It’s hard to think of a book that could be closer to my heart than one bearing the title Baking & the Meaning of Life. I subscribe wholeheartedly to Helen Goh's thesis that those very qualities that give life meaning – a sense of purpose, mastery of skills, creativity and a connection to those around us – are exactly those that baking helps us to develop. I came to baking relatively late in life, and it was a revelation: it unlocked something significant. Of course, you could argue the same for cooking (and I do) but, in baking, one’s concentration is perhaps more singular, that’s to say it needs to be focused on one project at a time; the unfrenzied absorption it requires gives not only a sense of meaning, then, but a quiet sort of liberation. And I warmed to her assertion that baking is about both autonomy and connectedness.
And frankly, there is no better person to lead us to this happy state than Helen Goh: her prose exudes calm and measured confidence and her recipes always work. This sounds more plodding than I mean it to: beyond her essential technical precision, her mastery of flavour is sumptuous. She is just gloriously imaginative, and makes a gift of this to us. And there is so much to savour: Pistachio & Dried Cherry Scrolls; Potato, Garlic & Rosemary Focaccia; Apple, Blackberry & Yuzu Crumble; Pita Cheese Crisps; Caramelised Cinnamon Doughnut Cake; Chocolate Tahini Cake with Sesame Brittle; Quince Tart Tatin with Normandy Cream; Prawn Sambal Buns; Pandan & Coconut Chiffon Cake; Rhubarb, Vanilla & Almond Tessellated Cake; Pistachio & Pomegranate Madeleines; Winter Pavlova with Cranberry & Lime; Shoo Fly Buns; Carrot Layer Cake with Buckwheat Praline; and, oh, so much more!
The recipe I just had to share with you today is one I cannot stop making: it’s the Plum & Pistachio Slice, and I can’t recommend it too highly!
Baking & the Meaning of Life by Helen Goh is published by Murdoch Books, £26.00, www.murdochbooks.co.uk.
Photos by Laura Edwards.
