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

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.