Another gem by B. Dylan Hollis

To my knowledge, Baking Across America: A Vintage Recipe Road Trip is not on any “best of” list but I had to grab a copy from the library. I laughed out loud when I read Baking Yesteryear last year. Truly. I was cry-laughing throughout.

I saw Hollis’ newest book when my sister and I were browsing an independent bookstore in Iowa City early in the summer. I started gushing about it. As soon as I got home, I reserved a copy.

About the book:

Join B. Dylan Hollis, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Baking Yesteryear, on a cross-country culinary journey with 100 uniquely American recipes.

From the deserts of the Southwest to the shining Atlantic Coast, the USA is as sweet as it gets. In this tour de food, B. Dylan Hollis takes you on a delicious road trip to taste everything from the coffee-crazed creations of the Pacific Northwest to the larger-than-life sheet cakes of Texas.

You’ll be hitting the pavement in vintage style as you journey with Dylan through the culture capitals of America to savor the very best bakes the nation has to offer. His retro recipes span the decades from the 1900s to the 2000s and feature famous (and forgotten) desserts from every state.

With his signature wry humor, Dylan explores the US and uncovers the history of nostalgic local favorites, including Boston Cream Pie on the cobbled streets of Beantown, Beignets in the sultry heat of jazzy New Orleans, and Date Cream scooped up poolside in Palm Springs.

Baking Across America is the highly anticipated successor to Baking Yesteryear and delivers 100 wild, wacky, and wonderful recipes from every star-spangled corner of the good ol’ US of A. (Taken from Penguin Random House site.)

About the author:

B. Dylan Hollis is a #1 New Yorke Times bestselling author and a social media personality who has tasked himself with baking and tasting unusual recipes from bygone years. Born and raised on the island of Bermuda, he later attended college at the University of Wyoming to further a career as a jazz pianist and arranger. He stumbled into both baking and social media fame at once in 2020, when quarantine boredom led him to film an investigation of an old cookbook he had collected from an estate sale. Hundreds of recipes later, Dylan now entertains millions across TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram with his unique style and fast jokes. Learn more about B. Dylan Hollis

What I thought…

The premise here is interesting. Hollis took the same cookbooks that inspired his Baking Yesteryear and read them by region (instead of by decade). A road trip like no other materialized in his mind.

The most recent cookbooks I have read were international ones and I don’t shy away from cooking from these books with unusual ingredients. I can generally make my way by substituting brown sugar for jaggery or using a light molasses for treacle. The shoe is on the other foot with this book. Hollis includes a page of “Distinct Ingredients of America” (16) which had me reflecting (and laughing). I guess the US of A has built a culinary sweet tooth based on graham crackers, Jell-O, corn syrup and Cool Whip!

Unlike in Baking Yesteryear where he was presenting actual retro and weird recipes like SpaghettiOs Jell-O Ring (with cocktail wieners in the center), this book seemed a little more mainstream to me. That could be because I was mostly familiar with the regional food. At times I even thought that perhaps his road trip was a little too pedestrian. I mean, yes, there’s Boston Cream Pie, New York Cheesecake, Red Velvet Cake, Key Lime Pie, Beignets and Bananas Foster, Hoosier Pie, Buckeyes, Bizcochitos, and Baked Alaska. Just a lot of famous regional deserts. But dig deeper and you find things you’ve never heard of (or even imagined). And be aware, I did learn a lot. (Also be aware that this is not a dessert book per se. There are a few savory recipes thrown in. I counted two.)

Let’s start with the Northeast. I always thought Whoopie Pies were a Southern thing but apparently they are the official treat of the state of Maine. Did you know that Snickerdoodles are associated with Connecticut? Me neither. I do want to make Joe Froggers, a huge molasses cookie flavored with dark rum, ginger, cloves and allspice (32). These cookies are attributed to a tavern run by freedman Joseph Brown and made famous at his “Black Joe’s Tavern.”

On to the Mid-Atlantic. I fondly remember some of the retro recipes like Strawberry Pretzel Salad (53) which totally does NOT resemble a salad but has a cream cheese and Cool Whip filling on a pretzel crust topped with strawberries doused with Jell-O. Hollis features a cheeky Watergate Cupcake for D.C. (77).

He describes the South Atlantic as the “balmy land of butter by the pound” (83). Of course there’s a good Peach Cobbler for Georgia (90), the aforementioned Key Lime Pie for Florida (94), and Chess Pie for Virginia (101). Hollis includes Puerto Rico in this section too with Piñón, a unique dish which includes sweet and savory. It includes plantains, onions, peppers, culantro (a cousin of cilantro), garlic, olives, ground meat, tomato sauce, and green beans. OK, maybe it’s a lot more savory. Not really sweet at all.

I am sure that when trying to narrow down recipes for the South Gulf, it was difficult. (It probably could have been a separate book.) Calas was a donut like treat from Louisiana I was not familiar with. According to Hollis, calas was a staple of breakfasts of the past and “can be considered critically endangered compared to its past popularity” (121). He encourages one to visit Mr. Brandon Pellerin at Calas Cafe in Treme to get the full story and to sample some authentic New Orleans history. I would describe them as a rice-based beignet.

Moving out of New Orleans to the west, I was glad to see that he features Texas Sheet Cake (127). Ah, I want to make one now! For Alabama, he presents The Prized Lane Cake (139).

Arkansas opens the Southern Interior section with Possum Pie (147). Not a possum in sight but there is a cream cheese layer, topped with a chocolate layer with a third topping of a creamy-vanilla layer. Oh, Jell-O chocolate fudge pudding is featured. The large and gangly Searcy County (Arkansas) Chocolate Rolls (151) were unfamiliar: “it might be mistaken for a hand pie, a fried pie, a doorstop, or a large dog treat” (150).

Total Okie aside: Sometimes Oklahoma is considered the South. Sometimes we’re the Southwest. It’s a weird spot to be in. Hollis includes us in the Southern Interior section and features Fried Pies (155). I’m not sure how I feel about his selection of recipes. But I really can’t come up with a quintessential Oklahoma baking recipe. Actually, yes, yes I can. He probably should have gone with Fry Bread.

Atomic Cake from Chicago (171-172)? Yep, hadn’t heard of that. (By the way, I have segued to the Midwest section.) It’s a banana cake layer paired with a chocolate cake layer on top of a yellow cake layer separated by fillings of whipped cream, vanilla Jell-O pudding, and a strawberry jam layer. The original Palmer House brownie (175)? I was glad to get my hands on this recipe. If you’re unfamiliar it’s a basic good brownie recipe topped with an apricot glaze. (Honestly, the entire Midwest section has too many delicious recipes presented. They win!)

The Great Plains section starts off with a bang with a Kool-Aid Pie from Nebraska (199). It’s the trifecta of American ingredients: graham cracker crust topped with a filling made of sweetened condensed milk, grape Kool-Aid, and Cool Whip. I’m not sure if I should be amazed or appalled. I appreciated that he included some “international” recipes for Kansas like Smörbakelser (Swedish butter cookies) and Povitica (Eastern European pastry packed with honey and walnuts).

The Mountain West perhaps had the freshest recipes with Huckleberry Scones, Chokecherry Homestead Muffins, and Huckleberry Ice Cream.

Even though this is a long post, it’s not a definitive review of Hollis’ book (IMO). But, I had too many books due back to the library and I did not have enough time in the kitchen. And, to be honest, I kind of loss interest. I have copied out his Jam Cake recipe to try.

I found this book mildly amusing. For instance, Hollis learns that Martha’s Vineyard is not named after Martha Stewart (31), but I did not find it as hilarious as his first book, Baking Yesteryear. It was a fun book to flip through but it’s another one I’m glad I check out of the library.

I would also like to tell Hollis that he needs to eat everything he bakes. He is way too skinny. (I feel like I sound like his grandmother.)

I’m linking up with Foodies Read.