A celebration of real baking in all its messy, boisterous, and delicious glory

Since when did every cookie on the plate have to be just like the next? Or each layer of cake exactly the same height? Each piecrust an impeccable work of art and encircled by stunningly perfect pastry leaves? To the uninitiated, all that fastidious, spotless baking is intimidating, not to mention exhausting. The Messy Baker celebrates baking as it happens in the real world—sweet, messy, fun, not always gorgeous, but a way to show love. Which doesn't make it any less delicious; to the contrary, Charmian's flavor combinations rise far above the ordinary. Why have a raspberry galette when you can enjoy a raspberry-rhubarb galette with drippy, unctuous walnut frangipane? Or brie and walnut whisky tart? All without the rigid perfectionism or complicated instructions of other gourmet cookbooks.

Charmian's warm, irreverent voice brings the fun back into baking at a time when home cooks—pulled from pillar to post by jobs and errands—need to have fun. The Messy Baker is a full service book that not only guides the reader through simple, delicious recipes, but is also there to help out when things wrong. For anyone who has given up in frustration when that crust has collapsed or the frosting smears, Christie's warm, practical advice is here to rescue even the worst disaster and inspire bakers to try their next recipe.