Baking and the Meaning of Life
How to find joy in 100 recipes
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Murdoch Books
Publishing:11th Sep '25
£26.00
This title is due to be published on 11th September, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
In her hotly anticipated debut solo cookbook, Ottolenghi pastry chef and recipe developer Helen Goh shares her 100 favourite baking recipes to show the many ways baking brings meaning and joy to our lives.
No one knows the 'why' or 'how' of baking better than Helen Goh, recipe developer with Yotam Ottolenghi for more than a decade, co-author of bestselling books Sweet and Comfort, food columnist for the Good Weekend, The Guardian and Observer, and practising psychologist. In this, her first solo cookbook, Helen draws on her upbringing in Malaysia and Australia, her acclaimed work with Ottolenghi and her psychology training to share her distinctive approach to baking with 100 delicious sweet and savoury bakes.
With recipes like Chocolate Tahini Cake with Sesame Brittle, Plum and Pistachio Bars, Pandan and Coconut Chiffon Cake, and many other shareable treats that offer both tried-and-true and creative flavours, this book is a celebration of community, connection and pleasure through baking. Helen's Champagne and Blackcurrant Celebration Cake will become your new go-to for a special occasion, while a batch of Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes for a picnic or charity bake sale is a small but powerful building block of community and solidarity. All of her desserts are impressively sweet ways to celebrate milestones and connect with family and friends. And after your sweet tooth has been satisfied, there are more than 15 savoury baking dishes, from a Puttanesca Galette with Lemon Ricotta to a Potato, Garlic and Rosemary Focaccia.
With inventive flavour combinations that showcase Helen's creativity, a wealth of thoroughly road-tested bakes and her reflections on living and baking well, Baking and the Meaning of Life is a one-of-a-kind companion bakers will return to again and again to spread joy, one cookie, cake, or cheese puff at a time.
'Helen in her absolute element. It really doesn't get any better.'
Yotam Ottolenghi
'I have rarely leafed through a book and wanted so much to get into the kitchen!'
Diana Henry
'The unsung hero of your favorite Ottolenghi recipes takes the pen! Helen Goh knows the secret to brilliant baked goods: A story, a technique, a flavor combo, and a ratio produce something so much greater than the sum of its parts - simple, delicious, unadulterated JOY.'
Christina Tosi, chef/founder, Milk Bar
'Baking & the Meaning of Life is a book that is breathtakingly unique in every way. In addition to a vast array of beautiful, inspiringly photographed photos, and approachable recipes, Helen's writing is a perfectly authentic reflection of her thoughts, spirit, and soul. The headnotes are graced with the two most important features for each recipe - what to expect flavor and texture/wise, and a charming personal history. This book, written by a master baker, goes beyond baking to an invaluable realm of human connection. The reader will be gifted not only with original, wonderful, and approachable recipes, but also a deep dive into the life of an extraordinary and beautiful person.
Rose Levy Beranbaum, author of The Cake Bible, two times winner of the James Beard Award for Best Baking Books
'Helen Goh has written the kind of baking book I want to keep by the bedside as much as in the kitchen. These recipes are tender, generous, and profoundly human, infused with the flavors and sensibilities of a life lived across multiple continents. You'll come for the cakes (and stay for the shortbread), but what lingers is something more profound: an invitation to find joy, connection, and meaning in the act of baking. This is a book that understands how much of life can be folded into flour and butter. It's elegant, comforting, and quietly brilliant, just like Helen herself, and it reveals her quiet mastery of the bake.'
Nik Sharma, author of The Flavor Equation and Veg-table, Editor at America's Test Kitchen
'This book is a must in every kitchen for Helen's fabulous baking recipes, learning the meaning of life is just a delicious bonus!'
Jake Cohen, NYT bestselling author of Jew-ish and I Could Nosh
ISBN: 9781761500145
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 1372g
336 pages