about me

My name is Danae. I’m the one-woman operation running Willowheart Bakeshop from my home kitchen.

I wish I could say that I’ve been baking my whole life, growing up in the kitchen with recipes that have been passed down through generations, but that’s just not true. I grew up with meals that were more about convenience than coming together. There were very few butter stained recipe cards and cookbooks in our kitchen and no secret family recipes to be shared. Our desserts came from a box most of the time and it was a rare occasion that anything was made from scratch.

I fell in love with baking after college, watching the Food Network and the Martha Stewart Show. To say I became obsessed with learning to bake might be an understatement. Before long Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook became my Bible as I taught myself to bake from scratch, one recipe and one stick of butter at a time. I spent the next few years baking weekly for a blog and submitting entries into the baking competitions at the Ohio State Fair. My fair entries won me 15 ribbons over 5 years of competition, including a Blue 1st place ribbon for very first entry and my favorite recipe still to bake — my chocolate chip cookies! I won 4 other Blue ribbons along the way.

I’ve been following this passion and continuing to learn for almost 25 years and it’s led me here— Willowheart Bakeshop — where I get to share my delicious treats with you. Every sweet treat I create for you in my kitchen is made from scratch, baked with love, and most likely infused with a bit of Taylor Swift that is probably playing in the background.