Pastry Chef Declares Pear-Pepper-Parmesan Cake ‘Meaning of Life,’ Bakers Panic

KEY POINTS

•Helen Goh, former lead pastry developer for Ottolenghi’s London empire, published a 2025 cookbook.
•Her book adapts Sophie Grigson’s 1992 savory Parmesan cake by adding a pear, honey, and pepper twist.
•Goh recommends baking the cake a day before serving so its flavors can 'meld like unlikely friends.'
•The recipe includes detailed ingredients like semolina flour, roasted hazelnuts, and cracked black pepper.

Helen Goh, erstwhile Yotam Ottolenghi’s lead pastry innovator, has penned 'Baking and the Meaning of Life' for $35 on Amazon, daringly promoting a pear, pepper, and Parmesan cake as a soulful masterpiece. Adapted from Sophie Grigson’s 1992 tome, the cake boldly fuses honey sweetness with peppery tang, hazelnuts, thyme, and something called semolina flour. Goh suggests making it a day ahead so the flavors can 'mellow like unlikely friends,' because nothing says festive bonding like waiting 24 hours for baked goods to understand each other. Meanwhile, foodies are bravely extracting deep life meaning from savory cakes while questioning if bread ever cared enough.