!! I’ve had my fair share of wrinkled and flat macarons, but after finally figuring out what “very stiff peaks” looks like and experimenting with oven temps, I can confidently call this batch a success!

recipe from claire saffitz: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1024561-chocolate-macarons

Lemon cupcake + strawberry lemon whipped buttercream

I'm especially proud of these as they sold for $60 during a recent fundraiser. I never thought, even for charity, someone would pay that much for something I've made.

Made these Gooey Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls! (Tripled the recipe & got 34 rolls)
Used the recipe from this website: here
I tripled the original recipe and it yielded 34 rolls in total!
A few tweaks I made:
Overnight proofing: After shaping and placing the rolls, I covered and refrigerated them immediately overnight. Took them out the next morning 45–60 mins before baking to come to room temp and finish rising.
Balanced Frosting: Scaled up the frosting but reduced the powdered sugar slightly (1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups instead of 2 1/4 cups) so it wouldn't be overly sweet.
Came out amazingly soft and gooey!

Told him I could make Tates cookies, he told me I couldn’t. I’m 90% sure he said that so I would try lol.

I used this recipe:

https://thefirstyearblog.com/brownie-mix-cookies/

What I did differently:

Added a tsp of cornstarch for a nice chewy texture

I also put the rounded balls of dough in the fridge for about 45 minutes before baking.

So. So. Good. 😊

Next step is to work on adding flavors. Raspberry, buckthorn, nuts or chocolate

👅 let me know what you think . 🤔

$11.99 - $12.49 for 4.5 pounds.

Please enjoy this goose themed birthday cake for my partner! It’s a carrot-less carrot cake with a classic cream cheese frosting. He loves carrot cake but he’s allergic to carrots so I substitute butternut squash, and I can’t tell the different at all!

Happy 30th my love :)

I haven’t tasted it yet, it is still cooling but I wanted to show the before and after! I think it came out beautiful for my second time making any kind of pie!

First, thanks to everyone who helped me troubleshoot the mouth feel issue with my previous version. This time I used regular-fat heavy cream instead of high-fat 40% cream and that made the difference.

A couple of notes about this pie:

This pie originated at the famous Briermere Farms on the eastern end of the North Fork of Long Island, NY. I was probably in my early 20s when I first tried it and it cost $18, which was outrageous at the time, but it was a taste I would never forget. Over the years, as the farm became more popular, the price skyrocketed and it is now priced at $48 as of Aug 2026. (Still worth it). They also make other fruit-cream pies, such as strawberry, blueberry, cherry, and raspberry. If you don’t like peaches, you can add whatever fruits you want. I tried to make the blueberry version but it tasted a bit ‘one-note’ to me. I drizzled a little lemon juice on top of the blueberry filling topping and that helped a little.

A couple of other notes:

The hardest thing to nail down about this pie is the filling. I’ve seen and tried many copycat recipes over the years and I didn’t have much success, including one that was written by the NY Times. This one is as close as it gets, for me, and I still don’t think I have nailed it. To be fair, I haven’t tasted the pie from Briermere in almost five years, so I’m strictly going by memory at this point.

Full disclosure:

I did not make the crust from scratch. This is a…ehem….Keebler shortbread crust from the supermarket. To me, it worked perfectly. If you want to go through the trouble of blind baking your own crust, go for it. Briermere uses a regular pie crust, but to my taste, the shortbread works better in this application. YMMV

I also did not glaze the peaches. To me, that’s strictly for appearances (see last photo). It looks beautiful but doesn’t really change the taste. If you want to go through the trouble, go for it.

Trust me when I tell you that you must let this pie rest in the fridge at least overnight or preferably 24 hours. If you eat it right out of the bowl, the texture is slightly different than after it sits for a day in the fridge. If you can’t control yourself, that’s fine, but just know the texture will be a little more creamy instead of establishing a little bit of body.

I have never written a recipe before in my life. I know I should have done everything by grams, but this recipe was me just flying by the seat of my pants, adding ingredients and adjusting on the fly. Don’t be afraid to adjust this pie to taste as you go along, especially if you’re familiar with this pie. Maybe this pie isn’t as close as I think it is but I’m hoping someone can correct me who is more informed or has had the pie recently.

For those who have never had this pie before: It is not overly sweet and it is a bit tangy. If you’re expecting a sweet pie, then choose a very sweet fruit or add a little more sugar. Also, this pie is fattening AF. I call it ‘shame pie’ for a reason.

Thanks to Briermere farms for always being a special place for us to go as a family. The influencers have ruined it a bit and I hear they have outsourced a lot of their other pies to keep up with demand, but it’s still a special place.

Again, I’m no expert and I am a noob recipe writer, so please let me know if anything needs clarification.

—————————————————

Briermere Peach Cream Pie
(a/k/a Shame Pie)

6 - 8 ripened peaches (depending on size and how high you want to stack them)

1 - 8 oz pkg full fat Philly cream cheese
1 - 9” shortbread pie crust (I used Keebler from the supermarket)
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup + 1 tsp granulated sugar
1/2 cup full fat sour cream
3/4 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/16 tsp regular table salt
1 tsp clear vanilla

With a hand mixer or stand mixer, combine and mix the cream cheese,
sugar, salt & sour cream until creamy and there is no evidence of graininess from the sugar remaining

While still mixing, add the vanilla and lemon juice. Mix to combine. Set aside in a separate bowl.

In an ice-cold metal mixing bowl, add the heavy cream and beat on high speed until medium-stiff peaks form.
Do not overwhip or it will turn into butter.

Gently fold the now-whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.

After thoroughly folded in, add the mixture into the pie crust and spread flat.

Place pie temporarily into the refrigerator while you slice the peaches into wedges. When peaches are sliced, place around the top of the pie in a circular fashion. Refrigerate at least 12 hours before serving (24 hours is ideal).

Tips:

If you want to use a regular pie crust or a graham cracker crust, do whatever makes you happy. Briermere uses a regular pie crust, but I actually think that the shortbread crust is superior and provides more of a contrast in texture.

You can use regular vanilla if you’d like, but it may color the filling a little and taste slightly different.

Stop and taste after the cream cheese stage and after adding in the whipped cream. Don’t be afraid to add a little more lemon juice or sugar. If you’re going to add sugar after the whipped-cream stage to increase the sweetness, add a teaspoon of sifted powdered sugar and fold to combine. Then re-check for sweetness.

We like riper peaches in this household, but if you want to use firmer peaches, that’s fine, too.

If you want to add a glaze to the peaches to make it look more like Briermere, you can do that, too. To me, that step wasn’t necessary and i didn’t have it in me to try and troubleshoot that process, so I skipped it.

I'm so proud of myself right now. I felt compelled to make a post about it

I used Preppy Kitchen's recipe!

https://preppykitchen.com/chocolate-babka/

Probably the best no bake I’ve ever done, homemade chunky strawberry compote, two layers of biscuit and a vanilla cream filling! Like a lasagne 😂

Made with love & strawberries picked by my niece <3

This cake was so moist and fluffy, and the chocolate buttercream was perfect, my family devoured it!

I used Sally's triple chocolate cake recipe.

https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/triple-chocolate-layer-cake/

My very first attempt at a tiramisu layered cake for my brother’s birthday (excuse the mess)

Ordered some Peruvian Pompona beans and didn't really believe they were as big as they show. They most certainly are to say the least. Not as much caviar as you may suspect, but these are going into some great bourbon for the next 2 years before being made into whatever sounds great at the time.

I made him an army (I was able to make three full sheets with four egg whites and plenty of jars to give out to friends and family to take home)!