culinary library

with Kaylen Wissinger / owner, Whisk and Poptimism

tIn 2012, Kaylen Wissinger founded Whisk, a sustainable bakeshop in St. Louis’ Benton Park neighborhood, and seven years later, she officially launched Poptimism, the cutest ice pop truck in town. The shop’s baked goods range from cherry pop tartlets to bananachocolate chip muffins to housemade Twinkies, and local producers inspire the seasonal ice pop flavors. Wissinger’s newfound interest in foraging, as well as her efforts to turn her backyard into an edible landscape, have also informed the menus. Recently, she made wild garlic scones with onion and Cheddar and lavender lemonade ice pops filled with fresh violets. Here, she shares three books that she hopes will bring you as much joy as

they’ve brought her. –RaChel huffmaN photo by mIraNda muNguIa

Cherry Bombe: The Cookbook

by Kerry Diamond and Claudia Wu (2017)

“I’ve been obsessed with Cherry Bombe [the magazine] ever since the first issue with Karlie Kloss, and when the cookbook was announced, I preordered it that day. Women in food is a subject that’s very near and dear to my heart, and having this gorgeous cookbook with these beautiful pictures and short stories from the female chefs behind the recipes is such a treat.”

The Nordic Baking Book

by Magnus Nilsson (2018)

“Nordic baking is completely different than what we do at Whisk, which makes it fun and interesting. The Nordic Baking Book is a tome – I estimate that there are 800 recipes in there – and I haven’t even scratched the surface. It includes a lot of naturally leavened stuff, which is something I’m slowly learning, and everything I’ve made has turned out so well.”

foraged flavor

by Eddy Leroux and Tama Matsuoka Wong (2012)

“I got really into foraging at the start of the pandemic, and that hobby has stuck around. this is one of the books I bought to teach myself how to identify everything. It’s divided into seasons, and it talks about what you can find in each region during that time and exactly where you’ll find it, whether it’s by a creek, in a forest or on an open plain. and it has really clear color photos so you can see what each item looks like [before you] start picking stuff and eating it.”