Pieometry

May 4, 2020
Ko earned Instagram fame for her gorgeously crafted pies, and in this pun-heavy guide (“Let’s get this tarty started”) she generously shares her tricks. “Spoke Signals” (with spiraling strips of dough that form a hub at the center) was Ko’s Instagram breakout and is typical of her geometric genius. Crusts range from basic to options that incorporate Oreos and sprinkles and a blue version colored with butterfly pea flower. Some combinations are surprising—“Block and Awe” pairs cherry filling with two doughs, one marbled with Nutella and the other made with beets—but the visual effects are always brilliant. In “Pink Out Loud,” dragon fruit powder turns a lime-curd filling a bright magenta that contrasts with geometric speckled dragon fruit-flesh tiles; in “Floral of the Story,” each hexagon in a clever honeycomb design of dough encases an edible flower. Savory options include a miso and carrot pie topped with banana-shaped dough curls. The instructions for more ambitious woven crusts, including a three-tone Aztec-style design, are precise and accompanied by helpful photos. This is a no-brainer for Ko’s many fans who are eager to learn the secrets behind her show-stopping work, or any baker looking to add some confectionery flash to their repertoire.

May 1, 2020

In Pieometry, internet baking sensation Ko of the popular Instagram account @lokokitchen offers recipes and 100 photographs to show off her pastry creations, as much art as food (50,000-copy first printing). Chief baking officer at famed Magnolia Bakery, Lloyd adds to the stack of best-selling Magnolia cookbooks with The Magnolia Bakery Handbook, all about having your cake and instructions, too (40,000-copy first printing). Weller, chef-partner at New York's High Street on Hudson, and three-time James Beard nominee Carre�o get together for A Good Bake, offering groundbreaking savory and sweet treats for our time.

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 1, 2020
Ko puts art back in tart. Her popular Instagram account @lokokitchen shows off her prowess at turning fruit and savory tarts and pies into vividly colored geometric wonders. Now this single volume documents her skill, with detailed pictures that will surely challenge home cooks. Simple fruit tarts don't just lay berries atop pastry cream. Ko slices three different colors of pear and stacks the different colors in undulating waves as lovely as any seascape. But that's just her starting point. She delves into all sorts of exotic fruits, taking advantage of each one's uniqueness. Slicing dragon fruit into precise geometric parallelograms, she arranges them atop raspberry curd. On another pie, Ko cleverly recreates Earth's geologic strata. For savory tarts, she offers herb and garlic crusts. Vegetables take a leading role here, both to flavor crusts and to boldly tint fillings for stunning presentation. Ko takes quiche in utterly new directions. Her ability to mix and match flavors puts her into the same category as molecular chefs/wizards. Home pastry chefs will find much inspiration here, and even if her visual artistry intimidates, Ko's flavor combinations can still unleash a creative spirit in the kitchen.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)