Hi there! I’m Rachel, the creator of this baking blog! As you may have guessed by the name, I’m pretty obsessed with making desserts. From your basic – but always delicious – brownies and cookies, to the less attempted by home bakers – souffles, pavlovas, shooters, and more! If I’m baking, I’m usually trying to update familiar desserts by experimenting with new flavors, textures, or combinations of elements you might not normally see, or think of. I’m also a sucker for matching desserts to a theme!
My family…
We are a military family, so basically we are professional movers that thrive on never knowing what’s next. Ha! I served in the United States Marine Corps as a musician from 2001-2008, where I met my amazing husband, who is currently working on his 25th year on active duty. We have three pretty awesome kids, Leah who’s 11 and can totally hold her own in the kitchen, and our four year old identical twin boys, Noah and Ryan, who are our professional snack bandits. As you can imagine, life is pretty chaotic for us!
Getting started in the kitchen…
My love for being in the kitchen really started when I got out of the Marine Corps to be home with Leah. Thanks to my own great mom, I started with a solid foundation of skills, but I wanted to know more! To learn and immerse myself deeper, I started a side hustle with The Pampered Chef which also stocked my kitchen with new, high quality tools for free (shameless plug HERE). I used my love for entertaining to cook and bake as often as our friends felt like being guinea pigs!
Taking baking to the next level…
In the summer of 2018, the twins were three, and things had quieted down enough that I decided it was finally the right time to take advantage of my GI Bill. I was chatting with my {oh-so-wise} friend Pam about how I wanted to use this opportunity to study something I’m really interested in, not just for the formality of receiving a diploma. Without missing a beat, she told me I should study baking!
While this seemed like an obvious suggestion, (I had recently been upping my baking game) I needed something that was 100% online because the twins still had a couple more years home with me. Long story short, I googled online baking course (mostly just to prove her wrong, ha!) and up popped the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts! To my astonishment, it was a legit pastry program, completely online!
I spent the next year immersed in all things sweet. Each week I aimed to try to use a new flavor, ingredient, or recipe to apply the technique we were learning. I tried to be a sponge and soak it all in, learning from a cast of amazing teachers. It was easily one of the best experiences of my life. I flourished baking in my kitchen, but also discovered that I enjoyed the photographing and writing aspects, which led me to this blog opportunity!
My baking style…
I especially enjoy making mini food. I’m not talking doll size, but two-bite treats are the sweet spot, if you ask me! Bonus points if they are portable, making them the perfect party food! I really love combining unexpected flavors with traditional concepts, as well! I do try to make as much from scratch as possible, because why not?
I hope you’ll not only join me on this new journey, but participate, too! I love to hear from my readers, whether we are celebrating your successes or answering questions! Stay in touch by subscribing, commenting on posts, following me on Facebook, or reach out to me directly at thesumofallsweets@gmail.com. Happy baking, y’all!
