I'm Writing a Cookbook!

And there's a new season of The Great American Baking Show!

A new season of The Great American Baking Show just dropped! Watch it now on The Roku Channel. It's free, and you do not need a Roku device or smart TV to watch. Simply go here! If the six episodes aren't enough for you, you can always re-watch my season...

I'm not too cool to admit that I'm a huge fan of the show. I watch (and re-watch) seasons of the American and British versions, plus I've watched the Canadian and Aussie renditions. (And even a couple of episodes of the German iteration: Das große Backen.)

If that news isn't great enough, I have something big to share:

I'm writing a cookbook!

Even before I was on The Great American Baking Show, I enjoyed writing recipes. I would adapt my favorite recipes, create new ones, experiment with flavors, and thoroughly document everything. Whenever I cooked or baked something new, my husband would remind me to "write it down." And I did. I enjoy the process of translating the physical and sensory activity of baking and cooking into written form. This English major appreciated the fun and challenging writing exercise.

After years of baking, I had a collection of my favorites—recipes you commit to memory, recipes that family asks for every Thanksgiving, Christmas, or peach season. These recipes include the flaky crust my niece calls "the best in the world” and the easy whole wheat toast loaf I make weekly.

I started emailing these recipes to family and friends when they asked for them. In 2022, I considered putting together a small booklet of these recipes for Christmas gifts. (Mainly to save myself from all the emails.) Then I found myself on the Baking Show and coming out on top. That success made me think that maybe I have a wider audience for my recipes.

And here we are. But it's not that simple. Getting a publisher has taken more than two years, from testing and writing sample recipes to putting together a 40+ page cookbook proposal, finding a literary agent, growing my platform, and proving myself as a writer.

I must thank my incredible agent, Sally Ekus, who took a chance on an unknown voice with a measly platform. (You can subscribe to her newsletter, Not So Secret Agent.) Infinite thanks to my adorable husband for the support, feedback, proofreading, and dishwashing. Shout-out to my Baking Show castmates for their encouragement. And finally, thanks to my publisher at Agate. I met their entire team (IRL), and it means so much to be writing for a fantastic local publisher.

The book won't be out for a while, so when publication gets closer, I'll share more details of how the book came to be…and how to pre-order it. There are many more people to thank for helping me secure this opportunity. For now, it's time to get recipe testing and writing.

I'll keep up this newsletter, but it will evolve a bit since I have a ton of recipes to perfect between now and when my manuscript is due.

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A few other updates and musings

Here's a short piece about getting the most lemon flavor into your desserts that I wrote for Food & Wine. I swear by each of these tips. Also, a big thanks to my baking buddy Nirali for giving me the most glorious little jar of turmeric.

I've been writing recipes and articles for other publications (yes, in addition to testing for my book). I'll share those when they're out!

I'm made dessert for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. My mother (Love you, Mom!) always requests the same two things: cherry pie and cinnamon rolls. This time, she also asked for chocolate cake. The cherry pie is a no-brainer because it's probably my favorite non-ice-cream dessert. (You can get my cherry pie filling recipe here.) I made a huge three-layer chocolate cake with raspberry filling covered in a luxurious milk chocolate ganache. Instead of cinnamon rolls, I made some vanilla-bean-rhubarb brioche rolls…because I needed to be a bit creative and seasonal. They all survived the three-hour drive to the party.

Happy Baking,
Martin