As a published baking cookbook author, I’ve made my fair share of baked treats. And every year, I pull together a list of new baking recipes to try and I call it my “baking bucket list.” The list is basically filled with my baking-related goals—recipes or techniques that I’ve been too intimidated to try, or some failures I want to revisit. This year, I want to tackle mille-feuille (accomplished!). I’d also love to whip up cheese soufflé, a beautifully delicious homemade challah, and a meringue or pavlova roulade/roll of sorts.
Anyway, I thought readers might enjoy browsing some dessert recipes and non-desserts that have been on my baking bucket list over the years. These recipes can definitely be more challenging, but so rewarding to complete!
Do you have any baking recipes that you want to work on? Perhaps some recipes that have intimidated you in the past, and now you’re ready for a challenge? Find inspiration below! Work at your own pace, or set a goal to try 2 new recipes a month to make your way through the list by the end of the year. However you decide to tackle it, just have FUN!
Baking Bucket List Recipes
Crème Brûlée
Many beginner bakers are SHOCKED at how easy crème brûlée is! Only 6 ingredients required, and if you follow my success tips, you’ll be gifted with the smoothest, creamiest dessert ever.
Homemade Madeleines
These airy teacakes aren’t difficult, but they do require your attention, patience, and precision. This very detailed recipe will guide you!
Beautiful Pastry Braid
This dough comes together using a “rough puff” method to create countless flaky layers. One reader says: “This recipe is delicious! I was intimidated by the pastry dough & braid but the detailed instructions were very helpful and it turned out delish. ★★★★★“
Homemade Croissants
Golden, extra flaky croissants require time, patience, and plenty of rolling. My very thorough post and recipe will help guide you—you can absolutely handle this project! One reader says: “Absolutely the best! Croissants were flaky and delicious. Step-by-step guide and video were so helpful. First time ever making them and I’m totally sold! ★★★★★“
Lemon Pudding Cakes
With fluffy lemon cake on top and rich lemon pudding on the bottom, these unique lemon pudding cakes are a tangy texture dream.
French Macarons
This is an in-depth beginner’s guide to homemade French macarons. I include my kitchen-tested recipe, plus plenty of success tips, descriptions, overview of techniques, list of tools… basically everything you need to get started AND to succeed!
Vertical Cake
What? Where? When? How? This is a vertical layer cake. Assembled with vanilla sponge cake, lemon blueberry swirl whipped cream, and lemon cream cheese buttercream, this vertical cake is a beautiful masterpiece. It’s soft and light with an impressive aesthetic!
Homemade Glazed Doughnuts
Fried, old-fashioned, and comforting. It’s so much fun to make homemade doughnuts from scratch without leaving the comfort of home.
Chocolate Soufflé
One of the most luxurious desserts requires just 7 ingredients. It’s all about the technique! One reader says: “We were nervous making a soufflé for the first time. We followed the instructions to a T, watched the video, and they turned out AMAZING!!! The texture was perfect, the rise was so high… we will definitely make this again. ★★★★★“
Checkerboard Cake
This is a 4-layer vanilla cake twisted up into 1 seriously mesmerizing checkerboard design. So much fun to cut into because the real party is INSIDE the cake!
Cream Puffs With Homemade Choux Pastry
Choux pastry has the reputation for being difficult, but it’s surprisingly simple and prep time is only about 15 minutes. Try it once and you can make an array of pastries: cream puffs, profiteroles, eclairs, and more! One reader says: “I have never made choux before and found so many recipes that were very complicated—yours was perfect! Just made a batch and beaming with pride! ★★★★★”
Brownie Baked Alaska
What a showstopper! This brownie baked Alaska combines a homemade brownie base with your favorite ice cream flavor (like mint chocolate chip); then you’ll smother it with toasted marshmallow meringue. A truly memorable and impressive treat!
Homemade Bagels
This easy recipe proves that you can make deliciously chewy bagels in your own kitchen with only a few basic ingredients and baking tools. You’ll be rewarded with fresher-than-ever bagels, plus the bragging rights for from-scratch baking.
Mille-Feuille (Napoleon Pastry)
From the countless flaky layers of delicate puff pastry, to the clouds of vanilla pastry cream, to the marbled icing, mille-feuille is an impressive dessert. Learn how to make this classic European pastry in your own kitchen—no complicated ingredients or pastry school diploma needed.
Homemade Cinnamon Swirl Bread
This simple recipe for nostalgic homemade cinnamon swirl bread is a family favorite. It’s soft, tender, and requires just a handful of basic ingredients. Just look at that gooey cinnamon swirl!
Homemade Banana Cream Pie
Creamy and smooth from-scratch custard, bananas, and whipped cream sit inside my signature flaky pie crust for one epic banana cream pie. It’s a classic yet show-stopping dessert that’s best made ahead of time, making it a perfect choice for dinner parties, holidays, or other special get-togethers.
No-Knead Seeded Oat Bread
Homemade bread has never been easier with the no-knead method used to make this seeded oat bread. It’s crusty on the outside, chewy on the inside, and full of crunchy seeds in every bite. One reader says: “I have made this bread several times and everyone who tries it absolutely loves it. Thanks for the recipe. ★★★★★”
Homemade Puff Pastry
My puff pastry recipe uses the “rough puff” method of carefully working the butter into the dry ingredients, then folding and flattening many times to create all those lovely flaky layers. I use this versatile dough for a variety of recipes, including berry turnovers (pictured), savory puff pastry tarts, and palmier cookies.
Pavlova (Gluten Free)
Pavlova is crisp on the edges, chewy on top, and marshmallow soft and creamy in the center—that’s 3 different textures in each bite! Finish it off with lemon curd, whipped cream, and fresh fruit for a one-of-a-kind dessert that is sure to impress.
Homemade English Muffins
These honey wheat English muffins are completely homemade from a simple 8-ingredient, no-knead dough. You’ll start by baking them on the stove and finishing them up in the oven, creating a super soft English muffin filled with tons of signature “nooks & crannies.”
Homemade Bread Bowls
Everyone’s favorite way to enjoy soup! Using a basic yet versatile bread dough, these bread bowls are crisp on the exterior and soft on the inside—and they pair perfectly with virtually any soup or chili recipe. One reader says: “Thank you for this recipe. They were perfectly delicious and complemented my soup impeccably well. ★★★★★“
Black Forest Cake
Moist chocolate cake, homemade whipped cream, rich chocolate ganache, and sweet spiked cherries give us lots of layers to love in this towering treat. If you’ve been itching to try a layer cake, you won’t regret making this deliciously decadent black forest cake.
Eclairs With Homemade Choux Pastry
Once you’ve tackled my homemade choux pastry recipe, you can pipe the dough into logs to make delicious eclairs. Fill with peanut butter mousse, generously dip in chocolate ganache, and enjoy!
Which of these recipes have you tried? I have some more inspiration in my advanced baking recipes section.
Or if quick recipes are your jam, here is my collection of quick dessert recipes.
Have fun!
Reader Comments and Reviews
Well I have loved the guidance and direction I receive from Sally for years. Now I have my friend at new years asking for the strawberry cake,my grandchildren begging for bread bowls with creamy chicken noodle soup, and my daughter taking hazelnut slice and bake cookies to parties. All great!
So happy to read this, Sue! Thank you so much for making and sharing our recipes.
Croissant bread all the other breads going through them one by one , long way to go only just begun
I always have new bread recipes on my bucket list! Want to work on a challah bread recipe this year. Not sure I can do it justice, but I will try!
I teach a cooking class each month for older adults. It’s free by the way. I would like to make hostess gift type treats: breads, biscotti, granola , trail mix etc. Any suggestions?
BTW, this class is held in a small rural college with one grocery store. The next closest town for shopping is 50 miles away.
Hi Kathleen! We love this pumpkin bread, cinnamon swirl bread, chocolate orange biscotti, granola clusters, trail mix bars, and so many more! You can browse all our recipes here, or search using the search function at the top 🙂
I think you would like baklava I don’t trust anyone else with baking resipes and baklava has been on my list. Is there a resipe?
We do not have a recipe for baklava but let us know if you find one that you love!
Try this one – my church potluckers love it!
https://www.themediterraneandish.com/how-to-make-baklava/
Loved ALL of the recipes. Been making cream puffs and eclairs for years. A family favorite. The Blueberry/Lemon Vertical cake maybe my weekend challenge
I’m surprised that pretzels are not on your list. They certainly are on mine, and I want to make them with real lye. Any recipes for that?
Hi Samira, here is our favorite homemade pretzels recipe (although we do not use lye). Let us know if you give them a try!
I made your scone re ipe twice now and am proud to say how good it all worked out. I. At altitude so always nervous but didn’t need to make any changes
I love your recipes so much! I loved every single recipe I’ve made of yours. Any time I make a cake I always use your recipes. I also look at your recipes first when I’m trying to find a recipe. Thank you for all you have done!
Thank you so much for making and trusting our recipes, Pearl!
Can I make the vanilla buttercream frosting on the best sugar cookies?
Hi Bonnie, absolutely! We use buttercream frosting (with the addition of vanilla bean) on these St. Patrick’s cookies.
Have not been disappointed with any of your recipies I’ve tried. Looking forward to trying more.
Love your recipes, Sally! Would you ever consider publishing a recipe for King Cake? It would be a fun idea for Mardi Gras. Thanks for all you and your team do.
Thank you so much! I usually use King Arthur Baking’s King Cake recipe. It’s wonderful, if you need a suggestion! https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/mardi-gras-king-cake-recipe
Hi Sally- I feel like I may have climbed Mt Everest first! I made your recipe for Buche de Noel. It was beautiful, delicious and so fun to make. I had always wanted to try it and I finally did. It looked so pretty on the holiday table and I felt really proud of my accomplishment! I am going to tackle some of your yeast recipes on this list. I am not sure if my photo will come through but here is the finished project! IMG_2307.jpeg
We’re so happy to hear that you made the Buche de Noel, Mary Louise! It’s a true accomplishment. We wish you the best with the yeast recipes – would love to hear how they go.
Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup…I made it for a friend that had hand surgery and I thought soups would be perfect. Here is what she just texted to me “Er espy yo darn KUDOS on your chicken soup! OMG – the best we’ve ever had! Fran, if that’s a recipe, please share! If it’s something you concocted, please share! Steve
s comments: “Boy, that’s some kind of good!” Thank you Sally for being my go to for baking and for expanding your recipe options.
This is a great inspiration. It makes me want to get more specific about my goals. For example, this year’s is just “pie”. (I’ve already made a good start by trying your flaky pie crust recipe – turned out the best of any I’ve ever tried!) Making a more evocative list will be a fun project in itself!
What a fun idea, Ruth! So glad you enjoyed the pie crust.
Pie crust can be extremely difficult, so that’s a wonderful goal to have already accomplished!
I love this idea! I have been wanting to try some harder baking recipes at least once a month for this year and this is great inspiration. I have had great baking success following your recipes!
We’d love to know which recipe you decide to try first, Leanne!
Hi Sally, great suggestions!
I’m a little bit proud that I already made some of the recipes on this list: the choux pastry, the bagels, the cinnamon swirl bread, and the homemade puff pastry. This year I would love to try the babka and the danish. My kids really got interested in macarons so maybe we will try to make them – that’s a project for me and my 14 and 11 year old 🙂
I personally would like to up my pizza game. I’ve been making the same pizza dough and preparation technique for years, which works fine and all, but I’m ready to learn again. I tried some pizza dough Kenji Lopez-Alt made on youtube and it was a whole new experience. I’ll definitely look into the pizza wisdom you have shared here as well!
Have a great baking – and writing, food styling and photographing! – year!
What happened to your pages of muffin recipes? I was looking for your master muffin recipe and all I found were your bakery style master
Hi Sandra, here is the recipe for 1 Batter for Infinite Muffins.
Could you use almond flour in place of all purpose flour in your recipes?
Hi Kathy, almond flour is very different from all-purpose flour, and it’s best to only use it in recipes that are specifically written for its use. Here are all of our recipes that call for almond flour.
Hi Sally!
This recipe tastes amazing but how do I get the colour to stay white like yours? Mine has a buttery colour after adding the butter and vanilla extract
Hi Kirsten, happy to help! What recipe are you referring to? Usually with frostings like our vanilla buttercream, you can add a *tiny* drop of purple gel food coloring to offset the yellow in the frosting. Sounds weird, but it works!
Hi Sally, As other I love your website and recipes…in fact, so do my two daughters and my two sisters. One recipe I’m always looking for is a Chocolate Roll, with some sort of white cream filling, with chocalate icing on the top of roll. Its best kept in the refrigerator and then sliced for presentation. Do you have any recommendations for that type of recipe?
Hi Kathy! Here’s our favorite chocolate roll cake recipe – let us know if you give it a try. And thank you so much for making and trusting our recipes!
Thanks to your inspiration, I have made seven of the 15. 2023 holds a lot of promise!
I love the recipes and would like to know if you have put them in a book?
I have not put any of these recipes in a book, actually! A couple of them (or a variation of them) may pop up in my next cookbook though. I am currently working on the manuscript. 🙂 So, for now, all of these recipes just live on my website.
Too good love it. Great keep it up.
Dear Sally and team, I love your recipes— they are making me popular. Please try popovers— mine never come out right…I know you will figure it out— and share the secrets with your loyal followers (like me) – thanks
When my 14 year old wants to try a challenging recipe (macarons, croissants) we always come to your site because of how in depth and easy to follow your directions are. I’ve never had a recipe fail when using your recipes which keeps me returning. Thank you for all of the testing and retesting you do.
I used two of your recipes for a senior cooking class in our small town in Northern Minnesota. The class absolutely loved the Baked Oatmeal (we really loaded with fruit: apples, blueberries and craisins) and the honey whole wheat english muffins. Food prices are very high here – so DIY recipes are really appreciated! I really enjoy your posts and recipes! Thank you.
I’d love to see your recipe for brioche, particularly brioche buns. My husband likes the “brioche hamburger buns” sold at our grocery store bakery because they’re so soft. I’ve tried other recipes but they come out heavy and tough. I can’t find a brioche recipe on your website. Please help! P.s., I love all your recipes I have tried.
Such a wonderful suggestion, thank you! I love brioche buns for sandwiches and such.
I need a no fail quiche recipe. I hope you can help me.
Hi Kathy, here is our favorite quiche recipe. Hope you enjoy it!
I am excited by all your recipes. I love all the recipes, especially the chocolate ones.
Sally, since following your site, have enjoyed reading & going through your detailed write up on recipes. My all time fave is your moist chocolate cake. Perfect everytime I bake it. TQ again.
I also have a baking bucket list. This year I want to improve on painting with buttercream using a palette knife. There are crazy artists out there! Moreover, I have been practicing making vegan macarons with aquafaba, however, they are even more finicky than regular French macarons, let’s see how it goes!
Painting buttercream, yes! I would love to have more practice with that.