Recipes from ‘i'll bring the cake’ cookbook | members only access

While Mandy Merriman’s husband was spending long days in law school, she was busy working and caring for their young son. She wanted a way to add some fun and creativity to her day and

realized she really enjoyed decorating cakes. So, she started using store-bought cake mixes to save prep time and get to the fun part faster: “As a beginner baker, I really loved the ease of

using a boxed cake mix.” BAKE WITH MANDY Merriman shared three recipes from _I’ll Bring the Cake_ for AARP members to try: BLUEBERRY SHORTBREAD CRUMBLE CAKE With a fresh blueberry cake

baked right onto a shortbread crust, a fresh blueberry filling, blueberry buttercream and a shortbread crumble on top, you might already be headed out the door to find as many blueberries as

 you can. CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CAKE Stripes of thick whipped peanut butter and cocoa buttercreams envelop this chocolate cake. CIRCUS ANIMAL COOKIE CAKE WITH ALMOND WHITE CHOCOLATE

BUTTERCREAM This cake, with a strong almond and white chocolate flavor throughout and pink and white exterior, tastes and looks just like circus animal cookies. By using the box mix as a

premeasured dry ingredient packet, she could focus on adding other ingredients to elevate her recipes to taste just like they were from scratch — or even better. She played around with

additions like sour cream and substitutions like swapping buttermilk for water. The ability to improvise gave her a baking confidence that she now hopes to instill in others. Today,

Merriman, 35, is a mother of two and the successful baking influencer behind the Baking with Blondie blog and the Instagram page @bakingwithblondie. She encourages others to have baking

confidence by sharing her breathtaking cake creations and weekly tutorials. Her first cookbook, _Cake Confidence (March 2019) _showed bakers how to enhance and elevate box cake mixes to

taste better than some from-scratch recipes. Her newest book, _I’ll Bring the Cake: Recipes for Every Season and Every Occasion (April 2023)_, shares her favorite recipes and decorating tips

to create playful designs and over-the-top creations. “I wanted to build off of that first cookbook, with people still having that confidence to be the ‘caker’ in their community, their

family or their household,” Merriman says. Her inspiration came from family gatherings, when she often found herself bringing dessert — typically cake. “I always had leftover cake slices

from recipe testing,” she recalls. “And my family was always eager, excited and willing to take those cake slices off my hands!” Merriman points out that, even as a veteran baker, she’s

still learning and improving her craft. And she advises others to spend time in the kitchen with loved ones and pass down those beloved family recipes. “There's something of value in

those nostalgic bakes from your childhood,” she says, noting they create memories attached to those generational recipes. Some of Merriman’s treasured memories include watching her Grandma

June bake in the kitchen. “I have a recipe in my new cookbook that’s based off of her molasses cookies with buttercream,” she recalls. “What’s fun is, I get to make those in my kitchen now,

and it helps me feel close to her.” Merriman has no formal culinary training. She graduated from Provo’s Brigham Young University with a bachelor's degree in music performance playing

saxophone. “I recently saw my music professor at his retirement concert,” she recalls. “We both had a chuckle. He was like, ‘We spent all this time on music, and you switched over to

baking?’” Merriman credits the diligence, work ethic and persistence required to earn that degree for equipping her for her current career. “It’s taught me that whatever is bringing you joy,

that’s a great place to pour a lot of your time and energy,” she says. For those looking to improve their own baking skills, Merriman says to first cut yourself some slack — you learn

something new from every cake you make. “I have failed so many times in the kitchen!” she says. “But it doesn't make me a bad baker. It means I get to learn something. Having that

mindset really sets you up for success.”