At the opening of her third cookbook, I’ll Bring Dessert, Benjamina Ebuehi says, “Dessert is the best part of the meal. It lets you linger that little bit longer. It’s the joy of bringing a dish to the table and watching everyone’s eyes light up.” Flipping through the cookbook, I can almost hear the deep, uninhibited conversations flow in the background—the pure anticipation and excitement in the air as a dish of warm apple crumble floats onto the center of the table, spoons gliding across plates, ensuring no bite is left behind. Comfort and coziness course through these pages, casting a warm, honeyed glow on classic dishes elevated with wondrous flavor combinations, like saffron-and-pear galettes, apricot-and-chamomile tarts, and sage-and-white chocolate madeleines. Each recipe captures Benjamina’s joy, thoughtfulness, and courage to embrace bold ideas and pairings in a unique, unexpected way. Every alluring dessert began as a wild idea jotted down in a notebook, leaving her ruminating about whether this or that flavor would pair well together in a pie, cookie, cake, or tart. This same culinary curiosity inspired her love of baking.
Benjamina did not follow a traditional path to becoming a baker. As a child growing up in South London, England, she didn’t learn to bake at her mother’s apron strings or in culinary school, but
