One woman was in the first cohort, now she mentors new trainees. I think it’s because it’s something that makes you feel useful.” Incredible flavours and proper seasoning (the salt balance is so crucial!). But also having the right ‘vibe’. Having a meal with good friends is the best experience for me. Nice chill vibes, nice chat, nice lighting (candles!) and nice ambiance. I love amazing presentation - not fancy expensive stuff, but just things that are well thought out. There’s something about a nice plate/bowl and a small spoon (or cake fork) that just makes a dessert a really lovely and mindful experience. And if it’s cat themed, well that’s even MORE AMEOWZING. What will surprise people in your book? So that’s where the idea of an intergenerational friendship as the basis of my story came about. The main character, Yan, a lot of her experiences are based on experiences that I’ve had with social anxiety and low self-esteem issues. And she joins this baking club and befriends Bea, and she’s a lot older and she’s vibrant, she seems super confident. But they both benefit from each other, and then they’re both vulnerable in different ways.

Turtle Bread, written by Kim-Joy and illustrated by Alti Firmansyah, will be published in e-book format on May 2, with a print edition published in the fall. The story follows Yan, a shy woman who joins a baking club, and slowly begins to, well, come out of her shell. “Turtle bread is a metaphor throughout the story,” says Kim-Joy; it symbolizes the good that can come out of being vulnerable. And it’s filled with illustrated recipes for Kim-Joy’s favorite bakes, like Victoria sponge, “pigfiteroles,” and of course melonpan buns, aka turtle bread. Kim-Joy is wearing heart-shaped sunglasses indoors. She says she gets migraines from the harsh lights in the office she’s sitting in, so she brought them to protect her vision, and why wear plain sunglasses when they could be heart-shaped? But that’s the thing about Kim-Joy, who’s also wearing a pink and orange spotted sweater and has streaks of pastel in her hair — she never settles for the merely practical.We’ve renovated our house recently, and one of the most exciting things is that we now have a walk-in pantry! I never would’ve thought I’d ever have a walk-in pantry. It’s a total dream just being able to see all my ingredients. So I’ve always got food dyes, plain flour, baking powder, strong white flour, vegetable oil and vanilla bean paste (and many many other things). How do you balance tradition and innovation in your cooking? On a similar theme, forthcoming fictional graphic novel, Turtle Bread, tells the tale of a bunch of friends who meet at a baking club. I don’t know, it just sounds like a really bizarre thing [to] go apply for a TV show about my hobby I really love and be judged about it! But I’d been into baking for a little while and friends said, “You should apply for this show.” And I was like, “No, I couldn’t ever do that.” It’s still a bit surreal to me that I went on the show. But then I met my partner Nabil through board games, and my confidence started to really grow after meeting him. You know when you feel like you get a stable base, you feel like you can venture out a bit?

I don’t like things that are all the same or really uniform – it takes a bit of life out of them,” she says. I grew up with mental health issues, and still have social anxiety,” she says, explaining why baking can be such a soothing antidote during difficult times. Chill the cake in the fridge for at least one hour, or in the freezer for 10 minutes until the buttercream is chilled and firm. Then cover the whole cake in another layer of vanilla buttercream to cover most of the crumbs. Use a palette knife (heating it under hot water for a smoother finish) to smooth the buttercream around the sides, then smooth the buttercream on the top, smoothing it in from the edges and towards the centre. (Make sure there is a little vanilla buttercream left for the decorations). Scatter sprinkles all along the bottom of the cake, then chill in the fridge for at least one hour again, or in the freezer for 10 minutes until the buttercream is firm. self-raising flour (to make gluten-free, substitute with a gluten-free self-raising flour blend, plus ¾ tsp xanthan gum) You’ve mentioned in a couple interviews that you really started making friends through baking. Did you have your own baking club? What were the experiences you were thinking about when you wrote Yan?

Books Multibuys

I find a lot of people look at the cookbooks and say, “Oh that’s too hard.” Even though I write bits with ways to adapt recipes to make it easier. And in my newest cookbook I’ve put little pauses to indicate difficulties to try and get everyone to bake stuff. I don’t want it to be just people who are good at baking. I consider myself a bit of an experimental baker and I like to make mistakes along the way and see what happens. I think we should just bake, and if it doesn’t work out in the end, it’s fine. It’s a process. The decoration on top is like doing a simple oil painting, but in buttercream that you can eat – and remember that asymmetrical faces are all part of the charm, so there’s no need to be too exact.” When I was making the ‘meowringue’ cats recipe on the actual book shoot, I realised that I could create a simpler and just as effective version for people who aren’t into piping, or are in a rush or have young kids who want to help. It’s definitely a new skill. At first when I was writing the comic, even though I had the story fully in my brain, it was just making sure I got it out in the right kind of way. So I felt like I did a lot more. With writing a comic there’s a lot more sitting down. I love creating. Whether it’s baking or whether it’s writing, that’s my favorite thing about having been on the show — being able to create and do what I love. I think it’s more so that most people look at it and go, “Oh I can never make that.” That’s definitely the reaction I get rather than people looking at it and going, “Oh, yeah, I could do that. That’s okay.” What I worry about more is people not giving it a go because it might look intimidating, but I guess maybe that links into what I was saying before: Because it’s illustrated, it actually looks more accessible in that form.

self-raising flour (to make gluten-free, substitute with a gluten-free self-raising flour blend that contains added xanthan gum, plus ½ tsp xanthan gum) I really struggled with Bake Off, but also it increased my confidence. So the baking club in the story is all fictional but rooted in my Bake Off experience. None of the characters is exactly one person, but there’s little elements of people who I met in the tent, about how different people approach their baking.

Confirm your age

It’s more like real life, in that you bake and things are a little bit better, but it’s not always good. It’s about how we keep going.” What made you think that a graphic novel was the best medium to tell this story? And How did it come about that you developed this? My social anxiety has gotten a lot better and it’s partly been through saying yes to the things that terrify me the most. So I went to university and I was like, “I’ve just got to try and make friends, going to go out and do this and do that and join this board game club and keep trying to push myself.” I think Bake Off was basically the next extreme step. I realised that instead of piping the meringue into neat cat shapes, I could show how you can make ‘scruffy’ cats by dolloping meringue onto baking paper, swirling through jam/chocolate/curd, sprinkling on freeze-dried fruit, and then just using fingers to pinch out the cat ear shapes and using edible eyes or food dye to create a little face. What are the components of a fantastic meal for you? The first time I really met people who were into baking was actually when I went on Bake Off. I loved baking because you could make something and give it to somebody and it makes you feel productive and useful, you bring a smile to people’s faces, and it’s such a great thing for your confidence. I was in a board game club where I met Nabil, and I brought him a bake. I think that brought us together.

There’s a section at the beginning on the key ways to create a cat in baked form, and once you master these techniques you can incorporate them into ANY bake! Definitely try the 3D cookie cats, as the dough takes 5 minutes to make, and is so soft and malleable - it feels almost like playdough. Can you tell me about a particularly memorable meal you have had and what made it There’s a beauty of it being illustrated. Because I’ve done a few cookbooks now, when the photographer comes and takes a picture, it’s so different from real life. You’ve got the perfect lighting and everything’s so controlled, but real life isn’t like that. And I feel like an illustration is something that more people can relate to, rather than the perfect photo. Going for a big Chinese meal with my family for the Lunar New Year! It’s just so nice to have a massive meal together, and the fun of watching when everyone is getting really full towards the end, and everyone just telling everyone else to polish everything off! Mostly, I just love meals that have shared dishes in the centre, and you help yourself to whatever you want. That’s pretty much how me and my partner Nabil try to do every meal out. Having tastes of lots of different dishes is always better than having all of one dish. Unless that one dish is clearly the best of the lot! What dish do you make most often? Baking can be a mindful activity, where you can totally lose yourself. There’s structure within it, too, which makes me feel a bit safe.To make the dough, place the flour, salt and yeast together in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment (you can also use a bread machine just to knead). Make sure that the salt is not directly touching the yeast. Stir together, then pour in the water and olive oil. I wanted this book to be full of life, full of the quirkiness and weirdness of cats, to capture that within the bakes.”