My baking adventures have finally started to creep on to the blog over the past few weeks, but if truth be told I’ve been something of a Baking Blog lurker aficionado fora couple of years now! So this week’s Top Ten is dedicated to those who really know how it’s done; the pages I click to when I need some recipe inspiration – or just to indulge in some seriously impressive desserts – without the calories!!
I am a lover of food, art and of the written word, so these are a perfect combination of incredible baking creativity, beautiful photography and personal, often humorous and insightful writing. It’s strange how you come to feel you “know” the people behind the blogs I visit most often – I love how they offer a little window into someone’s life, from Oxford, to Canada to Sydney, and back again! I’ve also added links to my favourite recipes. Maybe one day I’ll give them a go myself!?
1. Sweetapolita
Sweetapolita is a pink-loving, sugar-coated mum of two from Canada, and I absolutely love her colourful and playful creations. And her adorable two little girls! One day I’ll be brave enough to have a go at one of her epic layer cakes, like this lemon and blueberry beauty.
2. Raspberri Cupcakes
Steph’s blog, Raspberri Cupcakes, is one of the first I found – and you may recognise the mint choc chip cake in the picture as the one I attempted for the boy’s birthday this year! Steph is the undoubted queen of crazy macarons (a secret fave of mine) and I also love the insights into the Australian food scene that her restaurant reviews give. Mouth watering!
3. Sprinklebakes
Heather of Sprinklebakes is a trained artist, and you can tell. Her posts are poetic and whimsical (and often interrupted by her cute pug puppies) – just check out this amazing birthday cake inspired by the Snow Queen from Narnia. Cake and literature? Sold.
4. Poires au Chocolat
One of my new discoveries this year. Emma is from Oxford and I love her thoughtful and literary style of writing – you can tell she’s a language buff like me. She posts a real variety of recipes, inspired by everything from the plants in her garden and her time spent abroad, to Chaucer and Dickens, no less! And I love her annual attempt at the perfect hot cross buns.
(Anyone else feeling hungry yet?!)
5. Spicey Ice Cream
Another Oz-based foodie. Weirdly, the thing I like most about this blog (by Lisa, a graphic designer by trade) is the titles she gives her posts. They often capture the mood or the feeling of the post, rather than the recipe itself. I kind of like that – it’s something I often try to do with this blog, too. She does great recipe collections, offering “13 things to do with…” a certain ingredient. And I need to have a go at her amazing fruity cobblers and crumbles.
6. Desserts for Breakfast
I found this blog through Poires au Chocolat – food blogging seems to have a real community feel to it! And if you don’t like her incredible recipes (erm, what do you mean you don’t want this Apricot Brulee Tart? What’s wrong with you!?) then check it out just for the photos. They’re always dark and mysterious, compared to a lot of the others, and it really works.
7. How Sweet Eats
Now, prepare yourself before you visit this one. Take a deep breath, as Jessica talks (well, writes) at what feels like a million miles an hour! It’s a brilliant, bananas (and sometimes boozy!) stream of consciousness from start to finish – but her vivid enthusiasm for everything from bonkers salads to country music is infectious. The jury’s still out on whether muffins like these are acceptable for breakfast, though.
8. Sunday Baking Blog
A Dorset girl!I love how she outlines the amazing birthday cakes she’s made for friends – she makes even the most daunting looking sound, well, doable! These Jaffa Cake Cupcakes are next on my to-bake list. I once got very emotional over a packet of Jaffa cakes that I didn’t have enough money for while in Tescos (I’d had a horrible week) and the checkout lady let me have them for free. Ah, memories…
9. Smitten Kitchen
So many of the blogs I already read linked back to or mentioned this one, I knew it was about time to have a look myself. It’s so detailed and chatty, you can really tell how much Deb must enjoy writing and sharing it! And it’s true, her kitchen really is teeny tiny. Yet she still managed to pull of Project Wedding Cake (and shared every stress-and-sugar-filled step along the way!) !
10. … And I’m stumped! These are my top baking bloggers, but I thought I would leave number 10 open to suggestion! Who am I missing out on? Who do you love to read / follow / drool over? And are there any great food bloggers based in Cardiff out there, I wonder?
What I Did Next 