Allyson Reedy’s new book 50 Things to Bake Before You Die is a heavenly collection of dessert recipes gifted to us by the greatest bakers and celebrity chefs to small-town café owners and fancy restaurateurs. As a Denver-based, dessert-obsessed food writer and restaurant critic, Reedy truly believes that the world would be a better place if we all had more cheesecake and fudge brownies in our lives.
Why did you decide to write this book?
“I love dessert—we do both lunch and dinner dessert in my house—and so I wanted a greatest hits sort of dessert cookbook: a compilation of all my favorite treats from all my favorite bakers. So, I decided to ask if these incredible bakers, like Christina Tosi, Duff Goldman, Joanne Chang and local bakers too, would share their recipes. Luckily, they said yes!”
In your opinion, is baking a lost art?
“I feel like baking doesn’t have to be an art. I’m far from a professional—I’m actually a pretty untalented baker. But, I can still get in my kitchen, turn the oven on, mix up a few ingredients and create something delicious. Baking doesn’t have to be intimidating, and I hope that I can encourage people to just go for it. Bake with reckless abandon. Attempt the chocolate soufflé and crazy layer cake. What’s the worst that can happen? Even if it doesn’t turn out perfectly, it’s probably still going to taste great.”
Any tips for the home baker?
“Read the recipe all the way through before you start. Make sure your room temperature ingredients are actually room temperature, especially here at altitude. Don’t overmix when you add the dry ingredients and try not to open and close the oven door too much while your treats are baking.”
