Let me take you back to Atlanta, 2012. I was 22, fresh out of culinary school, working at a fancy restaurant where everything had to be "elevated" and "deconstructed" and honestly? I was bored out of my mind. We were making these tiny, precious desserts that looked beautiful but felt... soulless.
Then one Sunday, I went to my grandma's house for dinner. She made her famous peach cobbler—but not in a fancy tart pan or individual ramekins. Nope. She made it in a massive casserole dish, served it family-style, and we all dove in with spoons. No plates, no pretense, just pure, communal dessert joy.
That's when it hit me: THIS is what dessert should be. Generous. Shareable. Comforting. The kind of thing you make in bulk because you KNOW everyone's coming back for seconds.
The foundation of magic: starting with the basics
The Great Dessert Rebellion 🎂
I quit my restaurant job two months later. Everyone thought I was crazy. "You're throwing away your career for... casseroles?" YES. Yes, I was. Because I'd rather make food that makes people genuinely happy than food that just looks good on Instagram.
I started experimenting. Bread pudding casserole? Check. S'mores casserole? Oh yes. Cinnamon roll casserole for breakfast? ABSOLUTELY. My friends became my test kitchen, and let me tell you—nobody complains when you show up with warm brownie casserole.
The moment chocolate dreams become reality
The breakthrough came when I brought a chocolate lava casserole to a potluck. People literally FOUGHT over the last serving. Someone asked if I could make it for their wedding. Another person offered to pay me to teach them how to make it. And that's when I realized: people are HUNGRY for desserts that feel like home, not homework.
The taste test: when you know you've nailed it
Meeting the Squad 👥
Fast forward a few years. I'm running a successful dessert catering business when I meet Hervé at a food expo. He's talking about his casserole philosophy, and I'm like, "Okay, but have you tried DESSERT casseroles?" His mind was blown. Turns out, French technique + American comfort + sweet flavors = absolute perfection.
When he started Easy Casserole, he said, "We need you. We can't just be savory." So I joined forces with him, Jessica (the butter queen who totally gets the importance of richness), Sarah (who challenged me to make HEALTHY dessert casseroles—still working on that one), and Imène (who introduced me to cardamom in bread pudding and changed my LIFE).
Because cooking should always be this much fun!
The Sweet Philosophy 🍰
Here's what I believe: Dessert isn't a luxury—it's a necessity. Life is hard. The world is stressful. You deserve something sweet, warm, and delicious that you don't have to feel guilty about sharing (or not sharing—no judgment).
Every dessert casserole I create is designed with three things in mind: it has to be EASY to make, IMPOSSIBLE to mess up, and absolutely IRRESISTIBLE when it comes out of the oven. If it doesn't make you smile when you take the first bite, I haven't done my job.
So whether you're making breakfast casserole for Sunday brunch, cobbler casserole for a family gathering, or brownie casserole just because it's Wednesday and you need chocolate—I'm here for it. Welcome to the sweet side. Let's bake something amazing. 🍰