Photo by Noah Fecks
Sweet & Southern by Ben Mims
Photographs by Noah Fecks
Published by Rizzoli, 2014
I have always been drawn to the baking traditions of regional America: what seems homespun and traditional in situ, for me is richly, dreamily exotic. And Sweet&Southern is a particularly lush and rich example of the genre. And while there is much that is familiar in the way of cakes and pie and grunts and cookies, there is a breakaway element here of less traditional fare: cardamom eclairs, a Southern take on Cassata, Pumpkin Kanafe, Vegan Brownies. These desserts ‘with a twist’ are certainly what give the book a contemporary, living dimension — this is more than an exercise in sweet nostalgia — but I have to admit that is from the traditional canon that I have made my selection here — a Peanut Butter Pie that is itself the author’s reworking of a recipe from his mother’s repertoire.
