Life Is What You Bake It: Recipes, Stories, and Inspiration to Bake Your Way to the Top: A Baking Book

Great American Baking Show winner Lomas debuts with an inspiring collection that combines life lessons, family lore, and behind-the-scenes peeks at the reality show world with more than 100 indulgent recipes. In inviting prose, she recalls how she first learned to bake as a law student facing a tough job market before being cast in the third season of The Great American Baking Show. When the season was pulled off the air after a few episodes because of a #MeToo accusation against a judge, Lomas picked herself up and marched toward her goal of becoming a professional baker. She shares favorite recipes from her stint on the show, as well as bakes inspired by her native Louisiana and time spent in France, California, and New York. A cookie section features rich chocolate mint moon pies, while a chapter devoted to cakes is headlined by Lomas’s grandma’s Million Dollar Cake, featuring rich vanilla layers infused with crushed pineapple. Multiple food cultures receive a nod, sometimes in the same recipe; Zulu Babka adds a New York gloss to the traditional Mardi Gras king cake, and zesty lemon-honey madeleines pay homage to a summer trip to France. Meanwhile, helpful tips offer pointers on everything from making biscuits to “win[ning] a reality show.” Aspiring baking champs need look no further. (Sept.)