Zoe Bakes

Blackberry Ricotta Tarts, a wee bit of summer in the dead of winter!

This past weekend I NEEDED summer. The weather was vacillating between rain and sleet, my boys couldn’t even go ice skating because the rink was just a pool of slush. The Midwestern sky, that I can usually count on for an endless blue sunny backdrop to winter, was gray. It was all too much to [...]

Coconut Cream Cake with Toasted Meringue Frosting

This fall in the midst of my book tour was a François gathering. My husband’s family were all coming together in Vermont to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of his parents. This is no easy feat for this group, they are spread far and wide. Relatives came from Paris, New York, Toronto, Trinidad and of [...]

Chiffon Cake with a Tuscan Twist!

What an exciting year 2009 was. Towards the end it got a little too exciting and I was forced to take a break from posting. Now that the schedule of promoting Healthy Bread in Five has slowed down and the fevered pitch of the holidays has subsided I can get back to what I love. [...]

Bûche de Noël ~ Christmas Yule Log

This is a classic French dessert that is served at Christmas time. Bûche de Noël translates as the “Christmas Log” and is meant to look like the piece of wood you are about to toss into the fireplace. It is a rather odd tradition and yet I find myself making one every year. It always [...]

Vegan Triple Chocolate Cupcakes from “New Vegetarian” by Robin Asbell (win a signed copy)

I’m a sucker for a chocolate cake and so it seemed the perfect place for me to dive into Robin’s newest book. This one caught my eye for another reason as well, it is vegan. No, I’m not a vegan, but I’ve been looking for this very recipe since the day my brother and his [...]

Chocolate covered Coffee Toffee and my Birthday Cake!

Today is my birthday. I am a woman of a certain age and I think it is worthy of celebrating, so I made one of my favorite candies, chocolate covered toffee, with a hit of coffee. I never buy Health Heath Bars, but every year I manage to convince my boys to give me them [...]

On Book Tour, Please Come Visit!

This is a picture my dad took of Jeff and me at our first book signing at Barnes & Noble in Edina, MN. From there we jumped on a plane and spent the next two days in Chicago and Milwaukee. Thanks to all of you who have come out to see us along the way. [...]

Caramelized Pumpkin & Armagnac Prune Pudding!

This season is bittersweet as far as fresh produce goes. On one hand my backyard urban farm is just a ghost of its lush summer self and I miss it. But, there are the apples, pears, persimmons, quince and the versatile sugar pumpkin, which are at the height of their season. I also associate the [...]

Halloween Marble Cake! …and a “Best Baking Blog” nomination

I will talk about the joys and pains (luckily there is a happy ending) of this cake, but first I want to Thank You, for it had to be you, who nominated me for the “Best Baking Blog” award from Foodbuzz. Imagine my surprise and delight to see my name on this list of wildly [...]

Alice’s Chocolate Mousse Cake with Cajeta!

I made this dessert as an assignment for Target. The store where I buy everything from school supplies to Riedel wine glasses. My friend Betsy Nelson is a food stylist for Target and she asked me to do some of the baking for a photo shoot. As inspiration she brought over the book Bittersweet by [...]