831: Summer Baking with Nicole Rucker and Eileen Gannon

This week, we turn up the ovens and test our baking skills with two incredible bakers. First, we talk to LA-based cookbook author and star baker, Nicole Rucker, on why summer is peak pie season, the fruit and flavor combinations that elevate her pies (imagine toasted fig leaves!) and making the best out of her leftover cookies for pie crusts. Nicole's latest book is Fat and Flour: The Art of the Simple Bake, and she left us with her Strawberry White Chocolate Cream Pie recipe. Then, Iowa's champion baker Eileen Gannon, talks to us about her surprising baking techniques for cakes, from making moister cakes, fillings vs frostings, and her buttercream preferences. Eileen is the winner of over 600 state and national baking awards and the founder of Sunday Night Foods Sauces.Broadcast dates for this episode: August 8, 2025 (originally aired)Generous listeners like you make The Splendid Table possible. Donate today to support the show.

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The Splendid Table has always connected people through the common language of food and eating. Now with award-winning food journalist Francis Lam at the helm, we’re bringing forward even more fresh voices and surprising conversations at the intersection of food, people and culture – covering everything from the global appeal of sesame to the impact of Instagram on everyday eating. It’s a food show where everyone is welcome. Produced by American Public Media. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network