Butter, Flour, Sugar, Joy: Simple Sweet Desserts for Everyone

by Danielle Kartes

Overview

The best baking starts with joy!

Beloved celebrity cookbook author Danielle Kartes of the hit food blog Rustic Joyful Food tackles the baking world with Butter, Flour, Sugar, Joy, the ultimate baking book for everyone. A lot of people will tell you that baking is science—it requires precision and expertise and fancy kitchen gadgets. But in this book you will find easy-to-follow one-bowl wonders that set the stage for joy! At the heart of baking is the sweet sense of connection, of sharing a treat with someone you love. And that's something anyone can master.

Every chapter of Butter, Flour, Sugar, Joy features simple, delicious dessert recipes—including Danielle's perfect dump-and-stir cake method, which allows you to create showstopper confections without all the fuss. Welcome to the world of Butter, Flour, Sugar, Joy—where messes are encouraged and the comfort of casual home baking is the main course.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728278018
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	11/06/2023
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	129,021
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Danielle Kartes is an author, food stylist, and recipe developer living in Seattle, Washington, with her husband, Michael, a photographer, and their two sweet sons. Together, the Karteses run their boutique food photography business, Rustic Joyful Food, and host food styling workshops around the country. Danielle is a regular contributor on the hit daytime talk show The Kelly Clarkson Show and appears frequently on national television, speaking about joy and teaching how to cook simple, delicious food.

Editorial Reviews

11/20/2023

Rustic Joyful Food blogger Kartes (Meant to Share) offers unfussy one-bowl recipes for sweets in a straightforward collection stressing shortcuts, fun, and community over a rigid, chemistry-based approach. Choices lean toward tried-and-true American favorites like peanut butter cookies with Hershey’s Kisses, red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, and snickerdoodles, though occasionally a trendy ingredient makes an appearance—marshmallow toffee cookies, for example, call for black sea salt from Hawaii. More sophisticated options are also scattered throughout: a chapter of spoonable dishes features passion fruit panna cotta alongside standbys like butterscotch pudding, while classic coconut cream pie rubs shoulders with a rhubarb and frangipane galette in the pie chapter. Kartes is the mother of two young children who feature heavily, and many of the recipes seem suited to children’s tastes: the proclaimed “heart and soul” of the book is a layer cake meant to mimic the flavor of animal crackers and dotted with rainbow sprinkles. Numerous Christian references throughout, including a handful of exhortations to prayer, will further limit the appeal, but as promised, recipes are easy to follow and low stress, and Kartes evinces an honest, often vulnerable tone that will comfort novices (“even the best bakers have bad bakes some days”). Beginners will find this a handy guide. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

"A refreshing and relaxed approach that is especially suitable for medium-level bakers. Both the decadent recipes and heartfelt stories about their origins will entice fans of Paula Deen and Taste of Home magazine." — Library Journal

"Recipes are easy to follow and low stress, and Kartes evinces an honest, often vulnerable tone that will comfort novices. Beginners will find this a handy guide." — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

09/01/2023

Seattle-based celebrity food star Kartes (Rustic Joyful Food) explains that she comes from a long line of "dump-and-stir" home bakers who improvised ingredients and never precisely measured anything, while still achieving fabulous results. Kartes adapts that relaxed approach to baking in an enticing range of classic all-American dessert recipes. To simplify things, she eliminates the weight measures commonly seen in baking tomes and streamlines ingredient lists. Many of the recipes are made in a single bowl to reduce mess and cleanup. Readers will find plenty of special-occasion options for birthday cakes, summer and holiday pies, popular cookie creations, and indulgent puddings. Although most of the recipes are fairly straightforward, new bakers may miss the presence of step-by-step photos and detailed instructions for the more challenging recipes like pie dough, pastry, and meringue. Kartes also writes openly and often about her Christian faith throughout the book. VERDICT Kartes offers a refreshing and relaxed approach that is especially suitable for medium-level bakers. Both the decadent recipes and heartfelt stories about their origins will entice fans of Paula Deen and Taste of Home magazine.—Kelsy Peterson

Library Journal