I am 37 weeks pregnant and aiming to eat at least 3 medjool dates a day in preparation for labor. I wanted to bake something delicious that just happened to use dates as part of the recipe, and sticky toffee pudding was perfect. My husband is half English so he loves sticky toffee pudding and said this one is the best he’s ever had. We call it Sticky’s toffee pudding in honor of our little Dutch bunny, Sticky (: So deeply flavorful and gets perfectly gooey while maintaining a nice light springy sponge cake texture. It’s perfect hot out of the oven with ice cream and even cold the next day without reheating.

I am 36 weeks pregnant and aiming to eat at least 3 medjool dates a day in preparation for labor. I also had some canned sweet potato on hand so wanted to find a yummy way to incorporate both of these. These came out quite dense, sort of fudgy, not super sweet…next time I’d probably add 1/4 cup of granulated sugar + 1/4 cup of butter to get some more sweetness, richness, and crustiness. I had to top it with a last-minute ganache to save it.

I love stone fruit season. And I love peaches and cream. This peach cobbler has it all: sweet ripe peaches, biscuity cobbler, textural and temperature contrast. It’s comforting yet fresh. Perfect served warm with vanilla ice cream or chilled the next day.

This is the perfect summer BBQ dessert. So simple and fresh. It highlights the naturally sweet ripeness of the berries, and you could easily use any fruit. I liked strawberries and blueberries for the red, white, and blue of July 4th. I could see this going great with peaches or raspberries too. Perfect served warm with vanilla ice cream.

Since I had a few bananas getting overripe, the logical next step was making banana bread. This time, I wanted to do it with a twist, so I added some mashed sweet potato and golden syrup for extra warming flavors. It’s the perfect level of sweetness and so moist.

This is such a delicious, simple treat with unexpected textures. The dates remain somewhat gooey and chewy even when frozen, the nut butter is both creamy and crispy, and the chocolate is crunchy.

Sometimes healthy can also be indulgent. We’ve been eating way too much ice cream lately and are obsessed with s’mores…so figured we’d try a light frozen protein snack. Actually so delish.

I absolutely love soup, and this Portuguese “green broth” is no exception. We had this dish almost every day in the Azores (Açores) when we were on honeymoon. It’s so nourishing, comforting, and simple. It’s even better homemade since I can add more spices and higher quality ingredients.

My fiance’s baking request this weekend was strawberry shortcake! But specifically a “dense sponge”. He likes the biscuit-y strawberry shortcake, then last night had a dream about a field of sponge cake since we were talking about Victoria sponges, so this hybrid was the perfect treat. Fresh whipped cream and macerated strawberries with lemon juice…it’s like spring came early.

My fiance got me a KitchenAid stand mixer for Christmas, so I was excited to try a recipe that I couldn’t make by hand. Pavlova was a perfect, challenging treat to make. Beaten egg whites with stiff peaks, freshly whipped cream, and my own twist with the addition of yummy vanilla pastry cream to add an extra layer of richness (and use up the egg yolks).

I wanted super chewy, rich, fudgy brownies so I found the internet best recipe and made my own tiny tweaks to it. This came out perfect. Chocolatey, not too sweet, the perfect fudgy texture that got chewy as it cooled. Delicious with ice cold milk.

Apple crisp crumble is one of our favorite desserts. So simple to put together, easy to add variations to, and gives you the satisfaction, warmth, and festive fall feel of apple pie without the fuss. I love the mess of eating it in a bowl with ice cream.

We were watching chocolate week on Great British Bake Off when my partner mentioned “you haven’t made us brownies!” and requested mochi brownies. I thought it’d be a fun idea to try half mochi half all-purpose flour brownies, just to see what the texture might be like. It was an experiment. Turned out much more mochi-like than fudgy/chewy brownie-like.

This is maybe the first and only recipe I made from Alison Roman. I made this two Christmases ago for my fiance and his parents. They devoured it and especially loved the crust. In addition to being flaky and butter, it develops this crispy and chewy sugar crust.

This stew is so deeply flavored and hearty. My fiance requested it for his birthday meal, so I learned how to make it in a pressure cooker and absolutely loved seeing all the spices come together in this flavorful broth. Chicken, beef, or pork could also work, but the gamey flavor of lamb works so well with the ras el hanout spice, green olives, apricots, and other stew ingredients.

Bibingka (Filipino mochi cake) is a dessert I bake with & for friends. It’s a comfort food that’s fun to eat and lasts for a week.

I grew up with two kumquat trees in my childhood home. We always have a ton of fruit, and it can be quite sour when eaten fresh. My mom suggested making a jam this Christmas, so we did.

I absolutely love corn, and had a dish like this at Itria in Summer 2024 so had to recreate it at home. I might even say this is better!

My mum-in-law is English and grew up in Newbury, UK so my fiance grew up eating these. Since I’m American, I always thought flapjacks were pancakes. These are totally different and absolutely delicious.

My fiancee requested this cake for his birthday after we ate it at Frances in SF for an anniversary. It’s such a uniquely rustic and delicious cake. Please enjoy it warm!