Top 10 recipes of 2020!

What. A. Year.

In hindsight, 2020 has flown by but while we were living through it, it seemed like the year that just won’t end? It has not been easy, it has not always been happy and it gave each of us challenges we really never expected. I know this has been a year of loss and sadness not just for me and my family, but for so many around the world, deeply affected by a scary pandemic. A lot of you shared your stories with me on Instagram and if you’re reading this, thank you for doing so, and I hope you’re able to look ahead towards a new and hopefully better year.

It’s also been a year where many of taught ourselves new skills to distract from the constant feeling of doom, found ourselves falling in love with new hobbies and of course, the reason I say this is because so many of you started baking for the first time in 2020 and told me this blog helped make a hard year a little happier, which made my day, every single day. Thank you for following along, for making my recipes, for sharing photos of the amazing things you baked. I didn’t think at the beginning of this year, that my little blog would suddenly grow the way it had and become something I threw myself even more into. I had first-time bakers tell me they made brownies and couldn’t believe they did that, I heard that my cookies and cakes made their way into your homes for moments of celebration and it gave me a kind of joy I didn’t think I’d feel this year. It gave me the confidence to share more recipes and baking knowledge gathered over the years (the Instagram FAQs were incredibly fun to do!), to interact with more and more new followers from everywhere and towards the end, I finally went a bit out of my comfort zone and made an e-book which you were all so excited about, thank you!!

And while my annual recipe-round ups don’t usually begin this way, I’ve been waiting for a good chance to put down in words just how much your support has meant to me this year. I hope the love of cake brings us together for many years to come! Thank you for being here <3

Without further ado, I’m so excited to show you the ten most popular recipes this year! (Click on the titles to get to the recipe :))

Mini Basque Cheesecakes

I posted this recipe in August 2020 and it’s at the top of the list which is crazy! So many of you made this and sent me photos, I was blown away. Since we weren’t able to share large portions of desserts with friends and family this year, this mini version of Instagram’s favourite cheesecake works so well. It’s dense and creamy and that signature burned top is an incredible contrast.

Homemade Bread Rolls (Eggless)

Light, fluffy and so easy to make, these rolls are always in the top 10 and since we all made more bread at home this year, I’m not surprised! They’re great by themselves, but even greater with a pat of butter, dunked into soup. You know you want to!

Fudgy Eggless Brownies

This recipe is also just a couple of months old on the blog and I’m so thrilled so many of you baked these brownies already. It took me a few tries to get these right because eggs are magic in brownies and when I finally got the crackly crust and fudgy texture I was hoping for without eggs, I did a little dance in front of my oven, no jokes.

Homemade Eggless Donuts

Another favourite for the last few years! In the absence of donut chains in the first few months of our lockdown, I think making donuts at home really was a great project. With the option of either glazed or cinnamon, you can really have fun with these! And while you’re at it, here’s a chocolate donut recipe too.

Baked Mango Cheesecake

Creamy but light, incredibly mango-y and basically what summer should be every year, this cheesecake is such a dream! If you live in India and have an excess of Alphonso mangoes, make this if you haven’t already. It’s my favourite mango dessert! Oh wait, no, after ice cream I should say 🙂

Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies

This one was also a recipe that took a few attempts to get right because I really wanted that crispy-edged, chewy-centered cookie I love so much, but without eggs. It’s super quick and maybe you should just make a double batch!

Eggless Butter Cake

Soft and tender, this basic butter cake is a great foundation for layer cakes and a recipe that was very highly requested. In the post I also talk about what worked and didn’t work in my various attempts to get this right! This cake goes with so many different frostings and mix-ins and I loved seeing you’ve experimented with it!

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

I’m pretty sure this is the recipe that suddenly got this blog a ton of new followers. My Instagram page was exploding with photos and I eventually lost count of how many readers made this cake! It’s light, perfectly tangy, buttery and just so good that if you haven’t yet, you need to make it now to know what I’m saying!

Cream Rolls

This recipe is a bit involved and it makes sense that it was highly viewed this year because look at all that free time we had! Flaky homemade puff pastry, rolled around steel cones, baked and then filled with freshly whipped cream. It’s one of my favourite childhood treats and making it at home is a ton of fun!

Wholewheat Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies

I posted this recipe right at the beginning of India’s lockdown. At the time, an easy, comforting batch of cookies was all we wanted and no one was thinking of making their own sourdough just yet. These cookies are thick, chewy with lots of texture from the oats and if you’re a raisin lover, those are great instead of chocolate chips!