Bakerita

About Me

Hello, friend! Thank you so much for being here, exploring my corner of the internet. My name is Rachel and I’m the voice behind Bakerita. I’m 25 years old and I’ve been blogging here since August of 2010 when I was just sixteen years old and teaching myself the ropes of traditional baking. Bakerita got its start out my desire to share the recipes I was creating in my kitchen with people beyond just my family and friends that were getting to eat it.

The initial suggestion for a food blog came from my older sister, Shaina and once I started sharing my creations online, I was constantly motivated to do it more and more – letting my baking be my creative outlet throughout the rest of high school, and then all through college as well.

Along the way, my eating habits changed. I went from eating all carbs and sugar all the time, with little regard for my diet, to experimenting with cutting out foods that my family members were having trouble with. My sister, who went gluten-free pretty soon after I started Bakerita, was my main motivation to start making gluten-free recipes initially. However, as time went on and I experimented with cutting gluten out myself and realizing how it made me feel (much less bloated and way more comfortable), I felt even more compelled to develop gluten-free recipes.

I had also discovered a whole new world of alternative sweeteners and cut out baking with refined sugars, sticking with dates, honey, maple syrup, and coconut sugar instead. By the time I was graduating from the University of Puget Sound in 2015, Bakerita recipes were pretty much entirely gluten- and refined sugar-free. It was also at that time that I went full time with Bakerita – my dad encouraged me to give it a shot, and I’ve been my own boss ever since.

After a January Whole30 in 2017, I realized I also don’t do so great with dairy, so after that month, I never really went back to eating dairy. That means that these days? All new Bakerita recipes are gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free. A lot of them are also paleo and/or vegan, too. 

I absolutely love being able to share recipes with my community and the world that satisfy our most decadent cravings using ingredients that are better for us and our families.

My recipes are usually on the sweet side, though I occasionally throw in a few savory recipes here and there. Gluten-free, paleo, and/or vegan baking DOES NOT have to be hard – so I keep things simple around here. Ingredients lists tend to be pretty short and I tend to gravitate towards the same set of ingredients, so no super weird or random things. I like to keep things simple and easy, so you can spend less time in the kitchen.

That being said, there’s the occasionally multi-step decadent treat, but it’s always worth it ;)

I run Bakerita from my apartment in San Diego where I live with my puppy, Hank. Beyond Bakerita, I love to travel and read, I’m obsessed with collecting plants and pottery, and I’m always down for a long walk or a road trip. I’m extremely close with my family and love them all to pieces – I wouldn’t be who I am or where I am without my parents, my sister, and my entire extended family. They’re the greatest!

I’m so incredibly grateful to be able to do this full time and thank you for being here. Thank you for your support, and for your interest in my recipes. If you’ve made one, I hope that you love it. If you ever make one in the future, I hope you love that too! Feedback is always welcomed and appreciated, whether it’s a question, request, or comment, there’s nothing I’d love more than to hear from you. Sending you all my love and thanks! xoxo

Interested in working with me?

Please go to this page to see how your company can partner with me! See here for my privacy policy.

My content is protected!

To all my readers – you are all amazing, but I need to note this. All content on this site is exclusively mine – all pictures, recipes, and text, unless otherwise stated. Bakerita is a trademarked-entity. Please do not copy and paste my recipes onto your site, Pinterest, Tumblr, etc. unless changes have been made and credit is given. It is fine to link to one of my posts with a photograph, but please give credit. I reserve the right to ask you to remove anything of mine from your site. If you’re in question of whether or not you can use something, please ask me!

Comments

  1. I am so impressed with your blog—the recipes look fantastic and your commentary just adorable.
    Best of luck to you!
    g-g~

    Reply

  2. Okay Rachel…well, I am very impressed and I want you to work for me! Soooo…how is it going at Savory? Do you have any time/inclination to work for me. I need someone to help me with cookie decorating and making my bakery counter look beautiful…I’m thinking this might be a 20 hour a week job, (but, could be more) you could come after school and do what I need done…are you interested? My god, I am so very impressed with your website….please call/email me. Whether you work for me or not…Bravo! Claire Allison

    Reply

  4. Hi Rachel,
    Your site is amazing, and your photos are gorgeous! My daughter, Katie, is 13 and she’s like a mini-you, loves to bake and cook and is also a cheerleader (TP Pop Warner). Maybe you can meet someday. Do you ever experiment with gluten-free baking? The sweets on the market that are gluten-free are pretty awful, although you can get some great tortillas, bagels and bread now. Still, the cakes and cookies are dry and gritty (not enough xantham gum?). Anyway, congratulations and keep up the good work, you are sure to be an incredible success because when you do what you love you can’t help but succeed. BTW, there’s a lot of $ to be made in wedding cakes, and if you could come up with a delicious g-f wedding cake I bet you would be in great demand.
    Take care,
    Noa

    Reply

  5. This is so cool! Great for you! Can’t wait to start reading about your recipes and adventures on Culinary Road!

    Hey, you’re ‘Become a Fan on Facebook” button isn’t working. Hurry so I may become a fan!

    Ricardo

    Reply

  6. Love all the recipes you have in your blog. I have tried several and they are really good. The photography is amazing. Thank you so much for having these recipes for all of us to try.

    Reply

  7. Hello Fellow CakeFan

    I just visited your website and I wanted to let you in on the following information.

    You are cordially invited to join the fastest growing cake community on the web.
    http://www.CakesWeBake.com has over 10,000 professional and amateur decorators.
    Share pictures, tips videos, and more. Participate in monthly contests for cash prizes and giveaways.
    Best of all it absolutely free to join. I hope to see you there Cakefan

    Just goto http://www.cakeswebake.com Take a look around and sign up!!

    Brian Kleiner
    Owner
    Cakes We Bake
    [email protected]
    516-523-2899

    Reply

  9. Hi Rachel,
    You are a baking machine and at such a young age, it makes me happy to see that.
    Hope you achieve all your dreams.
    I tried you facebook, but got the wrong thing.
    -Gina-

    Reply

  10. Hi Rachel,
    You’re blog is GREAT! I just wanted to reach out to you because I know from your blog that you LOVE to cook/bake and you’re just beginning your journey into college. I would like to introduce you to something I didn’t know about until my senior year in college as a chemistry major– food science. I was lucky enough to find out about Food Science in time to get a Master’s Degree and now I get to work in product development! I get to develop new french fry products and recipes (displayed on the back of the bag) for Ore-Ida products.

    If you are interested in becoming a product developent professional or a research chef, let me know. I know of a few resources. As an added bonus, when I graduated in 2007– I had a job 6 months before graduation! There are TONS of scholarships and my entire graduate degree was paid for. :)

    Good luck!
    Josie

    Reply

  11. Hi Rachel! I wanted to let you know that I passed on the Versatile Blogger Award to you in my last blog post. I absolutely love your blog and always look forward to visiting! :) Take care.

    Reply

  12. Hi Rachel … you hav a lovely blog and really impressed at your talent at tis young age…!! hope to try some of your reciepes… and will post them…!!

    Reply

  13. Hi Rachel,

    I think you are just fantastic and the best Bakerita around!
    Best of luck in all your endeavors. I’m waiting for your first
    cookbook!
    Kelley Kupfer

    Reply

  14. Hi Rachel,

    What a sweetie you are! You have a lovely blog and you have already accomplished so much! I had a great time perusing your posts and enjoyed each one!

    Thank you so much for stopping by my place and leaving your comment. It is a joy to meet you!

    Kindly, Lorraine

    Reply

  18. thx for the add. one of my best friend’s sons is going to puget sound next year. he is a swimmer. best of luck.

    Reply

  20. Just want to wish you the best of luck in all you do! I once was an avid baker too (I have allowed food intolerances and massive weight loss efforts to get in the way though) and I really, really identify with the idea that “nothing compares to the joy of seeing someone’s face light up as they bite into one of my creations.” Isn’t it the best?!

    Reply

  21. Dear Rachel,
    Thank you so much for all of your lovely comments on Cannella Vita. As a fellow teenage-baker, I love to see other young people as excited as I am about my Kitchen Aid! ;) I also think that it’s awesome that you’re from San Diego, I lived in La Jolla for a long time and miss it dearly. We visited La Jolla for winter break this year and it was so nice — I did a bunch of blog posts on it, you’d probably recognize a lot of the places! Anyways, keep up the beautiful blog!
    With love,
    Erica

    Reply

  22. You go to UPS? I go to SPU up in Seattle! I’ve always wanted to start a food blog but have never thought I’d be able to do it while I’m still in college; I so admire you for having such a beautiful blog (food and photos) while being a student. Props to you. :)

    Reply

  24. Hi Rachel,
    Beautiful and impressive blog! Mouthwatering recipes. You must be incredibly popular on campus – not only for being bright and charming and creative (which shows in your writing and photography) but also for all the delicious goodies you make. I will definitely be checking in here when I’m looking for dessert recipes. Lisa

    Reply

  27. Aww I almost went to Puget Sound…it was my second choice and I still feel an affinity for it, even though there’s no way I could have survived all the rain! I’m loving your cute blog so far :)

    Reply

  29. Rachel, thanks for your sweet comment on my blog! I’m so glad it afforded me the opportunity to stop by here and check out all of your yummy creations. As the above commenters have stated, I’m really impressed by your ambition and talent at such a young age…and that you’re able to maintain such a beautiful blog while in college. Props to you, girl! Now, I’m going to go back to scrolling through your yummy recipes. I have such a sweet tooth, so I’m in heaven here!

    Reply

  30. Just want to say that you totally ROCK! I’m on paleo and can’t wait to try out your Almond Banana Bread. Thanks for creating these treats and sharing them with us. Your pictures are amazing too. Keep up the great work!

    Reply

  33. Thanks for the comment on my blog – I loved stopping by and finding your delicious blog! What an inspiration…I can’t believe you are in college and food blogging! When blogging feels overwhelming to me, I’m just going to remember you! :)
    Ps. Your Peppermint Oreo Fudge Brownies look aaaaamazing! Have a great time in Europe!

    Reply

  35. Hi Rachel,

    Your dad just shared this link on his LinkedIn and my eyes have been glued for the past thirty minutes since I clicked on it! You have an incredible talent! Amazing recepies and great photos. May you have tons of success this year! Happy holidays.

    Sincerely,
    Carlota

    Reply

  41. Manny congratulations for your blogg and ..sure for your work!!!!!
    You make gorgeous deserts!
    If you have an idea to open one store of this amaizing deserts in Bucharest, I will enjoy this.. :)
    I made my dolci :) only for passion..and you surely do the same!!!!
    Good luck and more & more beautiful recipes!

    Reply

  44. Rachel-

    Your recipes are amazing. I haven’t ever been disappointed and I’m also adapting these with gluten free flour. Keep it up lady!

    Yours in Yums,
    Tiffany

    Reply

    • Thank you so much Tiffany! So glad to hear my recipes work well with gluten-free flour. Thanks for making my recipes and letting me know how they work for you. I so appreciate you being a reader :) xoxo

      Reply

  45. Hi Rachael. Thank you so much for all of your delicious recipes. I make the Brie Bites for our Thanksgiving dinner and we all loved them. And today I found three more recipes that I can’t wait to make. I have shared your site with several friends who are gluten-intolerant and they are very pleased with the recipes, too. Keep up your great work!

    Reply

    • Hi Jean. Thank you for your kind words!! You put a big smile on my face :) I am so happy everyone enjoyed the brie bites, and I can’t give enough thanks for you sharing my site. I so appreciate it. Happy Holidays!

      Reply

  46. It seems like there is something wrong with your recipe index section of the website. When I click on it, I can’t seem to get to any recipes.

    Reply

    • Hi Elisa. Sorry you’re having trouble – is it taking you to this page? From there, you should be able to click on the category you want to be taken to a choose a recipe to go to from there (or just scroll down the page to see all the recipes).

      Reply

  47. Hi, Rachel. Thank you very much for sharing your experience here. You wrote a nice article on your various qualities. I like all but photographing is amazing to me.

    Reply

  49. Hi Rachel! Love the blog. Your recipes look amazing. Its true about gluten free and paleo desserts its hard to find recipes that still taste great. I am impressed. Hope to meet you and the Everything Food Conference in May.

    Reply

  50. Hi Rachel,

    I love your recipes, but would you have a substitute for the maple syrup you put in all of your recipes? It is absolutely one taste I do not like. I have been just leaving it out.

    Reply

    • Hi Karen, I hope you got my email as well, but here’s my answer here just in case: you can sub honey 1:1 in pretty much all recipes calling for maple syrup. Hope this helps!

      Reply

  51. I am trying to subscribe to your email list and I’m not being allowed to do so. I don’t want to miss out on anything! Your recipes and website are incredible! I have been an organic veganfor 5 years because it saved my husband’s life who was diagnosed with a rare aggressive cancer! He only had 6 months to live and it’s five years later and he is alive and well! Thank you!

    Reply

  52. Hi Rachel!

    I’m pretty new as your suscriber but, your story, in some way or another, reminds of myself. I have an university Diploma in International Busisness and I’ve been working in that area for more than 20 years! I ran my own studio together with my husband who is a lawyer.My hobby and my passion was always cooking, specially for my friends and family. Almost 4 years ago my daughter was diagnosed hyperinsulinemia and we started changing our diet (gluten free, refined sugar free, grain free, lactose free…..). I started learning how to cook without wheat flour and using coconut flour, almond meal, lentils flour, etc. At 1st it was trial and error hahaha but, as I’m pretty autodidact, it was just fun. I’m 46 now and decided to spend more time in things that feeds my soul. I’m doing a master in NPL (Neurolinguistic Programme Learning) and taking cooking classes of raw food, paleo food, etc. Just congratulate you for your spectacular recipes and I’d like to thank you for sharing them with us. My pleasure! Leticia Rodriguez from Uruguay (Montevideo) in South America

    Reply

    • Hi Leticia. Thank you for sharing your story with me – we do have very similar interests! I definitely know how you feel about having fun with recipe development. I so appreciate you taking the time to write to me, and I’m so happy to hear that you are enjoying the recipes I’ve created :) Hopefully one day I’ll make it down to Uruguay…I’ve been wanting to visit for years! Have a wonderful week.

      Reply

  53. Hi. I just made your vegan Blueberry muffins. And I must say these are the best vegan recipe for muffins I have used to date. My daughter is allergic to the 5 basic food groups. So I usually make her muffins and freeze them for the occasional Birthday parties. They were so delicious. I did make a couple of modifications and they still turned out great. I used all Raspadura (colombiano), whole wheat flour instead of white wheat flour, and I used frozen blueberries. (We live in Panama, so fresh ones are hard to find). Again thanks again for this recipe. It is great. If you have any cheesecake recipes without coconut and other tree nuts, I would love to make a cheesecake for her!!!

    Reply

  55. Hi Rachel,
    I just came across you from Instagram. I am absolutely in love with your blog. I love all the healthy recipes you have, everything looks so amazing. Your pictures are great also. I can not wait to try some of your recipes.

    Reply

  58. Seriously your blog is my dream food blog! Just like you I’ve slowly moved toward cleaner and more natural sweets, and yours are so up my alley. Found you through your paleo chocolate chip cookies recently and life has never been the same :) Now I need to go back through EVERY recipe of yours!! :) xox thank you!!

    emi
    welltraveledwife.com

    Reply

  59. HI – Is there a short cut to soaking the cashews for 4 hours?? What if I put them in water and in the microwave to soften them?

    Suggestions?? I’m in the middle of making the lemon tart now!
    Thanks so much,
    jb

    Reply

  60. I simply wanted to encourage you to keep doing what you’re doing. Every recipe I’ve made from your blog is delicious. I am not gluten-free, dairy-free or paleo, but I have friends, family and coworkers who are. The recipes I make for them, from your blog, make them feel so loved. So thanks for helping me love others well! I also really enjoy experiencing how delicious food can be with out a bunch of junk ingredients. The chocolate zucchini cupcakes are a recipe made time after time – THEY ARE SOOOO GOOODDD!!!!!

    Reply

    • I’m so thrilled you hear that you’re loving the recipes you’ve tried from my site, Eva! That truly makes me so happy, and it’s so sweet of you to bake these things for the people you love. I appreciate you sharing your feedback with me!! Hope you find many more treats you and the people around you love :)

      Reply

  61. Hi there,
    I just discovered your site and I love it! I made the cookies with coconut flour+chocolate chunks and the cookies with almond flour+ craisins, +chocolate chunks. I have several questions for you….
    1. What kind of dark chocolate do you use? 70% 100% ? I used up the dark chocolate chips that I had in my pantry but going forward I would like to use chocolate chunks. I loved the coconut flour cookies with tahini, they were awesome!
    2. The almond flour cookies I was disappointed in and could be user error and not the recipe. They were dry and not the texture or color I was wanting. I used flax eggs as well. I am new at baking gluten free so I appreciate your help! The almond flour that I used was Bob’s Red Mill and I thought it was super fine but I’m not positive. Do you have any thoughts or recommendations?
    I am excited to try the chocolate chip pumpkin bars next!! Thanks for your site and you are very talented!!

    Reply

    • Hi Jane, so thrilled you liked the cookies! Definitely not 100% – that would be unsweetened chocolate. I usually do in the 70% range, but it depends what your preferences are. For the almond flour cookies, did you change anything about the recipe besides the flax eggs? It’s hard for me to know without any other information. Since you say they were dry, were they overbaked? Or is your oven too hot? Lots of variables are at play. Hope you enjoy the chocolate chip pumpkin bars!!

      Reply

  62. Hi Rachel,

    Your special guy Kyle told me all about you. I have gotten to know Kyle (awesome mentor!) through the Jake Ducey program,

    I live out in Canada and have always enjoyed healthy cooking and baking and know how difficult it is to find really great tasting non-gluten recipes.

    This year, I am launching a health and wellness website with a healthy cooking and baking component. I would love to highlight you and your recipes on our website. Please connect with me to further investigate this opportunity.

    Thanks for all that you do Rachel…keep on baking! Now let me get into some of your recipes…Kyle has already told me how brilliant your famous chocolate chip cookies are!

    Blessings,

    Maria Folino
    Your Great Canadian Connection!

    Reply

    • Hi Maria,

      Thank you so much for reaching out! That’s so kind to hear that you’ve connected with Kyle. I hope your able to make some recipes and that you love any recipes that you try :)

      Would love to connect about your wellness site! I don’t allow my recipes to be reprinted on other sites, but you’re welcome to use photos and link back.

      Sending lots of love!
      Rachel

      Reply

  63. Rachel,

    Your recipes look amazing! I recently started the Keto way of eating, I was wondering if you will have more recipes to come? And an easier way to locate them on your site? I can’t wait to try your newest peanut butter coconut truffles! Also do you happen to have the nutritional breakdown on them so we know the amount of net carbs in them?, it not on your web page that I could find. Thanks for sharing your talents with everyone!!! I am looking forward to checking back for new updates!
    Irene

    Reply

    • Hi Irene! I updated the PB Coconut Truffles recipe with nutritional info. For other recipes, you can always calculate on myfitnesspal.com. Thanks so much for the love – so happy to have you as a member of this community!!

      Reply

  64. I am so excited to come across your recipes. I have had to give up gluten right now and miss candy and treats. I am trying to learn and rely so much on recipes. Is there anything you would substitute for the almond butter. One of my kids is allergic to tree nuts and the other is allergic to peanuts. Trying to make something that we can all enjoy

    Reply

    • Hi Erica, which recipe are you referring to for the almond butter substitute? You can generally sub any nut or seed butter – sunflower seed is probably a good option if you have lots of nut allergies in your family.

      Reply

  65. Hi Rachel
    I am so happy I came across your site. Your recipes look amazing. Just being diagnosed with a severe nut allergy and my husband with gluten sensitivity , I now need to change the way I bake.
    I see you use a lot of almond flour, can I substitute it for another . I love how you explain the different types of flours and what they do in your recipes.
    Also where can I purchase your cookbook?

    Reply

    • Hi Jen! Thanks so much for the kind words. You can usually use oat flour for a nut-free option. If it’s just an almond sensitivity, cashew flour or hazelnut flour can also work well. Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions. About my cookbook, it won’t be published until March 24th but you can preorder on Amazon right now. Here’s a link if you’re interested! :)

      Reply

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