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Hi, and welcome to Lowbrow Fancy—I’m Joanna, and I’m so glad you’re here. I’m a self-taught baker, recipe developer, photographer, and graphic designer living in Nova Scotia with my husband, our two boys, and my mom. When I’m not covered in flour or tinkering with recipes, I’m probably knitting, sewing, or noodling around on my piano (badly).

Joanna Rankin with an arm over a Kitchen-Aid stand mixer.
Joanna Rankin, founder of Lowbrow Fancy.

I’ve been baking since I could reach the controls of our very retro stand mixer in a 70s colour combo that was probably called “chocolate frosted beige”. My early baking experiments were, let’s just say, memorable. Some batches were even edible, one tray of cookies legit caught fire in the oven, and the rest were somewhere in between. I’ve probably made just about every mistake a baker can. The thing with mistakes though, is that if you let them they’ll teach you something valuable! All those baking disasters valuable lessons are a big reason I’m a good baker now and can help you develop your confidence in the kitchen—hopefully without you needing to repeat my disasters!

What does “Lowbrow Fancy” Mean?

The name sums up my whole philosophy: fancy bakery-quality recipes made doable for home bakers.
You don’t need a professional kitchen, a diploma, or gold-plated measuring spoons to pull off something impressive. I break recipes down step by step, test them until they work reliably, and share them in a way that makes sense.

Coffee cake on a plate with a bite taken out of it, a fork, a vintage milk bottle full of milk, and a baking sheet of more coffee cake squares in the background.
Overhead shot of a pile of colourful macarons.
One-bowl chocolate chip cookies on a baking sheet.

Whether you’re finally tackling macarons or just want a batch of one-bowl chocolate chip cookies, you’ll find recipes here that meet you where you’re at and help you grow your baking confidence.

One more thing: I believe a kitchen scale is a baker’s best friend. It’s the easiest upgrade you can make to get more consistent, stress-free results (and yes, I will keep evangelizing about it until the end of time).

My Baking Philosophy

Every recipe here is developed and tested in my normal (and usually chaotic) home kitchen. My goal is to make recipes approachable for anyone, whether you’ve never baked a day in your life or you’re already comfortable with making macarons.

I always include success tips and substitutions, as well as workarounds for using fancy tools whenever possible. I want everyone to be able to dive in and try baking even if you don’t have a stand mixer (though I do love my stand mixer to death and you can pry it from my cold dead hands).

I do believe weighing ingredients is the best way to go (and I will die on this hill), but if you’re a die-hard fan of measuring cups you’ll find a handy ingredient conversion guide here so you can see how much a cup of this weighs, or a tablespoon of that.

At the end of the day more than anything I want you to feel the same spark that I do when I bake, an addictive mix of elation and pride whenever I pull something delicious out of the oven. It’s rivalled only by the joy I feel whenever I share baked goods with my friends, family, and neighbours. I think “giving baked goods” should be added as one of the official Love Languages, because it’s definitely one of mine!

What You’ll Find on Lowbrow Fancy

A variety of recipes for all the kinds of things I love baking, each one meticulously-tested in my real home kitchen. Some of the kinds of things you’ll find here:

Get in Touch

You can find me on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Pinterest as Lowbrow Fancy. If you’re interested in collaborating, drop me a line here.