2023 Recap + Favorite Recipes of the Year

A wild and wonderful year plus recipe underdogs and overachievers.

Dec 30, 2023

What a wildly fun year! If you ask me what 2023 meant to me, I'd say connections: rekindling friendships, sparking new relationships, and deepening connections with those close to me. The year filled me with up with the joy of friends, music, travel, games, and a whole lot of baked goods. ...oh, and I appeared on my favorite TV baking competition.

Ever since filming the Great American Baking Show, the nine contestants have kept in touch through our group chat, regular Zoom meet-ups, an annual Secret Santa gift exchange, and meeting up whenever bakers are in the same place. Earlier this year, most of my fellow Baking Show bakers visited Chicago for a whirlwind weekend of bakeries, sightseeing, eating, and general merriment. When the show premiered, I got to enjoy it and promote it with Sarah and Nirali here in Chicago. We went on WBEZ, WGN, and appeared in the Chicago Tribune (twice), Chicago Magazine, and more. I'll never forget the time spent talking about baking (and friendship) with those two incredible people.

I reconnected with lots of friends and family through my appearance on the show. Folks from all parts of my life reached out to congratulate me and I used that as an excuse to hop on a call or video chat to catch up. Former colleagues and distant relatives saw me doing my favorite hobby. People asked for recipes, baking tips, and wanted to know what it was like to be in The Tent with Paul and Prue.

Nirali, Sarah, and I after judging cookies.

I connected with new friends, Baking Show fans, and fellow bakers from near and far. Social media isn't perfect, but when you focus on positivity and baking, you surround yourself with excellent people. Strangers became pals through Instagram and this newsletter. I even struck up conversations with other Baking Show contestants from here in America, Canada, Australia, the UK, and beyond. I hope 2024 brings more baking buddies together and grows the connections we made this year.

Amongst all the fun and friendship, I put myself out there in ways that seemed scary, uncomfortable, and exciting. I challenged myself to create recipes and share them. I worked very hard and I feel so lucky to be doing something that I love. Some of the recipes never made it out of my kitchen—they still need work. But so many of them came out tastier than I could have imagined. Some even made it to places like the Chicago Tribune, WBEZ, and Food & Wine.

I love all my recipes, and can't really pick favorites, but here are five recipes that I hope you give a chance this winter. (I excluded any holiday-themed recipes, because we're all full of Stollen and cookies right about now.)

In no particular order:

The Whipped Cream Berry Cake

I had a dream about a lighter-than-air cake to serve as a pillow for whipped cream and berries. That vision combined a classic genoise sponge with whipped cream to give it a velvety richness and cloud-like crumb. It took a lot of testing to get it right, but it's pretty close to a perfect cake. I know it’s winter, but you can swap out the berries for supremes of citrus, some passion fruit pulp, fresh mango, or even a swirl of your favorite jam. Get the recipe.

Sticky Toffee Pudding Loaf

Yes, this cake-like pudding is studded with prunes (I know.) and made with whole grain rye flour. But it’s moist, sticky, comforting, and hearty. And the decadent, warm Bourbon-spiked toffee sauce sends this dessert to another dimension. This bake was one of those things that my tasters didn't look excited about, but as soon as they had a bite they cleaned their plates and asked for more. Get the recipe.

Easy Apple Cake

I love a one-bowl cake and I love the gorgeous sifted durum flour from Janie's Mill. I found myself cutting myself a slice of this cake, and just standing over the platter and eating it out of my hand like a piece of pizza. That's the sign of a keeper. Grab some apples and get this in the oven. Get the recipe.

Cheese Puffs

Choux pastry is easier to make than you think, and these became my party trick. I made a batch at Christmas, and as soon as they came out of the oven, we stood around the kitchen island and scarfed them down. You probably have the ingredients around your house, so what are you waiting for? They're perfect for your New Year's Eve party! Get the recipe.

Coffee & Walnut Financiers

I've always thought that these little French nut-based cakes don't get enough love. My coffee, walnut, and brown butter variation doubles down on the toasted, caramelized richness of the original. I brought a batch to my parents a few weeks back, and they still rave about them. Get the recipe.

As always, you can find the archive of my recipes and previous newsletters at greatbakes.substack.com.