More Than Cake: 100 Baking Recipes Built for Pleasure and Community

"From her award-nominated work at Altro Paradiso and Flora Bar to her powerful community bake sales that have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Planned Parenthood, Natasha Pickowicz is one of the most important bakers working today. Her creations are unique and whimsical but never fussy (she taught the New York Times how to make chocolate mousse in a blender); her flavors take baked goods beyond the ordinary. Pickowicz's first cookbook includes her singular recipes, reflecting her Chinese heritage, California childhood, and community bake sale experience. From Red Bean and Brown Butter Pie to Scallion Pancake Biscuits and from Black Sesame Fortune Cookies to Sour Glaze Maple Gingerbread, she shares 100 recipes punctuated with enlightening pop-out tips. The book provides readers with even more ways to delight and honor others, no matter how big or small the occasion: from baking for your partner or for your entire office, from once-in-a-lifetime celebrations to more ordinary, small moments. The modern layer cake chapter with cakes, soaks, fillings, and frostings shows readers Pickowicz's favorite ways make a celebration cake. The essay on how to hold a successful bake sale includes recipes and best practices so bakers can share the love with Malted Cocoa Fudge or Toasted Vanilla Bean Pound Cake"--
The sumptuous debut cookbook from celebrated baker, activist, and pastry “it girl” Natasha Pickowicz   Natasha Pickowicz is a creative force in the world of baking. Her pastries are uniquely delicious and surprising. She’s picked up three James Beard Award nominations for her time as a professional pastry chef. Her buzzy bake sales for Planned Parenthood and other nonprofits have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now she shares her recipes and baking know-how in a debut cookbook brimming with the energy, passion, joy, knowledge, and spirit of generosity that define her work. The recipes are fresh and uncomplicated, drawing on the author’s Chinese and Californian heritage. She pairs nectarine and miso in a tarte tatin and makes a layer cake with olive oil, mascarpone, and fennel. Black cardamom gets tucked into pecan sticky buns, and galettes go savory with kabocha squash.   And she’s a born teacher. Of course pastry requires a real focus on detail and technique, but the author is here at every step with invaluable tips: underbeat meringue; boil your plum stones to extract even more plum flavor; look for “first-press” yuzu juice; for the flakiest pie dough, first freeze your butter, then use a grater to get perfect shreds.  More Than Cake means baking to bring people together. It calls on you to prioritize pleasure. As the author writes, “Dessert is beyond simple calories and nutrition. . . . It spreads delight in a way that no other kind of dish can. This is something I think people really need—it’s not optional.” It’s a philosophy to live by.
Accomplished baker, trendsetter, and pastry it girl Natasha Pickowicz has written her first cookbook, filled with recipes made for sharing and to promote community, with influences from her Chinese and California heritage; it is sure to become a modern-day classic.
From her award-nominated work at Altro Paradiso and Flora Bar to her powerful community bake sales that have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Planned Parenthood, Natasha Pickowicz is one of the most important bakers working today. Her creations are unique and whimsical but never fussy (she taught the New York Times how to make chocolate mousse in a blender); her flavors take baked goods beyond the ordinary. Pickowicz’s first cookbook includes her singular recipes, reflecting her Chinese heritage, California childhood, and community bake sale experience. From Red Bean and Brown Butter Pie to Scallion Pancake Biscuits and from Black Sesame Fortune Cookies to Sour Glaze Maple Gingerbread, she shares 100 recipes punctuated with enlightening pop-out tips. The book provides readers with even more ways to delight and honor others, no matter how big or small the occasion: from baking for your partner or for your entire office, from once-in-a-lifetime celebrations to more ordinary, small moments. The modern layer cake chapter with cakes, soaks, fillings, and frostings shows readers Pickowicz’s favorite ways make a celebration cake. The essay on how to hold a successful bake sale includes recipes and best practices so bakers can share the love with Malted Cocoa Fudge or Toasted Vanilla Bean Pound Cake.