Baking for a Cause

We're calling all food52ers to put their cooking chops toward an important cause!

Inspired by a similar event in Wellington, New Zealand, food52 recipe tester Victoria Ross (above, with her mum) and friends in Auckland rallied their collective pastry power to produce The Great Kiwi Bake-Off, which raised $16,420 for clean-up in the Christchurch earthquake!

Thanks to word of mouth and the power of Facebook, Aucklander Glenn Browne orchestrated this epic bakesale, in which a local train was used to transport the goods from home bakers to buyers. "We had everything from people putting in $1 for a huge plate of treats to a guy who bought a tiny little cake and threw in $100," Victoria reported back to food52 headquarters. They even auctioned off a wedding cake for the cause.

So the age old truth still stands: nothing brings solace and comfort to a community like homemade treats. In the aftermath of recent international crises, why not take to the kitchen? Check out Berkeley bakesaler Samin Nosrat's project for Japanese relief: a Bakesale for Japan is happening on Saturday, April 2nd, in three locations across the San Francisco Bay Area. Come one, come all, bearing oatmeal raisin cookies to mochi -- contact [email protected] for further details or, in true food52 spirit, throw your own bake-off!