This is Me

Hi, I’m Nila. Welcome to my blog!

The Tough Cookie I’m a 28-year-old home baker, cookie lover, and cake connoisseur based in the Netherlands. And I am here to help you become a better home baker!

How am I going to do that? Well…

With lots of tips.
With informative post about ingredients, baking methods and kitchen hacks.
With awesome, inspiring recipes.

You see, I’m a home baker myself! I’ve been baking for years and years (since I learned how to read and picked up my first cookbook) and I have baked and mixed my way through my share of sunken cakes, separated buttercream, and really, really, really tough cookies.

So yeah, I think I know what my fellow home bakers need. For starters, recipes that don’t call for weird unobtainable ingredients or expensive kitchen equipment you can only use for one thing. We just want to make a delicious cake, right? I’m also a huge food geek and like to get to the bottom of recipes. I want to understand exactly why they work, so I can share that information with you. I love coming up with solutions to make baking easier, and to show you how simple most recipes really are, so you can easily adjust them to your own personal taste.

Need more convincing? Check out my mini series about the science that is caramel making, or browse through my ‘Battle of the Buttercreams’ series. My post on flour buttercream (ermine buttercream) is by far my most popular post! I’ve changed the method of a classic recipe to ensure that the buttercream always comes out super smooth and silky. It’s the best buttercream ever!

How it all started

I started The Tough Cookie in March 2013 as a place to keep my best recipes and to share them with other foodies. You know, like food bloggers do. However, over the years my blog has become more and more about understanding the science behind baking and using it to develop the best damn dessert recipes out there. Oh, but I still hate fussy recipes that take forever 😉

Ten more things about me:

Nila rhymes with sky-la. My name has nothing to do with Nilla wafers.
My Rocking Rebel boyfriend and I have been together since 2007.
Our oh-so-precious little Baby Boy was born in November 2015 and he is the cutest baby ever 💖
My favorite things in the world are dancing around the living room with my son and goofing around with the Rocking Rebel.
We have a dog named Lucy. She’s a 3-year-old Small Münsterländer and loves swimming more than anything.
We live in a tiny fourth-floor apartment with a wood burner.
I have a degree in English literature and my all-time favorite book is ‘Life of Pi’. I tried reading through the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge but I gave up three books in.
When I have the time, I like to play guitar and sing Katie Melua songs.
I have a huge family and I’m the unofficial birthday cake baker.
My favorite dessert right now is salted caramel chocolate mousse. Yum!

Let’s keep in touch!

If you like my blog, you can subscribe to my mailing list and have recipes sent straight to your inbox! You can also join me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook.

If you want to ask me a question, if you have an awesome tip or recipe you’d like to share, if you want me to do a post on this or that, or if you just want to say ‘hi’, feel free to leave me a comment or sent me an email!

I love to hear from you 😀