I love baking and reading about baking, so I’ve gradually put this list of baking-related fantasies together over the past seven years. It’s finally long enough to deserve its own list rather than just “if you like this, you may also enjoy…” at the bottom of the other posts. The books range from stand-alones to trilogies, from kingdom-changing historical to personal scale contemporary and lots in between. I hope you enjoy them – and are maybe inspired to bake something yourself!

Baker’s Magic by Diane Zahler. Ebook available through Hoopla. Standalone. Orphaned Bee learns she has baking magic as she starts an apprenticeship – only to find that’s what she has to defend the princess against a power-mad wizard.

A Dash of Trouble by Anna Meriano. Ebook and audiobook available through Libby. First of a trilogy. Leo(nora) discovers that her family bakery sells magical baked goods and is determined to learn how herself, with hilariously disastrous results.

The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart by Stephanie Burgis. Ebook and audiobook available through Libby. First of a trilogy. Young dragon Aventurine sneaks out of her family’s cave, only to be turned into a human by a frightened wizard. What will save her is friendship – and her growing love of chocolate.

Just a Pinch of Magic by Alechia Dow. Ebook and audiobook available through Libby. I’m still waiting to read this 2023 Cybils nominee. I hear it involves a girl trying to save her family’s magical bakery by casting a spell that goes terribly wrong, in a story that involves making new friends and trying to set up single parents for romance.

Midsummer’s Mayhem by Rajani LaRocca. Audiobook available through Libby and Hoopla. First of a duology. Youngest child Mimi feels like she’s lost in the crowd and tries to win a baking prize from a local bakery. Mayhem breaks loose, and she discovers that the new bakery is run by none other than Titania, Queen of Fairies.

A Taste of Magic by J. Elle. Book 2 due out 2024. Kyana finds out she has magic that she can channel through baking, but when her inner city magic school is at risk of closing due to lack of funds, she’ll have to use magic, baking, and her brains to come up with a solution to save it.

Winnie Zeng Unleashes a Legend by Katie Zhao. Ebook and audiobook available through Libby. Book 2 of the trilogy is out now – book 3 is due out in 2024. Winnie only decides to open the family cookbook due to a school rivalry – but when she does, she’s able to see demons around her, and learns that her family’s traditional mooncakes can defeat them.

A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher. Ebook and audiobook available through Libby. Standalone. Orphaned Mona, an apprentice baker with small baking magic, suddenly has to find out why all the magical people in the city are disappearing, before it happens to her, too. This is both quite dark for middle grade, and very funny.