Happy As A Gram by Lauren Ko

Inspired by the tangram, a Chinese dissection puzzle, this design is one that has come to define the Lokokitchen aesthetic.

This is one of two featured recipes from this week’s guest, Lauren Ko, via Pieometry Paid subscribers can also find the recipe for Wave of Wonders, a pie featuring an array of colorful pears.

Photo by Ed Anderson Photography

I’ve never been very mathematically inclined, as my brain has always been more adept at arranging words than numbers. The amount of nights I’ve cried over frustrating problem sets I couldn’t solve over my lifetime is incalculable. That I’ve been able to contribute anything to the discipline of pieometry seems incongruent with my history, but as we know, life rarely moves in a straight line, and the thrill of this unforeseen angle has been acute.

Inspired by the tangram, a Chinese dissection puzzle made up of geometric shapes arranged in varying combinations to form other shapes, this design is one that has come to define the Lokokitchen aesthetic. While the concept is derived through coplanar placement of polygons and assorted angles, don’t get bogged down by the formula. Ultimately, the sum of its parts is simply a tart, and variables will translate, too.