Belmont native Sarah Fennel grew up in a home where baked goods were always readily available, “whether in a refrigerator or out on a random Tuesday.” When she got to college at New York University, miles away from home, she missed her mother’s baking.
Thus, Broma Bakery was born.
Broma Bakery is a blog Fennel created in 2010 to “chronicle her baking escapades online.” While missing the availability of baked goods at all times, she also missed photography — something she was really into in high school.
“So, I basically decided to pick up my camera and start photographing the baked goods that were mostly recipes that (my mother) passed down to me,” Fennel said. “A huge part of me starting up my blog — besides loving baking — really was wanting this creative outlet for photography and wanting to be able to continue that creative passion.”
As a Belmont High School alum, she took photography classes taught by Andrew Roy, who she said was integral to growing her creativity and giving her confidence in being a creative and artistic person. This passion of hers has also led her to photograph all the recipes in her debut cookbook, “Sweet Tooth,” which was published on Oct. 8, 2024, and instantly became a New York Times Bestseller.
Over 14 years of blogging–10 of them full-time professionally—recipe development became the cornerstone of her work. Fennel’s recipes in the cookbook were born in the same way they came to life in her blog: first, coming up with the ideas, then thinking about what is seasonal and what kind of flavors could “make things a little bit more unique, while still really retaining this element of nostalgia and easiness.”
“The cool thing about the cookbook is that every single recipe was tested at least … eight times,” Fennel said. “I don’t think people realize how much editing goes into a cookbook and making sure that every single thing you do is so, so consistent. If you say add flour into a bowl one way, you have to make sure that across all of your recipes, it says the exact same thing.”
There are 100 recipes in the cookbook, and 76 of them are new. The other 24 recipes were pulled from the blog, some fan favorites and some personal favorites. The ones she is most excited for readers to try are the espresso martini cake, lunch lady brownies, Nutella Smith Island cake and vanilla bean blackberry scones.
Fennel’s book tour brought her across the United States, promoting her book. She also made appearances on The Today Show, The Drew Barrymore Show, and Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. She describes these experiences as “validating to see all of the work that you put into something be not only accepted but be celebrated by these major media outlets.”
She said it motivates her to continue to produce the best work that she can.
“I obviously started my career in social media, so everything has been online, and I’ve done a few things over the years in person. Like I’ve done a few photography retreats and things like that, but never something on the scale of this [book tour],” Fennel said. “So to be able to see that many people in person and bridge that sort of gap between all these people who I’m [direct messaging] with and these people who are commenting on my blog are real people; it was just such a wild moment to meet these people in real life.”
Fennel believes what’s special about baking is that “it is a positive experience for so many people, and people who like to bake are doing it because they like to spread joy and they like to spread love.”
For more information about Fennel and her cookbook, visit bromabakery.com/
