About

Hey there, I’m Sara!

Welcome to Windy City Baker! I’m so excited you’re here! I’m a baker, blogger, and teacher who is passionate about everything baking and decorating. I live in Chicago (hence the name, Windy City Baker) with my husband who does most of the food photography for this site. If the picture looks nice, he took it!

For those of you who do not know me, I love eating baked goods. Cake, pie, cookies, bread, crackers, pastries, etc. You name it, I love it (unless it has shredded coconut and then I won’t touch it). I also love to decorate cakes and cookies.


Growing up, I spent special occasions and the holidays baking with my mom in the kitchen. I loved being able to eat everything we made and it was definitely enjoyable, but my passion for baking really started about ten years when I discovered a few cookie decorating blogs. I started baking more and trying to decorate cookies to look as nice as the cookies I was seeing online. To improve my decorating skills (not just for cookies but for cakes as well), I enrolled in a Wilton cake decorating class and I’ve been decorating and baking ever since.

I initially started Windy City Baker in 2018 as a way to document my baking adventures, but it quickly grew into a way to share my baking knowledge with others. I’m passionate about making amazing tasting bakes that are balanced in flavor and texture. I truly believe that if someone is going to spend time baking (and washing dishes), it’s got to taste incredible AND be worth the calories!

In the fall of 2019, my husband encouraged me to join a baking competition to test my recipes and flavors. I won the competition and was awarded with the title of Chicago’s Best Baker! After a couple of years trying to fit baking in during the evenings and weekends, I took a big leap and quit my job to work on my blog full-time. Not only am I able to spend more time developing delicious recipes, but I’ve also been able to use my past teaching experience to help others learn how to bake and decorate.

At Windy City Baker, you’ll find lots of tested recipes to make baked goods from scratch, step-by-step picture and video tutorials, baking tips, and courses to help you gain confidence and expertise in the kitchen!

I’m so excited that you’ve joined us in this amazing baking adventure and I can’t wait to see where this journey will take us!

WCB Bakery

In late spring of 2022, I was certified to open a home bakery/cottage food operation. Located in the neighborhood of Hyde Park in Chicago, Illinois, I create custom, made-to-order bakes in my kitchen from scratch. These amazing tasting treats are made with the highest quality ingredients and a focus on classic baking techniques. My goal is to provide the best tasting baked goods (that are worth the calories) and outstanding customer service to keep you coming back for more!

Check out the available desserts OR fill out a custom order form.

My Favorites

Baking TV Show

Great British Baking Show

Color

Blue (if that wasn’t obvious from the website design)

Animal

Echidna

HOliday

Toss up between Halloween and Christmas

Some other non-baking related facts about me include that I have a Masters in Clinical Psychology and I’m also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. I’ve worked for many years as a therapist for kids with autism and I love helping others learn. I’m a fairly analytical person and I love a good spreadsheet! In my free time, I knit, crochet, watch a lot of movies/tv (and pretty much every baking-related show that I can find), spend time with my family, hike, and bike.