Nicole Rucker's Fat and Flour: The Art of a Simple Bake

Have a Little: Cookbook Chat

I’m so excited that our first Cookbook Chat features the legendary Nicole Rucker and her new book, Fat and Flour: The Art of a Simple Bake.

It has been a long time since I was so excited and inspired by a baking book. I love books that break the “rules” that we’ve all come to know and love, and as a fellow rule breaker I love what Nicole has done with this book. Pie crust in a stand mixer? Cookies with cold butter? Cold oven cakes? I am a new fan of all of these techniques and every recipe I’ve tried has been better than the last.

I asked Nicole a few questions about her book and process and she generously agreed to share the recipe for her Blueberry and Brown Sugar Bundt Cake (baked in a cold oven!)

Q + A With Nicole Rucker

I love recipes that challenge traditional techniques. Your Cold Butter Method (CMB) feels revolutionary. What inspired you to break away from baking norms and develop that method?

During the pandemic when it was clear that there needed to be a streamlining of the business and how it operated, I began looking for ways to make certain tasks easier. One of my least favorite things is creaming butter, especially in LA where temps can fluctuate by 50+ deg in one day, finding a happy medium for room temp butter is nearly impossible. When it was cold out, cooks would use a torch on the side of the bowl - something that made me so nervous. When it was too warm in the kitchen the butter would melt out quickly and the quality of the cookies suffered.

How did you approach writing this book as opposed to your first book, Dappled?

I wanted to write this book from a place of generosity and confidence - inspiring confidence in the home baker and myself to share ideas and techniques that have stayed in the professional kitchen up to now. The bottom line is that I just wanted people to bake, effortlessly and without fear.

What cookbooks/chefs/authors inspire your work?

I’ve always love the books by Cheryl Day, early Martha Stewart baking books, Claire Ptak, the first Tartine book by Elisabeth Prueitt, and lots of vintage books and magazine.

Is there a recipe in the book that you consider to be your signature bake?

Right now most people are excited about the cookies recipes and as entry level recipes go, they are very important to me, but I made my name in pie - so the Pie dough recipe is really my calling card.

When you were shopping the book around, did you receive any pushback on your ideas/methods?

A few publishers had some leading questions that implied they weren’t onboard with the ideas. One publisher in particular wanted a completely different book than the one presented. Knopf was the most excited and happy to present these ideas and work with me on developing them.

Are there any recipes that you think deserve a little extra attention?

All of the fruit pies :)

If someone invited you to dinner tonight and asked you to bring dessert, what would you bring?

Probably instant pudding with lots of toppings and crunchy things - like the pudding from the banana cream pie recipe but with some foraged cupboard stuff to make it easy and save time.

Blueberry and Brown Sugar Bundt Cake

From FAT + FLOUR © 2025 by Nicole Rucker. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Photo: Alan Gastelum

When I first made this brown-sugar-flavored Bundt cake, I got the same unsolicited reaction from all my friends: “It tastes like breakfast!” I decided to lean into that and toss in some blueberries.

This cake is baked using the “Cold Oven” technique of placing your cake into a totally cold oven, closing the door, and then turning on the heat. It takes a little bit longer to bake, but produces a wonderfully even and golden color on the outside of the cake.

MAKES ONE 10 INCH (10–13-CUP) BUNDT CAKE

For the Cake:

6 ounces (170g) cold unsalted butter, cubed, + more for buttering the pan

3 cups (375g) unbleached all-purpose flour, + more for coating the pan

1 teaspoon (4g) baking powder

1 cup (200g) granulated sugar

1½ cups packed (320g) light-brown sugar

1 teaspoon (3g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt

4 large eggs (200g)

1 cup (236ml) full-fat milk

¼ cup (64g) full-fat sour cream

2 cups (380g) blueberries, + more for decorating

For the Glaze:

¼ cup (59ml) whole milk

1 cup (115g) sifted confectioners’ sugar

1. Generously butter a 10-inch (10–13-cup) Bundt cake pan, and coat the inside of the pan with flour.

2. Make the cake - In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the 3 cups flour, baking powder, sugars, and salt together, to disperse the powder and break up any lumps of sugar. Add the cold butter, and mix on low speed until the mixture resembles rustic sand, about 4 minutes.

3. Whisk the eggs, milk, and sour cream together in a medium bowl, and slowly add this to the buttery mixture, beating on low speed. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, and fold in half the blueberries.

4. Transfer the batter to the prepared Bundt pan. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to burst any air pockets. Sprinkle the remaining blueberries over the surface of the cake batter. Place the cake into a cold oven, on a center rack. Turn the oven on to 350°F (176°C). Bake the cake until a toothpick or wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. The cake will be tall and puffy and browned at the edges.

5. Cool the cake in the pan for 30 minutes before removing it. Let the cake continue cooling while you make the glaze.

6. Make the blueberry glaze - In a small bowl, whisk 2 tablespoons of milk into the confectioners’ sugar to form a smooth, thick paste. Add the rest of the milk and a couple of blueberries, using the whisk to crush the blueberries into the glaze, and whisk to combine it.

7. Pour the glaze over the cooled cake. This cake keeps well at room temperature wrapped in plastic or in a sealed container for up to 1 week.