Dessert Detective Coming to Vernon Hills

Popular CakeSpy blogger and dessert detective Jessie Oleson Moore will speak to local bakers and dessert lovers at 7 p.m. May 23 at the Aspen Drive Library.

The author of The Secret Lives of Baked Goods, Oleson Moore will talk about America’s nostalgic treats (brownies, birthday cakes, animal crackers) and how they came to be. The event is free and open to the public; registration is required.

If you’ve ever wondered how red velvet cake, baked Alaska and Girl Scout cookies originated, Oleson Moore tells the unique stories behind these and other favorite baked goods in The Secret Lives of Baked Goods. Edible Seattle says Oleson Moore has written a “totally sweet history book…also a cookbook.” Recipes to classic desserts appear alongside their back stories.

Oleson Moore is the founder of the uber-popular blog, CakeSpy.com, which bills itself as a Dessert Detective Agency dedicated to seeking sweetness (literally) in everyday life. An accomplished cake anthropologist, she documents bakery finds around the United States, conducts baking experiments, posts recipes, picks the brains of bakers and food artists in interviews, and generally explores the lure and lore of baked goods.

Oleson is a freelance writer and illustrator whose writing has appeared on DailyCandy.com, and she has a weekly column on Serious Eats. The Secret Lives of Baked Goods is her second book.

Books will be available for purchase and signing courtesy of Lake Forest Book Store. To register, go to webres.cooklib.org, call (847) 362-2330 or visit the library.

— Submitted by Cook Memorial Library District