Would you like to learn about me? Hello, and welcome! My name is Irina; I am the mother of two wonderful sons, the wife of a loving husband, and a full-time food blogger.
My story
"I am good at baking. I do not know if it counts as a talent. But I love to bake," said Meaghan Jette Martin.
Baking became an essential part of my weekend routine when I was nine years old.
Early in the morning on weekends and after dinner, I had passed with mom’s recipes collected from old magazines by her 9-year-old daughter, who is now a food blogger living overseas.
When my baking was not turning out the way I wanted, I often threw away my failed experiments.
But over time, through practice and persistence in the face of frustration-sometimes even throwing aside what I have been working on because it isn't turning out how I wanted - I improved my skills.
The hobby became a fun and essential part of my life when I found baking made me happy despite all the failures or shortcomings at first glance (or taste).
About Baking Like a Chef
BLAC - the abbreviation of Baking Like a Chef - is where I share recipes for delicious desserts to make at home.
I have spent many years learning how to bake from scratch, often making errors, and I have learned a lot.
Here at Baking Like a Chef, you will find hundreds of recipes tested multiple times in my own kitchen.
And I want you to feel reassured and confident that any recipe you choose on the blog will turn right in your kitchen too.
Getting around
I am a lover of all things dessert. On this blog, you will find sweet recipes inspired or adapted from the world's most famous chefs, as well as classics that have been given a twist for good measure.
Look no further than here if you want to learn baking basics and new terminology but don't know where to start.
If you are an experienced baker, take your skills up a notch. With over 200+ dessert recipes, you will find everything from classic cakes and cookies all the way down to your favorite fruit flavors.
The homepage lists current top recipes, and the sidebar has a collection of the reader's favorite recipes.
My recipes can be easily found by category in the recipe index or the top menu, or the sidebar search bar.
All the recipes contain step-by-step, photographed explanations to ensure you can succeed in your home kitchen.
Each recipe card can be modified to serving size to reduce or increase the amounts of the ingredients.
So each dessert is explicitly tailored towards whatever size gathering - from tiny small eats to infinity. Smile!
If you ever need to adjust different baking pans to make your favorite desserts, you will find this Cake Pan Converter helpful. So pin it for later, and enjoy the best baking tool ever.
I am so excited about all of the new things I have been doing lately.
One thing is making no-sugar-added recipes for those who watch their sugar intake.
Another great project was creating a guide on how to make perfect madeleines.
Finally, I created a whole page dedicated to Baking Basics that includes basic recipes, baking measurement conversions, ingredients and substitutions, storage suggestions, and FAQ.
Recipes on the blog
All the blog recipes are primarily developed using gram measurements for high precision and then converted to US volume and weight measurements.
The best way to get the perfect recipe is by using a kitchen scale that provides more accurate results in baking. So why not bake in metric? It is even easier!
Have you ever thought that converting flour from grams to cups might vary since it depends on room temperature, the quality of the ingredient, its brand, etc.?
Still, no worries if you are used to measuring ingredients with measuring cups and spoons.
Please, enjoy the recipes in your favorite way. I convert all the recipes to the US measurement system too.
Fun facts about me
I will just bet that is a lot of skills everyone has. So what are fun facts to learn about me?
I learned piano for seven years and graduated from a musical school as an "A" student. But unfortunately, since then, I have only played it once or twice.
My doctoral degree is in science, but there was another career not related to my studies after that point.
I speak English and French. Additionally, for eight months in the past, I studied Portuguese too.
Moreover, a few years ago, when working with Italian-speaking colleagues in Montreal, Canada, now, after understanding spoken Italian, somewhat comprehension was possible.
The point is - I am a fashionable woman with a great sense of style along with all these other languages.
What's not so fun? Not being able to ride a bike, but being able to drive a car, but luckily I am alright with this.
Contact me
I’d love to hear from you! If you'd like to say "hi" or ask any questions, please, visit my contact page or email me at hello@bakinglikeachef.com.
You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to see what I am getting up to. Visit my Yummly page and save recipes to your Yummly recipe box.
Also, subscribe to my newsletter for recipe updates and never miss a recipe.
Join a dessert lovers community to enjoy baking to the fullest. Let’s learn through baking; let’s inspire others to bake!
Frequently asked questions
For me, food is a way to bring people together. Along with my family members, I try hard to make our meals healthy, but there is always room for dessert!
My family always samples the recipes I make. We also give away to our friends and neighbors, who have become my great dessert testers over time. The Meringue Roulade or Merveilleux cake is what usually happens when someone gets lucky enough for a birthday!
The easiest way to get my recipes and updates is to have them delivered to your inbox. So please subscribe to my emails now.
There are a lot of factors that go into successful baking, from choosing the right ingredients, their measurements, altitude, and humidity to oven temperature and more. If you have an issue with your bake, I suggest reading the recipe one more time and the comments to see if other readers have had the same problem. If you still can't figure it out, please leave a comment on the recipe or send me an email at hello@bakinglikeachef.com so I can help you out.
Check out baking essentials to see all of my favorite products – from a hand whisk and kitchen scale to cake pans and pie plates.
Please get in touch with me at hello@bakinglikeachef.com for permission to post a photo with the link back to my site.
