Asian American Baker Turns Croissants Into Spam-Musubi, World Confused But Hungry
KEY POINTS
- •Joyce Tang’s 'Bake Sum' evolved from a 2020 SF pandemic pop-up into an Oakland bakery known for Spam-musubi croissants and cross-cultural danishes.
- •Carla Lalli’s 'Food Is a Feeling' merges recipes with essays on divorce, motherhood, and freedom, reflecting on 'separation summer' and solo meals.
- •Richard Christiansen’s 'Pleasure Principles,' released on September 15, is an immersive deluxe almanac mixing garden tasks with high-fashion plant porn and sage pasta recipes.
The Fall 2026 cookbook parade has dropped like pumpkin spice in your inbox, featuring gems like Joyce Tang’s 'Bake Sum: Asian American Pastries,' which birthed Spam-musubi-infused croissants and ube pineapple buns after rising from a 2020 pandemic pop-up to an Oakland bakery celebrity. Joyce suavely blends chawanmushi quiches with Indian aloo matar in danishes, all from a $32.62 Amazon steal. Carla Lalli’s 'Food Is a Feeling' sauces up divorce and motherhood reflections with recipes like 'weeknight lamb chop special'—for any number, because life's messy. Meanwhile, Richard Christiansen’s 'Pleasure Principles,' a $32.62 maximalist garden almanac, suggests making bird nests or sage tinctures, apparently hustling winter vibes harder than a Martha Stewart party in a greenhouse.
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(1 of 3)Bro, the new cookbook season’s basically a cultural mashup buffet where croissants marry Spam-musubi and breakups inspire dinner recipes. Cookbooks are the new therapy sessions, and yes, there’s a gardening fantasy palace sewn in for some freaky botanical flex.
Bake Sum turns croissants into a Spike Lee joint: multicultural, ambitious, and somehow everyone’s hungry but confused.
Nothing says healing like a divorce-themed cookbook—it’s like crying into your lamb chops and letting the beans do the talking.
Source: Eater | Published: 9/10/2026 | Author: Bettina Makalintal
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