Flo Braker - Baking for All Occasions

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To my honey, our children, Jeff and Michal, Julie and Robert, and our grandchildren, Joshua, Natalie and Daniel whose enduring support and love of desserts make life one sweet journey.

And, with great admiration to bakers everywhere who dream, create, bake, share, and inspire me every day.

When you bake, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Butter, sugar, eggs, and flour come together to make a dazzling dessert. The same is true when you write a cookbook. A team of talented individuals works in tandem to create the finished product.

I am profoundly grateful to a multitude of colleagues and friends who have offered encouragement and support, sage advice and feedback: Amy Albert, Nancy Baggett, Michael Bauer, Casey Ellis, Louise Fiszer, Fran Gage, Marlene Sorosky Gray, Elinor Klivans, David Lebovitz, Emily Luchetti, Nick Malgieri, Rosemary Mark, Alice Medrich, Miriam Morgan, Patti Murray, Karen Nielsen, Greg Patent, Amy Pressman, Susan Purdy, Mary Risley, Carole Walter, Lisa Yockelson, and all the members of the amazing Bakers Dozen organization in the San Francisco Bay Area. Both Ann Martin Rolke and Cheryl Sternman Rule serendipitously came into my life in the early stages of the project when their editing assistance made it possible for me to move forward on the book

I am deeply indebted to Jack Adler, Kevyn Allard, Anne Baker, Allen Cohn, Melissa Eisenstat, Amanda Gold, David Grossblat, Allison Komar, Shirley Rosenberg, Jeff Sherman, Susan Walter, and Camille J. Zelinger who paid great attention to detail as they diligently tested and tasted recipes.

Magnanimous assistance came from Laura Martin Bacon, Andrew Baker, Janet Rikala Dalton, Nancy Kux, Evie Lieb, Christine Law, and Nora Tong. These articulate and baking-sawy professionals were always there to troubleshoot or share recipes, research sources, provide recipe math, clarify a lengthy paragraph, or come up with the right words to express what I wanted to say. I will be eternally thankful. My heartfelt thanks to all the great people at Chronicle Books for their invaluable efforts. Very special appreciation is due to Bill LeBlond, who first suggested that I write another book, and whose support and insight guided me to the end. Editor Amy Treadwell, always upbeat, offered great suggestions just when I needed them, and kept me and the book on track through the editorial process. A million thanks to Jane Dystel who is not only the hardest working literary agent but also the best. Sharon Silva will forever hold the blue ribbon for keen copy editing and a soft spot in my heart. And last, but not least, bouquets to photographer Scott Peterson and food stylist Kim Konecny for vividly bringing the recipes to life. These loyal, talented people and my kind, loving family and close friends helped me every step of the way. It was the sum of their efforts that made this book a sweet reality.