Zoe Bakes

Zoë François bakes up a table full of irresistible pies and cooks up one of her favorite desserts to share with friends and family on her porch as they kick off their annual tradition of welcoming spring back to Minnesota.

Zoë is invited to a backyard barbecue and visits a local chef known for his biscuit baking. She incorporates his tips into her own recipes as she makes two of her favorite Southern-inspired sweets.

Zoë dives into the magic of meringue when she bakes it into a Pavlova (from Zoë Bakes Cakes), a whipped cream and fruit-filled dessert, for a dinner party with friends. She also visits a local pie maker who has mastered the art of meringue and uses it as a crust.

Zoë surprises her best friend by making a devil’s food cake (from Zoë Bakes Cakes) topped with champagne buttercream for her anniversary. She also shares her tips for piping roses and borders, and explores current trends in cake design at a local cakery.

Zoë visits a pizza farm to learn about her new wood-fired pizza oven and how to use it for baking at home. Then, she gets inspired to create a pizza farm experience in her own backyard for a group of friends.

Zoë wants to give her college son a taste of home by baking delicious chocolate chip cookies that highlight a friend’s fun technique. Later, she sends everything but the milk when she includes a variety of customized brownies.

Zoë bakes a beehive-shaped birthday cake (from Zoë Bakes Cakes) for her beekeeper dad, complete with marzipan bees and a variety of honeys from her visit to a honey farm. Then, she whips up baked doughnuts with a honey glaze.

Zoë kicks off apple season by visiting an orchard and picking new varieties to put a twist on her classic Apple Bundt Cake. She also whips up a few childhood favorites like a Dutch Baby and pink applesauce to share with a friend.

Zoë explores a Scandinavian tradition called fika, a coffee break with sweets, when she visits a local bakery and finds inspiration for a new twist on her Cinnamon Braid. Then, she makes a Cardamom Pear Cake and enjoys both with an old friend.

When Zoë's sons come home for a visit, she heads to a pumpkin patch to get ingredients for their favorite fall desserts. Charlie joins her in the kitchen to make sweet scones with squash they picked, and Henri enjoys pumpkin creme brulee.

Zoë shares her passion for baking bread daily with a simple recipe anyone can master. She explores the benefits of using fresh flour when she visits a local mill and reveals tips for shaping boules, baguettes and epis.