MOstly Bakes

05/23/2026

This Easy Blackberry Peach Coffee Cake is my new go-to recipe for a lazy weekend or holiday brunch. A layer of peach and blackberry filling is sandwiched between two layers of buttermilk cake batter. The cake is then finished with a delicious crumb topping. It holds up well over a few days, but trust me when I say it won’t last that long.

If you're still looking for something to make this Memorial Day, check out the recipe here: https://mostlybakes.com/easy-blackberry-peach-coffee-cake-in-1-hour/

05/15/2026

Homemade Tuna Salad Recipe

I love a good tuna salad sandwich. Tuna is humble in the truest sense of the word – it knows its strengths and acknowledges its limitations. It’s respectful when paired with other ingredients – playing nicely, collaboratively to build something better. Add a side of kettle chips and a crisp dill pickle and you have yourself a very happy plate of food. Tuna doesn’t have to prove itself a worthy ingredient. It knows its own value.

We’re still talking about tuna fish, right? Yes. And no. But mostly, yes. Tuna salad is one of those items most people skim over on a restaurant menu and quickly dismiss. It’s not glamorous. It may not be what most people crave when they open the pantry cupboard for a quick meal, but a good tuna salad always satisfies when served. It quietly shows up and shows out, and I think there is an extended metaphor there for how we might choose to live our lives. That is what I love about a good tuna salad sandwich.

In this post, I share my homemade tuna salad recipe and the back story that goes with this humble meal.
👇👇👇
https://mostlybakes.com/delicious-homemade-tuna-salad-recipe/

Make it a great day, foodie friends!

05/02/2026

Brown Sugar and Buttermilk Banana Bread.

I’ve been making this banana bread for my family for as long as I can remember. Today, I’m sharing it with you because the world needs a good, classic banana bread recipe every bit as much as it needs a new, viral dessert. The only difference is that you’ll come back to this Brown Sugar and Buttermilk Banana Bread year after year – long after you’ve forgotten what everybody was eating 10 minutes ago.

Recipe now available on the blog at:
https://mostlybakes.com/brown-sugar-and-buttermilk-banana-bread/

04/26/2026

Hello foodie friends.

It's been a moment since the last time I posted, but believe me when I say this one was well worth the wait.

This recipe for Dubai Chocolate Cake features rich chocolate cake layers brushed with chocolate simple syrup, alternating layers of homemade Dubai Chocolate filling, and whipped chocolate ganache. The cake is then finished in a thin layer of whipped ganache and topped with fresh fruit.

This is not the type of cake you just whip up in an hour. There are steps and stages to this dessert, but they can all be made in advance. If you’re the type of baker who enjoys the process of baking almost as much as savoring the dessert itself, than this recipe is for you.

If you make only one chocolate cake this year, let this be the one you serve. Pssst - Mother's Day is right around the corner.

Check out the recipe at 👇👇👇
https://mostlybakes.com/best-4-element-dubai-chocolate-cake-mostly-bakes/

03/17/2026

Happy St. Patrick's Day. We've put a fresh twist on an Irish tradition. Check out the recipe on the blog. ☘️ 🍀 ☘️

This recipe for Vibrant 1-Hour Turmeric Raisin Irish Soda Bread is a delicious twist on traditional Irish Soda Bread.

03/14/2026

It’s Pi Day… so naturally we’re baking PIE. 🥧

Today’s recipe:
Old Fashioned Tart Cherry Pie with a buttery crumb topping.

✨ Bright, tangy Montmorency tart cherries
✨ A sweet, golden crumb topping instead of a top crust
✨ Classic flavor that tastes like it came straight from grandma’s kitchen (or Mama Maria's)

And yes… the filling slices beautifully (no runny pie here) as long as you can be patient and let it cool before digging in.

In the blog post I’m also sharing:
• The difference between tart cherries vs sweet cherries
• Cornstarch vs tapioca for the perfect pie filling
• Tips for getting a perfect cherry pie texture every time

If you love classic fruit pies, this one is a must-bake.

👉 Visit the blog to get the full recipe
https://mostlybakes.com/old-fashioned-tart-cherry-pie-with-crumb-topping/

And tell me in the comments…
Are you celebrating Pi Day with pie today?

01/14/2026

If you're in an appetizer rut like I was, this recipe for Easy Coconut Curry Tofu 2 Ways is a quick and delicious way to change up your appetizer routine.

Extra firm tofu is cubed, fried in peanut oil until crispy. At this stage, you can season with salt, pepper, or any other seasoning that you like, but to make these crispy tofu bites into a fun and delicious appetizer, simply toss them in a simple sauce made from light coconut milk and yellow curry paste, skewer them, and watch them disappear.

Even the carnivores in your family will be gobbling up these tasty cubes of goodness!

Get the recipe 👇👇👇
https://mostlybakes.com/easy-coconut-curry-tofu-2-ways/

01/05/2026

Happy first Monday of the New Year! I thought I'd go all in this week and share two interwoven recipes back-to-back.

Every year, I make our family’s recipe for both cannoli shells and the custard that fills them for the holidays – family events, office parties, and gatherings with friends – and every year I have someone ask me for the recipe or say that they searched for it on the blog, but couldn’t find it.

Typically, the recipes you find here on the MOstly Bakes blog are my own original recipes, with the exception of a few from either side of the family that have been re-engineered for today’s home cooks. Like those recipes, this one is not mine from a purely creative perspective. I didn’t develop it, but it is definitely a part of me, my holiday baking traditions, and my identity as a home cook.

This past Christmas, once more I had someone ask for the recipe, and again I explained that it couldn’t be found on the blog because it hadn’t been shared in that space. It was then that I realized that regardless of their origin story, all good recipes are meant to be shared.

Giving credit where credit is due, I’m grateful to the women on my mother’s side of the family who developed this recipe and passed it down through generations. I wish I could have been a quiet observer in their kitchens. I can’t tell their story because I wasn’t there to bear witness, but I can share with you my family’s recipes for custard filling and cannoli shells as they were shared with me.

Recipe available on the blog 👇👇👇
https://mostlybakes.com/authentic-sicilian-cannoli-custard-filling/

01/05/2026

Happy first Monday of the New Year! I thought I'd go all in this week and share two interwoven recipes back-to-back.

Every year, I make our family’s recipe for both cannoli shells and the custard that fills them for the holidays – family events, office parties, and gatherings with friends – and every year I have someone ask me for the recipe or say that they searched for it on the blog, but couldn’t find it.

Typically, the recipes you find here on the MOstly Bakes blog are my own original recipes, with the exception of a few from either side of the family that have been re-engineered for today’s home cooks. Like those recipes, this one is not mine from a purely creative perspective. I didn’t develop it, but it is definitely a part of me, my holiday baking traditions, and my identity as a home cook.

This past Christmas, once more I had someone ask for the recipe, and again I explained that it couldn’t be found on the blog because it hadn’t been shared in that space. It was then that I realized that regardless of their origin story, all good recipes are meant to be shared.

Giving credit where credit is due, I’m grateful to the women on my mother’s side of the family who developed this recipe and passed it down through generations. I wish I could have been a quiet observer in their kitchens. I can’t tell their story because I wasn’t there to bear witness, but I can share with you my family’s recipes for custard filling and cannoli shells as they were shared with me.

Recipe available on the blog 👇👇👇
https://mostlybakes.com/part-1-authentic-sicilian-cannoli-shells/

12/24/2025

Sharing some of the beauty and my thoughts from my walk this Christmas Eve morning.

Hope it brings some light to your day.

❤️ M

12/22/2025

If you know anything about my holiday cookie baking history, every year I proclaim that I’m going to “pare back” on my baking, and every year I still end up making between 10 – 12 or more types of cookies over a marathon session of weekend baking.

This recipe for Simple and Delicious Cranberry Apricot Biscotti is one of my daughter’s favorite holiday treats, and although I keep trying to scale down the cookie list, this is one that always makes the final cut.

Recipe now available at 👇👇👇👇

https://mostlybakes.com/simple-and-delicious-cranberry-apricot-biscotti/