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A Sweet Journey: My Baking Adventure Through the Years

  ~Cake demo at the Utah State Fair 2022 

Baking has always been more than just a hobby for me—it's been a journey of creativity, passion, and connection. 

~Brazilian carrot cake ( my favorite)

My Baking Journey: From Birthday Cakes to Brazilian Treats and Everything in Between

Baking has always been more than just a hobby for me—it’s been a journey of creativity, passion, and connection. Whether I’m baking birthday cakes for my family, sharing baking tips at the Utah State Fair, or perfecting Brazilian treats like brigadeiros, I’ve found the most joy while in the kitchen. Over the years, I’ve discovered that baking isn't just about following recipes—it's about creating lasting memories, experimenting with new flavors, and celebrating life’s sweetest moments.

~ marble cake, butter cookies, brigadeiros, monkey bread, key lime protein bites, coconut flan, Texas sheet cake 

~coming 2025 

As someone with Brazilian roots, I’ve always been drawn to making traditional Brazilian desserts. One of my favorites is brigadeiros—delicious chocolate truffles that are rich, indulgent, and perfect for any occasion. These small, flavorful bites have become a staple in my baking repertoire, and I love sharing them with friends and family. Along with brigadeiros, I also enjoy making flans, cookies, brownies, and other Brazilian-inspired sweets that remind me of my heritage.

~ baklava, cocoa cookies, mint truffles, Christmas cookies, Gingerbread cookies, beijinhos, molasses cookies, chocolate chip cookies, brownies 4 ways, peppermint bark, crinkle cookies, chocolate peppermint cookies

Though my journey is far from perfect, it’s been a fun and rewarding adventure. With each new recipe I try and every mistake I make, I learn something new and grow as a baker. The joy of baking—whether it’s a simple batch of cookies or an elaborate birthday cake—continues to inspire me every day.

~ German chocolate cake, coconut chocolate cake, funfetti, white cake, brigadeiros cake, corn cake, carrot cake 

As I look back at all the desserts I’ve created through the years, I’m reminded of how far I’ve come and how much I’ve yet to explore. I can’t wait to see where my baking journey takes me next!

Brownies four ways : blondies, traditional, avocados, and beans

For today’s “chef would be proud series” we are going to share with you four different versions of brownies! 

If you aren’t familiar with what a brownie is well think of it as a small square of rich chocolate cake, typically containing nuts. It has a cake-like texture but a little bit dense and fudgy.

Brownies four ways:

This traditional brownies recipe found on blendtec “fresh blenders” cookbook it’s definitely a winner in my book. I’ve had my blender for about 7 years now and it came with this cookbook. Out of all the recipes I’ve tried I keep coming back to these brownies because they are simple and to the point! The only change I’ve made is add 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 1 cup of granulated sugar instead of 1 1/2 cup of granulated sugar.

Blender Brownies:

3/4 cup of butter (melted)

2/3 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

3 large eggs

1/2 cup of cocoa powder

1 cup of granulated sugar

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1 tsp of vanilla extract 

7/8 cups of all-purpose flour 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add butter and chocolate chips to blender and blend for about 1 minute. Add the rest of the ingredients and “pulse” if you also have a blendtec or beat for about 2 or so minutes until batter is well combined. Pour into a greased 9x9 pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Initially I was very skeptical of this oats and black beans recipe. After I got over the thoughts of beans in something sweet the taste was actually delicious! The only few tweaks on this recipe would be to really blend the beans first (in a blender or food processor) and also blend the oats a bit more. Other wise it’s pretty good! I hope you give this black beans brownies by chocolate covered Katie a try! 

The only down of this recipe is that it wasn’t moist enough to my linking. I’m going to tweak the ingredients a bit to see if I can make it moist but I still think that you should try the best blondie recipe by sugar spun run! 

Next to the traditional brownies this avocados recipe has got to be one of my favorites! It’s so silky and moist with a shine to it. My kids loved it and kept coming back for more. You should most definitely try this avocados recipe by detoxsinista! 

Watch the YouTube video below so you can see me attempting to make these yummy recipes:

What do you think? Are you a brownie person?

CWBP: E1S1 | I tried Chrissy Teigen’s Banana Bundt Bread Recipe

  Chef Would be Proud: Episode one Season one 

I tried Chrissy Teigen’s Banana Bundt Bread Recipe

For the first episode of my new YouTube series, we wanted to start things off with a bang... After writing down a few recipes from each category of my FOOD BUCKET LIST we ended up choosing this amazing recipe that’s been shared on my Twitter more times than we can count. 

Honestly, I’m just as surprised as you that it’s taken me a long time to make this recipe. This girl is legit obsessed with a slice of good banana bread! 

So you can watch the YouTube video at the end of this post to see how the baking process went but for me but here are my thoughts about the recipe and the whole experience:

One of her secret ingredients is vanilla pudding which I think is what sets her banana bread apart from others.

When I greased the Bundt pan I didn’t do the best job at it and there was a lot of oil dripping and some of the bread got stuck to the pan. 

Overall it is a great straightforward recipe that anyone should be able to make!

If you don’t link dark chocolate as much you could switch to milk chocolate and maybe use less sugar to balance things out.

If you watch my YouTube video then you can tell me if you think I did the recipe justice. 

I’m excited to cross this recipe off my FOOD BUCKET LIST and to keep it in my “make this again” folder.

CHRISSY TEIGEN’S BANANA BREAD RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups very ripe bananas, mashed (about 6 bananas)
• 4 large eggs
• 2/3 cup canola oil, plus more for the pan
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 (3.5 oz) box vanilla instant pudding mix
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 (3.5 oz) bar dark chocolate, chopped into chunks

PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 325°F and grease and flour a bundt pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine the mashed bananas, eggs, and oil.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, pudding mix, baking soda, and salt.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir together gently but thoroughly. Fold in coconut and chocolate chunks.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 60-80 minutes.
6. Let cool slightly in the pan, then run a butter knife around the sides and center of the pan to release onto a plate.
7. Let cool before slicing. Serve with salted butter and enjoy!

Recipe by Chrissy Teigen.