Pieometry: Modern Tart Art and Pie Design for the Eye and the Palate

By Lauren Ko

New York Times bestseller

The pie-making genius behind the popular Instagram account @lokokitchen reveals the secrets of her mind-blowing creations in this gorgeous full-color cookbook featuring 50 incredible sweet and savory pie and tart designs

In a few short years, Lauren Ko made all hell bake loose, going from novice pie baker to internet star and creator of today’s most surprising and delightful pie and tart designs. Her unique geometric style uses fruit and dough cut and woven into stunning shapes to highlight color and texture. With an elegant symmetry that matches their knockout flavor, her dazzlingly intricate and inventive designs look difficult to produce, but can be achieved with little more than a knife, ruler, and some patience.

In Pieometry, Lauren reveals her secrets, sharing stories about her designs and the inspiration behind them. Warm and funny, she recounts the spectacular piesasters that led to some of her best creations, and breaks down her most beautiful designs, describing how to make naturally-colored dough, intricate weaves, and striking cut-out patterns. Pieometry provides clear, step-by-step instructions, accompanied by helpful photographs, which any patient baker can follow to build these pies from bottom crust to top in their own kitchens. Lauren makes it easy to mix and match doughs, fruits, fillings, and designs, and each recipe includes suggestions for alternative ingredients. Best of all, the beautiful finished pie and tart photos are just as much of a treat to look at as the pies are to eat. But even if you make a mistake here and there, her flavors save the day!

When it comes to flavor, Pieometry offers a balance of sweet and savory pies that are a feast for the senses, including:

• Of a Shingle Mind: Honey ricotta tart with an herbed pastry shell and beets
• Berried Treasure: Lavender blackberry cream with a shortbread crust and berries
• Wave of Wonders: Cardamom coffee cream with a shortbread crust and pear
• Once in a Tile: Pumpkin black sesame pie with a black sesame crust
• C and Easy: Butternut bacon macaroni and cheese pie with a whole wheat cheddar chive crust
• Squiggle Room: Grilled cinnamon pineapple pie with a basic butter crust

Whether you want to impress at the holidays or just spruce up a family meal, Pieometry is your guide to transforming a rustic traditional dessert into a modern masterpiece. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Oct 13, 2020
• ISBN: 9780062911230

Lauren Ko

Lauren Ko is a writer, artist, self-taught home baker, and the founder of the popular Instagram account @lokokitchen. She has roots in sunny San Diego, but after wandering the world, she has settled in Seattle, WA, with her husband, Ben, and their bear dog, Santi. Lauren’s colorful geometric style regularly inspires fellow bakers on Instagram, where she has amassed nearly 300,000 followers. Her pie designs have been featured in publications such as Vogue, O Magazine, Buzzfeed's Tasty, The Seattle Times, The Washington Post, My Modern Met, and Design Milk. She has appeared on-screen in New Day Northwest and Martha Bakes. She was named to The Bake Feed’s 2018 Baker’s Dozen—13 of the most talented baking icons, movers and shakers pushing baking boundaries and making the biggest difference in the baking world.

Book preview

Tarts

Tart Primer

Tips Don’t Lie

Shakira says hips don’t lie, and while my stiff body and lack of coordination betray me, these pastry pointers never abandon me on the dance floor. Follow along and they won’t forsake you, either. Allow them to lead, and you’ll be cha-chaing your way to success, fancy fruitwork and all.

MAKING DOUGH: Tart pastry is easier to make than pie dough in that it’s much more forgiving. But there is still the risk of overworked dough, which can result in a tough crust. Keep your butter cold, follow the directions, and don’t go overboard with the food processor. You’ll be crust fine.

ROLLING DOUGH: I roll out my tart dough directly on the counter, so flouring the surface and my rolling pin before and during the rolling process is crucial. I continuously rotate my dough 45 degrees as I roll to ensure it isn’t sticking to the counter, and once I’ve achieved the desired size I transfer the dough to the tart pan. If you’re rolling and the dough isn’t moving outward, it’s probably stuck to your work surface. Gently pull or scrape it up, flour the surface, and resume. Alternatively, you can roll dough directly on parchment paper or a pastry cloth made of cotton canvas.

Rotating the dough 45 or 90 degrees every few rolls can also help with achieving even circles. Consistently obtaining nicely shaped rolled dough largely comes with repetition and practice, though, so don’t stress too much if you’re a beginner and find yourself rolling cumulus clouds or other gorgeous blobs instead.

FREEZING TARTS AND DOUGH: Wrapped and rested disks of tart dough can be sealed in a bag or container and frozen for up to four months. Allow the dough to thaw in the refrigerator overnight before rolling.

With the exception of the ice cream tart (Truth or Square), the tarts in this book are not suitable for freezing. Pastry shells filled with curds and custards don’t handle the freezing and thawing process well, and the fresh fruit designs are best, well, fresh. Instant gratification is the name of the game here, so your creations are best consumed within two days of assembly, though day of is ideal.

BAKING TART CRUSTS AND SHELLS: Once you’ve lined your tart pan tightly with dough and trimmed the edges as directed, save a small ball (about 1 tablespoon) of dough scraps to patch any cracks post-bake. If the baked shell emerges from the oven with outsize cracks beyond minor patching, opt for a thicker filling like the chocolate hazelnut ganache or matcha white chocolate cheesecake. Fillings that start as a loose liquid like the egg custard or black tea panna cotta will leak through and cause much tartache.

For all rolled pastry, thoroughly chill the dough in the tart pan in the refrigerator or freezer before baking. This will help prevent shrinkage. Another preventative measure against dough shrinkage is to ensure that the foil lining is pressed tightly into all the inner elbows of the tart and then filling with baking weights.

I always bake tart shells and filled tarts on rimmed baking sheets to catch any errant butter drips while baking, and to provide added stability when transferring the tart in and out of the oven.

REMOVING TARTS FROM THE PAN: Be sure to read each design recipe thoroughly before starting, as some tarts call for the crust to be removed to a plate and others require the shell to remain in the tart pan until the end of the design process.

To remove a tart from the pan, rest it atop a stable can or cup, gently loosening the pan edge with your hands and allowing the sides to drop away. Then move the tart to a flat surface, such as a cutting board, and use a chef’s knife to ease the bottom plate off.

CUTTING FINISHED TARTS: Place the tart, removed from the pan, on a cutting board. Use a sharp chef’s knife or serrated knife to make small, gentle sawing motions to cut through the fruit or top garnish without destroying the design. Press firmly to cut through the crust. Wipe the knife clean between cuts. Slide the knife under the slice to transfer to a plate.

Tart Shells

Basic Shortbread Crust

I often refer to this as emergency shortbread. Its simplicity makes it the perfect candidate for last-minute dinner parties, surprise houseguests, or sudden midnight cravings, and its humble flavor profile complements any sweet filling. Keep this recipe in your back pocket.

1 cup (142 grams) all-purpose flour

½ cup (57 grams) powdered sugar

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ cup (1 stick/113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into ½-inch cubes

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

2. Combine the flour, powdered sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Rub the butter into the flour mixture by smushing the cubes with your fingers, working until a homogenous dough forms. The resulting dough should be smooth and supple.

3. Press the dough into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, using your palm to flatten it into an even layer. Place the tart pan on a baking sheet to catch any butter drips that occur during baking and to provide stability as you transfer the tart shell in and out of the oven.

4. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes, until golden brown.

Chocolate Matcha Shortbread Crust

Melodramatic like a proverbial dark and stormy night, this crust is inky in color with a touch of bitterness that pairs especially well with light, fruity whipped creams.

¾ cup (107 grams) all-purpose flour

½ cup (57 grams) powdered sugar

2 tablespoons (11 grams) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

2 tablespoons (12 grams) matcha green tea powder

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ cup (1 stick/113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into ½-inch cubes

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

2. Sift the flour, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, matcha powder, and salt into a medium bowl and whisk well. Rub the butter cubes into the flour mixture with your fingers, working until a homogenous dough forms. The resulting dough should be smooth and supple.

3. Press the dough into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, using your palm to flatten it into an even layer. Place the tart pan on a baking sheet to catch any butter drips that occur during baking and to provide stability as you transfer the tart shell in and out of the oven.

4. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the edges are crisp and the crust surface is dry