About

Hi there, friend! Welcome to Baking with Blondie!

I'm Mandy Merriman, the baker, writer, recipe developer, and photographer for everything you see here on my website. I love sharing my latest cakes, cupcakes, fool-proof recipes and all the tips and tricks you'll need to build confidence in your own kitchen while making them. Because after all, there's always a reason to celebrate something in life, and there's no better way to celebrate anything than with some decadent, mouthwatering cake! 

I strongly believe that with my simple (but downright delicious) recipes and techniques, anyone can quickly develop the confidence to create over-the-top beautiful and mouthwatering gourmet-style cakes in their own kitchen. 

For me, cake should not only taste like a masterpiece, but it should look like one, too! 

I started Baking with Blondie many years ago while my husband attended law school at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. I had already graduated from college at BYU, and was balancing a full-time job and later a little toddler. At dinnertime, I started to become a bit more adventurous with the recipes I'd create or try for dinner. Food blogging quickly became a way I kept myself entertained and busy while Ryan was away studying for hours on end. This venture soon became more than a coping mechanism, and a deeper love of food photography, original recipe development, and all things food blogging (back when food blogging was just beginning in the internet world).

 Fast forward many years down the road, and I quickly fell hard for the world of cake-making, cupcake-baking, buttercream-creating, and everything in between. It was a creative outlet I was searching for through food blogging, but never really found myself while doing it. Making and designing cakes was something I was always excited about, and "food blogging" was just a filler between the cakes. Why not do all cake and cupcakes, all the time, I thought? It was a huge turning point for me. I decided to channel that passion into everything I did here on Baking with Blondie, and created a new beginning of Baking with Blondie focused upon all things cake! I've never turned back. 

I've loved seeing my cakes in your kitchens, made by YOU! It brings me joy to see you create something that was inspired by my work, or with my sure-fire recipes. Happy baking, and thanks for finding my happy place here on Baking with Blondie. 

~xo, blondie 

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Mandy Merriman is a former-foodie blogger turned full-out cake baker. She inspires over 100K combined engaged and dedicated followers on social media with her breathtaking cake creations. Mandy has appeared on countless TV cooking segments, sharing her recipes and love of creativity in the kitchen. Mandy teaches high-demand cake classes that fill up within minutes of opening them! She enjoys developing mouthwatering cake & buttercream recipes in her kitchen, and also photographing each and every one of them. She often shares timelapse videos of her cake-decorating process, and enjoys doing LIVE videos on social media; sharing her tricks of the trade, and inspiring her readers to create clean, beautiful cakes from start to finish. Mandy loves connecting with her readers and followers over the undeniable confidence she builds inside each of them them with their cake-baking, cake-decorating, and of course... cake-eating! She has a serious sweet tooth and passion for not only cakes, but cupcakes, buttercream, and has recently dedicated herself to learn the illusive perfect macaron. You can often find cake slices on her porch, ready for neighbors to come and have a sweet taste of her latest creations. 

Her work has appeared on Today.com, Huffington Post Taste, CookingChannel.com, and has been featured by Wilton, Better Homes & Gardens, Taste of Home, JoAnnes, Sweetapolita, and in Utah Valley Bridal Magazine. She has presented at several different venues, including the Deseret News Home Show. 

When Mandy's not in the kitchen, she enjoys running, hiking, eating as many tacos as she can get, watching Netflix, and enjoying spending time with her two sons (both little blondies!) and attorney husband near Salt Lake City, Utah.