Orange Curd Cheesecake Coffee Crumb Cake

Easy decadence meets springtime in this Orange Curd Cheesecake Coffee Crumb Cake. Indulgent with a tangy twist, this dessert features a feather-light coffee cake and a creamy cheesecake layer topped with bright notes of citrus and softly-spiced brown sugar crumbs.

I posted a Wanted ad in my imagination last week: “Zesty candidate with a tangy twist needed. Looking for dessert with serious seasonal a-peel. The crummier, the better. Lemons need not apply.”

I waited. And I waited. Then one day, this cake suddenly showed up on my oven-step with all the lusty luster of the Old Spice Guy–I took … Read more

Pumpkin Cake Roll with Cream Cheese Frosting

This Pumpkin Cake Roll with Cream Cheese Frosting is much easier to make than it looks! Featuring a springy, spiced pumpkin cake filled with sweet cream cheese frosting, it’s the perfect dessert to impress during any season.

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but it is absolutely acceptable to make pumpkin desserts in March.

You will not descend into Dante’s Sixth Circle of Hell.

You will not be smitten (smited? smote?) by the wrath of fifteen angry pagan gods.

You will not have to go to jail without passing GO and collecting $200.

What you will do is … Read more

Vegan Caramelitas

When it comes to vegan desserts, these Vegan Caramelitas are among the best I’ve ever had! A golden brown sugar crumb filled with layers of chocolate and dairy-free caramel makes these quick bar cookies an irresistible addition to any dessert spread.   

The first time my college roommate caught me eating her homemade caramelitas, she suggested (rather mildly) that I could just take one and eat it if I wanted. You see, she had put them in the freezer for safekeeping and invited me to help myself anytime–but in my half-hearted attempt at self-control, I politely declined her invitation every time. … Read more

Cheesecake Swirl Pumpkin Bread

Move aside, pumpkin spice latte! This autumn, ring in the holiday season by adding some extra spice (and cheesecake!) to a beloved favorite with this moist, easy-to-make Cheesecake Swirl Pumpkin Bread. 

Growing up, we didn’t eat pumpkin but we did eat an awful lot of cream cheese–and by an “awful lot,” I mean obscene amounts that would make most of our breakfast choices qualify automatically as dairy products. To me, a bagel isn’t a bagel unless I smother every last bit–yes, including the hole! This is very important–with an inch-high pile of creamy goodness, which is the way my mom … Read more

Golden Butter Rum Cake (with a Jonathan Gold Seal of Approval)

This luxurious boozy dessert deserves its claim to fame! Awarded “Best Tasting” by acclaimed food critic Jonathan Gold in 2014, my favorite Golden Butter Rum Cake recipe features a decadent yellow cake soaked in a slightly sweet, rum-infused syrup that will leave you (and your guests) clamoring for second servings.

I’ve got a rummy little treat for you today! I first made this Golden Butter Rum Cake in 2014 for UCLA’s annual Edible Book Festival, a literary celebration where bookworms like me get to bake their nerdiness into all sorts of crazy edible concoctions…and where I also had the Read more

Neapolitan Cheesecake

Meet the most beautiful dessert you’ll make this year! This Neapolitan Cheesecake might look super fancy, but it takes minimal extra effort and tastes like a creamy dream! Features an Oreo crust and three decadent layers of chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla cheesecake.

There comes a moment in every person’s life when something unexpected blows their world into a billion, teeny-tiny smithereens and hurls their life into a supermassive existential black hole. For some people, this happens when they realize that Santa isn’t real. Or that Hollywood starlets like Zendaya and Brie Larson are actually younger than you are.

For me, … Read more

Japanese Milk Bread

As Agnes from Despicable Me puts it, “[It’s] so fluffy, I’m gonna DIE!” This unbelievably light, fluffy Japanese milk bread is worth the effort–slightly sweet and buttery, it’s the perfect bread for making French toast or simply enjoying with a side of your favorite spread.

When I first started reading The Hunger Games in college, I’ll admit that I considered Peeta a bit of a pansy. Sure, he was loyal beyond measure and a total cutie to boot, but a baker’s boy who spent every day making bread loaves from scratch? I mean, how hard could THAT job be?

And … Read more

Easy Chewy Oatmeal M&M Cookies

In lieu of writing a blog post this week, I want to encourage everyone to reflect and spend the extra time to seeking information about issues that matter most right now. If you’re short on time, feel free to skip to the bottom for today’s recipe (Oatmeal M&M Cookies), which reminds us that the world is infinitely more beautiful when we see it in color. #BlackLivesMatter

Take care, everyone <3

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Easy Bread Machine French Bread

Are you bread-y for fresh, warm bread at home? Just throw your ingredients into your bread machine and indulge in this easy Bread Machine French Bread–it’s fluffy, soft, and the effort of just a few small steps!

If you have ever played Overcooked 2, then you KNOW that the recent surge in quarantine breadmaking at home is actually the beginning of an invasion wrought upon us by creatures known as the undead Unbread!

If you have never played Overcooked 2 and have no idea what in holy heck I am describing, then I applaud your ignorance and wish you … Read more

Disneyland Churro Bites

Missing your Main Street magic? Fry up some Disneyland love with these mini Churro Bites, straight from the official Disney Parks Blog recipe vault!

Disneyland churros are wayyy more worth it than Disneyland Dole Whip. FIGHT ME.

Here are some scientifically proven* common psychological and emotional health benefits of choosing a Disneyland churro:

  • Involves levels of cinnamon-y sugary-coated goodness guaranteed to give you a sugar rush that will last you through the evening fireworks show
  • Will not melt all over your hands or onto the heads on your sticky children
  • Does not require cruel and unusual wait times
  • Can be
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