Rachel Conners (Bakerita), a baker and recipe developer with a passion for nut butters & creating easy, mouth-watering desserts and baked goods!

Mediaplanet: How would you describe your style of baking?

Rachel Conners: I would describe my style of baking as a more wholesome version of traditional baking while staying just as delicious as the baked goods you know and love! All of my recipes are gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free, and many are grain-free and vegan as well. I use things like almond flour, coconut oil, almond milk, coconut sugar, honey, and maple syrup. All of these ingredients have flavours that work incredibly well in desserts!

MP: When did you start Bakerita?

RC: I started Bakerita when I was 16 years old. When it started, it was a traditional baking blog but over the years as my diet evolved to be gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and primarily plant-based, the recipes I created followed the same dietary restrictions. As I put out gluten-free, paleo, and vegan recipes, I discovered there was a need for dessert recipes that followed these dietary restrictions while still tasting incredibly delicious.

MP: What ingredient are you loving right now?

RC: I've recently started experimenting with baru seeds and they're so much fun to work with! They have such a unique flavour — it reminds me of a cross between a peanut and a cashew. They're also a nutritional powerhouse with loads of antioxidants, tons of protein, and fewer calories than other nuts.

MP: What are the benefits of baking with unrefined sugars?

RC: I prefer baking with unrefined sugars because I've had problems with my blood sugar imbalance for as long as I can remember. I've found that unrefined sugars don't affect my body as drastically as refined sugars do. Many of them are also lower on the glycemic index, so they don't spike blood sugar in the same way. They also have more nutrients and minerals as compared with refined sugars, from which all of the nutrients have been stripped and bleached out.