23 Festive Christmas Cakes to Fill the Season with Joy (& Treats!)

Arguably one of the best parts of the holidays are the sweet treats that come along with the crisp, cold weather. As Christmas quickly approaches, plan out your dessert spread with these 23 rich and delicious Christmas-inspired cakes to make for your l…

Arguably one of the best parts of the holidays are the sweet treats that come along with the crisp, cold weather. As Christmas quickly approaches, plan out your dessert spread with these 23 rich and delicious Christmas-inspired cakes to make for your loved ones this year.

From a light and airy angel food cake to a hot cocoa cake with peppermint-marshmallow frosting to a three-tiered gingerbread cake with a luscious eggnog glaze and candied cranberries to garnish, you’re sure to find something to fill the season—and your belly—with joy and happiness.

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11 Handy Sugar Substitutes to Keep in the Pantry (and the Fridge!)

Last weekend, I broke the number one rule I share with everyone who asks me for baking advice: to make sure you have all your ingredients before starting the recipe. But there I was, halfway through cracking an egg, when I looked over to the shelf wher…

Last weekend, I broke the number one rule I share with everyone who asks me for baking advice: to make sure you have all your ingredients before starting the recipe. But there I was, halfway through cracking an egg, when I looked over to the shelf where I keep dry ingredients to see my sugar jar woefully near-empty. I wasn’t about to sprint to the grocery store just for sugar (I’m also still keeping grocery trips as minimal as possible these days); I needed a sugar substitute, stat.

Luckily, because I keep a fairly stocked pantry, I had several options. There are actually a number of ingredients that mimic granulated sugar’s flavor and texture in both cooking and baking; you just need to think a bit about what you’re making and what each substitute brings to the table. For example, a ripe banana can swap in just fine when you’re baking a cake, but it wouldn’t work in, say, a caramel sauce. Not every one of these substitutions will replace sugar perfectly in every recipe you try, but they will help you achieve a similar goal in a pinch.

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Bourbon-Pecan Sticky Buns for Superlative Sunday Mornings

“I wrote this book to bury y’all in cornbread and biscuits,” cookbook author Kelly Fields writes in the introduction to her recently released cookbook, Good Book of Southern Baking—“the best dang ones you’ve ever had.”
The path to dessert greatness wa…

“I wrote this book to bury y’all in cornbread and biscuits,” cookbook author Kelly Fields writes in the introduction to her recently released cookbook, Good Book of Southern Baking—“the best dang ones you’ve ever had.”

The path to dessert greatness was neither smooth nor easy for Fields. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, in 2005, Fields lost every notebook and recipe she had saved throughout her career. Notes that she had painstakingly taken from culinary school and her numerous stints in pastry kitchens around the world.

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Goat Milk Butter Is a Game-Changing Swap for Baked Goods

We’ve partnered with Meyenberg to share some delicious ways to use their European-style goat milk butter—it’s rich, creamy, and uber-delicious—in your baked goods, and mix up your kitchen routine.

I’m not much of a baking fan. A weird thing to admit…

We've partnered with Meyenberg to share some delicious ways to use their European-style goat milk butter—it's rich, creamy, and uber-delicious—in your baked goods, and mix up your kitchen routine.


I’m not much of a baking fan. A weird thing to admit at the beginning of a story about baking, I know, but it’s the truth.

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What Is Marzipan? Plus, How to Make it From Scratch

Marzipan, the almond-based confection with roots in the Middle East, Latin America, and all over Europe, deserves a better reputation. The average home baker in the United States probably doesn’t consider it to be their favorite flavor, let alone worth…

Marzipan, the almond-based confection with roots in the Middle East, Latin America, and all over Europe, deserves a better reputation. The average home baker in the United States probably doesn’t consider it to be their favorite flavor, let alone worthy of a permanent spot in their pantry.

But Chef Stephen L. Durfee, professor of baking and pastry at the Culinary Institute of America, is happy to make the case for both points—and restore the good name of marzipan overall.

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15 Soothing Cooking Projects to Busy Your Hands & Nourish Your Soul

When the world seems like an especially confusing place, when everything feels out of our control, when we need something to help make our days a little brighter and better—we turn to cooking. Cooking channels our creative energy, keeps our hands busy …

When the world seems like an especially confusing place, when everything feels out of our control, when we need something to help make our days a little brighter and better—we turn to cooking. Cooking channels our creative energy, keeps our hands busy and our minds clear, and gives us a satisfying end product to enjoy when we’re done.

Whether you prefer to meditatively roll and slice pasta sheets, stir a skillet of gently caramelizing onions, or lovingly shape and fold crusty loaves of sourdough, we’ve got some ideas. Here are 15 recipes to keep your hands busy and your stomachs full during even the most stressful times (like...right now).

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10 Homemade Vegan Breads That Rival Your Favorite Bakery’s

Whether for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, a comforting side of bread pairs well with just about any dish, topping, or spread. From a date-filled nut bread to sweet cinnamon pecan rolls, choosing a favorite among these baked goods will be a difficult tas…

Whether for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, a comforting side of bread pairs well with just about any dish, topping, or spread. From a date-filled nut bread to sweet cinnamon pecan rolls, choosing a favorite among these baked goods will be a difficult task. Best of all, these recipes are made with all plant-based, vegan-friendly ingredients like date paste, aquafaba, and non-dairy milks.

No matter if you’re an experienced baker or a novice cook, you’re sure to master these recipes that will impress both your friends, family, and even yourself! We’ve gathered 10 of our best vegan bread recipes to try for your next baking endeavor.

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How to Make Sourdough With…Beets? (Or Any Vegetable!)

The Perfect Loaf is a column from software engineer-turned-bread expert (and Food52’s Resident Bread Baker), Maurizio Leo. Maurizio is here to show us all things naturally leavened, enriched, yeast-risen, you name it—basically, every vehicle to slather…

The Perfect Loaf is a column from software engineer-turned-bread expert (and Food52's Resident Bread Baker), Maurizio Leo. Maurizio is here to show us all things naturally leavened, enriched, yeast-risen, you name it—basically, every vehicle to slather on a lot of butter. Today, a guide to making vibrant, flavorful loaves with vegetable purees.


Creating a recipe for a loaf of bread oftentimes requires a series of trials, where each trial inches you closer toward your ideal. It’s your job, as the baker, to figure out the inputs (flour, water, mix-ins, salt, preferment) and the process (mixing, bulk fermentation, shaping, proofing) to get you there. And for me, this is perhaps the most exciting part about baking sourdough bread: It’s like seeing a picture of a finished, beautiful puzzle, then being handed a box of scattered pieces to put together yourself.

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How to Light a Christmas Pudding on Fire (Because Why Not?)

To an American palate, Christmas pudding may taste like a yummy, gooey, extra-rich fruitcake (in a good way) that’s slathered with hard sauce (which ensures that you will like it even if you don’t care for fruitcake) and eaten with a spoon.
This is on…

To an American palate, Christmas pudding may taste like a yummy, gooey, extra-rich fruitcake (in a good way) that's slathered with hard sauce (which ensures that you will like it even if you don’t care for fruitcake) and eaten with a spoon.

This is one family’s version of a traditional English Christmas pudding, famously carried to the table in flames with a sprig of holly on top. It's studded with dried fruit—three kinds of raisins, plus prunes—along with chopped fresh apples and almonds, bread crumbs, grated suet (raw beef fat), stout, and brandy. A little flour and a couple of eggs hold it all together.

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