Life is what you bake it Recipes, stories & inspiration to bake your way to the top

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 a reality show." Aspiring baking champs need look no further. (Sept.)

In this charming debut cookbook, Lomas reflects on her career so far and presents a series of family recipes that have seen her through life's ups and downs. Notably, Lomas recalls her time competing on the Great American Baking Show, its sudden cancelation in 2017, and her need to continue on in the face of disappointment. This book collects Lomas's favorite recipes that she premiered on the show, along with tried-and-true desserts influenced by her grandmothers. The wide-ranging recipes reflect the baker's Louisiana Creole upbringing; her time studying in France as a college student; and her years in New York, as an attorney selling her noteworthy macarons on the side. Whether they're making Lomas's family recipes (cornmeal pancakes) or desserts for entertaining (almost-ate-the-plate carrot cake), home bakers will be enlightened by her reassuring words and time-saving tips, some incorporating store-bought pie dough or boxed cake mixes. Lomas is at her best when sharing her beloved cake recipes, including ingredient variations and pairing suggestions. VERDICT With treats for bakers of all levels, this warm-hearted collection will find a welcome place on baker's shelves.--William Varick, New York

Introduction I quit my job as an attorney to become a baker for one simple reason: I had a burning desire to do something different with my life. I could not continue to give the best hours of my day to a job that I wasn't passionate about. After I won The Great American Baking Show, I knew that I had a small window of opportunity to take advantage of my success and turn it into a new career path. Pursuing my foodie dreams while working a full-time job as an attorney felt like an impossible task, and I wanted to give myself a real shot to follow my dream career in food media. Five months after my winning television season had been cancelled, I made a firm decision to take the plunge. Quitting my job felt like a rash decision, but my journals and therapist can attest otherwise: Baking full-time was something I had wanted for years. In some ways, I was already doing it . I spent mornings, nights, and weekends baking for Instagram. But in many ways, I wasn't prepared at all. As a government attorney with a limited income, I had no assets, no savings, and many (many) student loans. But what I did have was a vision of what my life could be! And I knew the importance of articulating that vision by writing it down and mapping out a path. I often tell myself: If you can't even admit to yourself what your dreams are, how on earth can you translate them from your head to reality? The path I mapped out included building a network of mentors and connecting with other food media pros. It did not include writer's block, devoting significant time and energy to SponCon, and losing my senses of taste and smell temporarily, even though those are obstacles I overcame. Less than a year after quitting my job, I did it: I sold my cookbook proposal and was regularly booking work as a food media freelancer. The rest is history. I'm still surprised by my gall to start a food blog during my final year of law school instead of looking for a job. It was 2009, and the recession was in full force. I was filled with angst, but I decided to lean into what made me happy instead of dwelling on what I couldn't control. I knew that baking made me happy, because I would excitedly jump out of bed to activate yeast or bake muffins to share with my classmates. And within days of my first experimental recipes, I started to document the results in a blog. I began my final year of law school in an obsessive baking mode, and I baked something new every day that school year. I have to admit--if there had been no recession, there would have been no blog. And if there had been no blog, there would have been no atFoodieInNewYork Instagram account seven years later. And if there had been no Instagram account, I wouldn't have been discovered by a casting director for The Great American Baking Show . And if I hadn't been on The Great American Baking Show , I'd probably be looking up case law while sitting in a cubicle instead of living out the bravest life I dared to dream. Excerpted from Life Is What You Bake It: Recipes, Stories, and Inspiration to Bake Your Way to the Top: a Baking Book by Vallery Lomas All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.