Jennifer Garner Blessed the Internet with This Easy Lemony Dessert

These days, anyone with a smartphone, groceries, and an Internet connection can host a cooking show. But some cooking creators are infinitely better than others. 

Such is the case with actress Jennifer Garner, who hosts a series called “Pretend Cooking Show” on her Instagram page. The short and often humorous videos put Garner front and center in the kitchen, demonstrating easily replicable recipes — typically with celebrity guests, like the inimitable Ina Garten in February’s cacio e pepe scrambled eggs episode.

March’s most recent “Pretend Cooking Show” featured a luscious-looking lemon olive oil cake, with the help of none other than the award-winning L.A. chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo (of spicy vodka fusilli fame). 

The cake itself looks easy enough to master, and the cooking duo share a handful of easy tips for the recipe they created. And while not everyone can forage Garner’s lush California yard for fresh lemons off the tree, anyone recreating the cake (the full recipe is in Garner’s caption, thankfully) can zest like a pro: Just go all the way around the lemon as shown in a close-up.  

Another life-changing tip to remember: the differentiation between baking soda and baking powder: “Powder puffs, soda spreads.” The show may be pretend, but the tips and recipes certainly are not. 

If you didn’t know Garner from her work in Hollywood, you may think she’s just a quirky woman (with famous friends) having a good time in the kitchen. Her content is relatable, charming, and refreshingly fun. Her recipe demos have viewers wanting to replicate the tried-and-true recipes she sources from restaurants, chefs, and cookbooks. 

The charm of Garner’s self-created “Pretend Cooking Show” is her realness — or as much of realness as a celeb can show online. There are cameos by her adorable golden retriever, aesthetic shots of her Nancy Meyers-esque kitchen, tips from her mom, Patricia Garner, and just a few messes and kitchen slip-ups. The hilarious videos are also used as a platform to raise awareness. In the case of the lemon cake, Garner is supporting baby2baby, a nonprofit providing children living in poverty with essential supplies. 

For an easy way to bookmark the lemon olive oil cake episode and more recipes, check out Garner’s YouTube page, Garnerish, which has five years' worth of content. That is, 55 episodes showcasing Garner’s home cooking journey, starting with honey white bread and progressing through pandemic projects, a recipe walkthrough of Pepper Tiegan’s Pad Korat, and a holiday-themed peppermint bark ice cream. 

Celebrities, they’re just like us! If we had 124,000 YouTube subscribers, a contact list of uber-famous friends, and a beautiful mansion with fresh produce growing in the backyard.