Format: e-ARC, 368 pages
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Published: October 3, 2017
ISBN: 9781607749141
Genre: Cooking, Food & Wine
Back cover blurb: ‘There’s nothing like a perfectly light sponge flavoured with spices and citrus or an icing-sugar-dusted cookie to raise the spirits and create a moment of pure joy.’
In his stunning new baking and desserts cookbook Yotam Ottolenghi and his long-time collaborator Helen Goh bring the Ottolenghi hallmarks of fresh, evocative ingredients, exotic spices and complex flavourings – including fig, rose petal, saffron, aniseed, orange blossom, pistachio and cardamom – to indulgent cakes, biscuits, tarts, puddings, cheesecakes and ice cream.
Sweet includes over 110 innovative recipes, from Blackberry and Star Anise Friands, Tahini and Halva Brownies, Persian Love Cakes, Middle Eastern Millionaire’s Shortbread, and Saffron, Orange and Honey Madeleines to Flourless Chocolate Layer Cake with Coffee, Walnut and Rosewater and Cinnamon Pavlova with Praline Cream and Fresh Figs.
There is something here to delight everyone – from simple mini-cakes and cookies that parents can make with their children to showstopping layer cakes and roulades that will reignite the imaginations of accomplished bakers.
My review: I’m a sucker for a cookbook about sugary treats, so I was like a moth to a flame with this gorgeous book by noted pastry chef Yotam Ottolenghi and his longtime collaborator Helen Goh. From the beginning, its chatty tone drew me in and made me feel like we were old friends who’d been discussing tips, tricks and ingredient substitutions for years. Any book that starts off with a recipe for yo-yos is a winner for me, and I loved the regular mentions of Helen’s Antipodean influences, although it came as news to me that New Zealanders love Louise Cake so much (I’ve never, ever had it). I’m pretty sure sticky date pudding is commonplace here, too, but that’s by the by.
As well as tasty recipes for all manner of sweet treat, this book is full of vibrant photos. I was particularly amazed by the vertical layers of the lemon and blackcurrant stripe cake. Although I doubt I’ll ever make it, there are plenty of other things here I will definitely try. If you love sweet things, this book is for you!
Quotes to live by: “It’s one of life’s great pleasures, we think, to know that, whatever else is going on in your day, you’re only ever about 14 minutes away from a perfectly baked chocolate chip cookie.”
and
“Confectionary is for life, though, not just for Christmas.”
***Disclaimer: This e-ARC was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Huge thanks to them. ***
My rating: 5/5
Books, Baking & Other Objects of Beauty 
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