15 Baking Bucket List Recipes

Every year, I pull together a list of new recipes to try and I call it my “baking bucket list.” The list is basically filled with my baking-related goals—recipes or techniques that I’ve been too intimidated to try, or some failures I want to revisit. This year, I want to tackle cinnamon sugar-drenched morning buns, and I’m envisioning laminated croissant-style dough filled and baked in a muffin pan. I’d also love to whip up cheese soufflé, and a meringue or pavlova roulade/roll.

Anyway, I thought readers might enjoy browsing some recipes that have been on my baking bucket list over the years. These recipes can definitely be more challenging, but so rewarding to complete!

Do you have any baking recipes that you want to work on? Perhaps some recipes that have intimidated you in the past and now you’re ready for a challenge? Find inspiration below!

Baking Bucket List Recipes

Crème Brûlée

Many beginner bakers are SHOCKED at how easy crème brûlée is! There’s only 6 ingredients required and if you follow my success tips, you’ll be gifted with the smoothest, creamiest dessert ever.

Homemade Madeleines

These airy teacakes aren’t difficult, but they do require your attention, patience, and precision. This very detailed recipe will guide you!

Beautiful Pastry Braid

This dough comes together using a “rough puff” method to create countless flaky layers. One reader says: “This recipe is delicious! I was intimidated by the pastry dough & braid but the detailed instructions were very helpful and it turned out delish. ★★★★★“

Homemade Croissants

Golden, extra flaky croissants require time, patience, and plenty of rolling. My very thorough post and recipe will help guide you—you can absolutely handle this project! One reader says: “Absolutely the best! Croissants were flaky and delicious. Step by step guide and video were so helpful. First time ever making them and I’m totally sold! ★★★★★“

Lemon Pudding Cakes

With fluffy lemon cake on top and rich lemon pudding on the bottom, these unique lemon pudding cakes are a tangy texture dream.

French Macarons

This is an in-depth beginner’s guide to homemade French macarons. I include my kitchen-tested recipe, plus plenty of success tips, descriptions, overview of techniques, list of tools… basically everything you need to get started AND to succeed!

Vertical Cake

What? Where? When? How? This is a vertical layer cake. Assembled with vanilla sponge cake, lemon blueberry swirl whipped cream, and lemon cream cheese buttercream, this vertical cake is a beautiful masterpiece. It’s soft and light with an impressive aesthetic!

Homemade Glazed Doughnuts

Fried, old-fashioned, and comforting. It’s so much fun to make homemade doughnuts from scratch without leaving the comfort of home.

Chocolate Soufflé

One of the most luxurious desserts requires just 7 ingredients. It’s all about the technique! One reader says: “We were nervous making a soufflé for the first time. We followed the instructions to a T, watched the video, and they turned out AMAZING!!! The texture was perfect, the rise was so high… we will definitely make this again. ★★★★★“

Checkerboard Cake

This is a 4 layer vanilla cake twisted up into one seriously mesmerizing checkerboard design. So much fun to cut into because the real party is INSIDE the cake!

Rich & Tasty Babka

While it may look a little intimidating, follow my detailed recipe for rich and delicious Nutella-filled babka. One of the best parts about this? Every bite is a little different—flaky, soft, gooey, crisp! You’ll keep going back for more.

Cream Puffs with Homemade Choux Pastry

Choux pastry has the reputation for being difficult, but it’s surprisingly simple and prep time is only about 15 minutes. Try it once and you can make an array of pastries: cream puffs, profiteroles, eclairs and more! One reader says: “I have never made choux before and found so many recipes that were very complicated – yours was perfect! Just made a batch and beaming with pride! ★★★★★”

Brownie Baked Alaska

What a showstopper! This brownie baked Alaska combines a homemade brownie base with your favorite ice cream flavor (like mint chocolate chip) and then you’ll smother it with toasted marshmallow meringue. A truly memorable and impressive treat!

Homemade Bagels

This easy recipe proves that you can make deliciously chewy bagels in your own kitchen with only a few basic ingredients and baking tools. You’ll be rewarded with fresher-than-ever bagels, plus the bragging rights for from-scratch baking.

Tiramisu Crepe Cake

This impressive tiramisu crepe cake features 25 paper-thin homemade crepes, 24 layers of fluffy tiramisu filling, dustings of cocoa powder, and is finished with whipped cream. It’s almost unbelievable that such a fancy cake is totally doable in your home kitchen.