I love baking, I hate baking

it's wonderful, it's the absolute worst

Hello and welcome to Home Movies Tuesday! If you’ve found your way over by some miracle but are not yet subscribed, here, let me help you with that:

This week is a little baby short video, not a recipe and basically what I think might qualify as a VLOG? A VLOG about loving and hating something in equal measure, about the bliss and frustration of baking and dessert making.

The title of the book is in reference to the literal sweetness level of desserts (they are truly, just….sweet enough), but it should also tell you something about my general attitude about the whole thing (my whole attitude about a lot of things, actually!). If I’m being honest, I feel a little sheepish promoting a dessert book when I myself have never purported to be a dessert person, just a person who makes dessert (professionally, for several years and personally, on occasion).

But, I do love them. I love making them, and yes, I did eat Cold Carrot Cake for breakfast.

it’s on page 101, it has dates inside, it’s made in one bowl and it’s the best carrot cake I’ve ever had

I love melting butter even when it accidentally starts to brown at the edges and I love eating the cream cheese that’s stuck to the wrapper. I love following instructions and I love being told what to do. I love feeling like a magician when I make something delicious out of a pile of powders and a few eggs. I love the sense of accomplishment of pulling a cake from the oven when everything else on my to-do list stares at me with judgement. I love having a sense of control in a world full of chaos. I hate how my brain feels after eating lots sugar, and I hate how my body feels after eating too much dairy. I hate measuring ingredients and I hate being told what to do. I hate how annoying it is to wait so long for something when you’re not even sure if it’s going to turn out. I hate how you can’t just wing it and I hate how you have to plan ahead. I hate how chaotic it can feel when life is already feeling so chaotic. I love baking, I hate baking!

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I know it’s hard to believe, but the book is a mere TWO WEEKS AWAY from being out in the world, hopefully into all your sweet little hands to fall in love (and sometimes, also hate) with the gorgeous, messy, joyous world of baking/dessert making/sweets eating.

Imagine having to wait longer than that for this book!! I simply couldn’t!!! And you don’t have to, if you pre-order!

For general pre-orders, head HERE.

For signed copies from some of my favorite independent bookstores, click on each link (they ship!): Books are Magic, Books & Books, Omnivore and Skylight.

For anyone on the fence, I am opening up a separate comment thread about this book coming later today, which I’ll be popping into over the next two weeks to answer all your questions about what this book could/might/will do for you. Available to paid subscribers only.

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Some recent press from Rebecca Flint Marx via Eater in this weeks round up of 12 best cookbooks this spring (full list here, featuring new ones from Andrea Nguyen, Nigel Slater and more):

I assure you, the laissez-faire wasn’t staged

Thank you for watching, see you next week for more Home Movies!