Monthly newsletter for anyone passionate about baking science! Join 4,200+ subscribers and expect dessert recipes, seasonal inspirations, and baking courses.
ππ Sweet Life: October 2025
What's Inside:* Everything you need to know about cinnamon, caramel, and pumpkin!β π Hello Baking Buddy! π I hope your autumn has been beautiful so far! It's been unusually warm in Minnesota lately, so we've been visiting apple orchards and pumpkin patches. π October Flavors πCinnamonDid you know there are different types of cinnamon? The two most common are Ceylon (true cinnamon) and Cassia. While Cassia is what youβll typically find in stores, it contains higher levels of coumarin, a compound that can be toxic in large amounts. If you bake with cinnamon often, consider using Ceylon for its milder flavor and lower coumarin content (lower toxicity). If youβre unsure what type of cinnamon you own, here's a quick & easy visual guide. A few of my favorite cinnamon-forward recipes to try:
CaramelIf thereβs one thing a novice baker is intimidated by other than yeast, itβs making caramel. The problem is usually timing β a caramel can turn from a beautifully deep brown to dark and burnt in just a few seconds. But if you leave your fear aside and watch the sauce carefully the entire time it cooks, then thereβs no reason why you canβt make your own perfect caramel sauce. Caramelizing sugar is a delicate process involving the breakdown of sugar molecules at high heat. The key to perfect classic caramel sauce is patienceβlet the sugar slowly melt and turn golden without stirring too much. If you're not a patient person or easily intimidated by baking, I also have a quick and easy caramel sauce recipe you can try instead that doesn't require a thermometer! A few of my favorite recipes using caramel:
PumpkinPumpkin: Should you use canned or fresh? Canned pumpkin is convenient and consistent, but fresh pumpkin can have a more robust flavor. If youβre using fresh pumpkin, make sure to steam or roast it and drain excess moisture to avoid soggy bakes. Fun fact: Canned pumpkin can be a blend of squashes. I prefer the Libby brand 100% pumpkin puree for this reason. Canned pumpkin pie filling is not the same as pumpkin puree, so double check the can and the recipe before using. View my favorite pumpkin dessert recipes. Spotlight Recipe: Chocolate Pumpkin Torte (GF)βββββ
"This is a divine and decadent torte. My husband and grown sons have declared this is their new favorite. It tastes like a high end dessert you eat while gazing at the Eiffel Tower. Thank you for sharing this recipe, making it easy for anyone to bake!!" - Alissa
I created this dessert to be rich, moist, and decadent with a creamy silky-smooth texture - like a cheesecake but also NOT. The best part? It is perfect for anyone trying to bake a little healthier this season! Itβs naturally gluten-free, can easily be made dairy-free and refined sugar-free too! Pumpkin is a superfood loaded with antioxidants! The pumpkin flavor is barely noticeable in this dessert... in fact, none of my taste testers detected the pumpkin flavor before I revealed it! βRead more about how to make this easy chocolate pumpkin torte.β π Trending on Pinterestπ« Ultimate Chocolate Brownie Muffins - dark, rich, dense, and fudgy with a deep to-die-for chocolate flavor. *viral recipe* π Cherry Almond Muffins - moist muffins are filled with sweet cherries and have a lovely almond scent. Recipe works well as a quickbread loaf too! β Vanilla Chai Spiced Snickerdoodles - soft and chewy cookies rolled in a sugar-spice mixture. These spiced snickerdoodles taste just like a vanilla chai latte! π Funfetti Cookies - super soft and chewy sugar cookies dotted with sprinkles. They have an amazing buttery vanilla flavor. π₯¨ Oktoberfest Celebrations: Make your own soft pretzels, beer cheese dip, sauerkraut soup, German potato salad, and Black Forest cake! Halloween Treat Ideas πHalloween is just around the corner, so here are a few spooky ideas for your October kitchen adventures:
π©βπ³ Cookbooks I Love πSupporting fellow food bloggers and recipe creators is close to my heart, and I love sharing their incredible work with you. Here are four cookbooks you might want to add to your collection too (and why theyβre worth it): π Salty Cheesy Herby Crispy Snackable Bakes: 100 Easy-Peasy, Savory Recipes for 24/7 DeliciousnessβJessie Sheehan bakes up scrumptious, savory treats that are perfect for a snack board (βgirl dinner,β anyone?), offer sustenance for game night, and can easily stand in for lunch or grace the table at brunch. Think Hot Pepper Jelly and Cream Cheese Stuffed Muffins, Smash Burger Hand Pies with Cheese, Pepperoni Pizza Galette with Ricotta, or some Butter Crackers with Melty Cheese and Sour Pickles. π The Cake Bible, 35th Anniversary Edition: A perfect book for serious bakers and cake lovers from acclaimed baker Rose Levy BeranbaumβNow updated with new ingredients, equipment, and methods. A lot has changed in thirty-five yearsβand The Cake Bible has changed with the times. The original Cake Bible is a guiding light in the worldβs baking literature, with Rose Levy Beranbaumβs deep knowledge and respect for craft to be found on every page. Itβs for home and professional bakers who want to make glorious, technically perfect cakes and understand why the ingredients in cakes work the way they do. The book was hugely influential from the moment it first came out in 1988, selling hundreds of thousands of copies and going through sixty printings. It introduced the reverse creaming method, incorporating flour and butter first instead of butter and sugar. It was among the first United States cookbooks to offer measurements in weights, highlighting the superiority of the metric system, which has become the gold standard in baking books. π The Elements of Baking: Making any recipe gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free or veganβMust-have book for gluten-free bakers! Armed with a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry, Katarina Cermelj lays out the science behind baking and the ingredients that make it work, so you can easily adapt your baking to your diet and lifestyle, and still make sure it tastes spectacular. π ZoΓ« Bakes Cookies: Everything You Need to Know to Make Your Favorite Cookies and BarsβNYT BESTSELLER - The expert baker, author, and fellow Minnesotan, ZoΓ« FranΓ§ois (of ZoΓ« Bakes Cakes and ZoΓ« Bakes on the Magnolia Network) takes us through her life with 75 cookies and bars from her Vermont roots and Midwestern living. Curious about all my favorite cookbooks? Peep my baking library here.β One last thing... Have our recipes made their way into your kitchen recently? We'd love it if you would review the recipe you made so that others can find it, too! Your support means everything and helps us to continue sharing helpful baking information to empower home bakers! Cheers, Stephanie Gonzalez This email contains some affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links at no additional cost to you. Not all links are affiliate links. |
Sweet Life.
Monthly newsletter for anyone passionate about baking science! Join 4,200+ subscribers and expect dessert recipes, seasonal inspirations, and baking courses.
If you bake one thing this fall, make it these pumpkin muffins. 𧑠This isnβt just any recipe β itβs the #1 pumpkin muffin recipe on the internet, loved and baked by millions every year. Hereβs why: β¨ Quick & Easy β ready in just 30 minutes π₯ Pantry-friendly β no fancy ingredients needed π Fail-proof β no mixer required (and if you want to use the entire can of pumpkin, it still won't fail either!)π Perfectly moist, tender, and full of warm fall spices These muffins are everything you want in...
What's Inside: Fall Baking Ideas Back-to-school recipes & remedies Soup season favorites The buns we bake on repeat π Hello Baking Buddy! π As the leaves in our front yard slowly start to turn orange and red, I am reminded that this is the beginning of what I lovingly refer to as "Baking Season!" Crisp, cool mornings and sweatshirt weather just put me in the mood to bake. It's truly my favorite time of year. Homemade pumpkin spice blend is a winning combination of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg,...
Hi Reader! Thereβs something magical about starting the day with a muffin still warm from the oven. Whether youβre grabbing one on the way to work or enjoying a slow morning with coffee or tea on the porch, Iβve got the perfect summertime muffin recipes for you. From juicy mango to dreamy strawberry ricotta, tart lemon to cozy chocolate zucchini, these muffins are packed with flavor and perfect for using up fresh fruit and garden veggies. One thing you'll notice about most of my muffin...