Sweet: Desserts from London's Ottolenghi [A Baking Book]

Ottolenghi and Goh's collaboration on Sweet is one of the best cookbooks of the year, and certainly in my top 3 dessert cookbooks for the year. I've been anxiously awaiting Sweet for months now - excited about what I would find inside, nervous that I would feel disappointed like I was with Nopi. I want to cook virtually everything from Sweet, but even if I don't, I've already improved as a baker just reading each chapter beginning and some of the recipes. Thus far, I've made the take-home chocolate cake, hazelnut cake, national trust lemon poppy seed cake, and the gevulde speculaas, which were all relatively easy enough to throw together in an evening without much preparation. Everything as looked, smelled, and tasted heavenly ... I'll update my review as I try more (like the tahini halva brownies, almond butter cake with cardamom and baked plums, and the cinnamon pavlova,...). Sweet goes well beyond the typical cookbook, in that the authors use the chapter intros and the recipe headers to teach their readers something important/provide tips that extend beyond just the single recipe or just this single book. While some of the recipes call for ingredients that are hard to find at local grocery stores, the authors have done an excellent job indicating what common item could be used as a substitute (e.g. almond extract for mahleb powder and vanilla beans for pandan leaf). Overall though, most of the recipes call for ingredients that are easy to find in any supermarket. Similarly to the issue of ingredients, Ottolenghi and Goh go above and beyond with their pan size & storage recommendations for each recipe. They do an excellent job of explaining why a tin can is called for with their tin can cakes, exactly how to (safely) generate your own, and how you could replace it with a standard sized pan. What was mind blowing for me was reading their tip that I could bake financiers in a muffin tin or mini muffin tin instead of needing a special pan for them, and then (of course) they provided the baking times necessary to make that happen. More wisdom from Ottolenghi and Goh's experience comes in the madeleines recipe, where they explain what it is about the process of making madeleine batter that yields such a delicate but short-lived cookie, and how they altered the method to improve the madeleines shelf life. These recipes are extremely well-written and thorough (but not overwhelmingly long), there is at least one glorious photo of every recipe, measurements are provided in both cubs and grams, and the directions generally are found on the same page as the ingredients (or at least start there). I highly recommend starting at the end of the book, with the Baker's tips and notes especially, to get a sense of the authors' baking style, possible substitutions, and their philosophy on things like sifting (do it, multiple times).

Brilliant, unique and so delicious! I got this last week and have only made one recipe so far p. 336 Coconut meringue brittle. This is beyond delicious, nutty crunchy perfect meringue / old fashioned coconut macaroon hybrid! Simple easy to follow instructions. Beautiful and rustic, I didn't have the chocolate to make the coating. But these are great without. This is everything I expect from Ottolenghi. I have all his books and have made baked treats from them in the past - with great success, (sour cherry amaretti, and rose water pistachio meringue).. The cheesecake chapter is to die for! Soon I'm hoping to make the flourless chocolate layer cake with coffee, walnuts and rose water p. 170, apple and olive oil cake with maple frosting p. 132, Middle Eastern millionaire's shortbread with a halva tahini layer p. 340 along with many others. The instructions are very clear and give you multiple options/times for using various baking tins. Tell you what you can prep in advance, how long you can store each item and when its best eaten. Beautiful photographs of virtually every recipe, which is so helpful in seeing how your final product should look and be decorated. A few unique ingredients in some recipes (such as halva, pandan leaves and rose petals), but many pantry friendly recipes too. A great mixture of simple treats to whip up and more complex "wow" desserts. Purchase this for your loved ones or yourself. You won't regret it!!

This book is a must for anyone either a fan of Yotam Ottolenghi and/or really into baking. I happen to fall into both categories. The book covers an array of desserts, tarts & pies, cheesecakes and cakes to mini cakes to cookies and other confectionaries. Some recipes are more complicated, like the Chocolate and peanut butter s’mores cookies and the Fig and pistachio frangipane tarlets, both of which has multiple components to challenge the home baker. Then there are more simple but equally delicious recipes like the Lemon and poppy seed cake. What I’m saying is, the recipes are simple enough to tackle even if you barely whip up a dessert once in a while. But if you’re a seasoned baker, you’ll love this book even more because it’s challenging enough, but not pretentious. That being said, there are ingredients that are more exotic and difficult to find at the average grocery store, like fresh gooseberries, which the book offers no comparable alternative. On the back of the book, there is a section that goes into more details about some of the ingredients that need more explaining. But in all, most ingredients should be familiar and easily found at the local markets, and if not, there’s always Amazon.. All measurements are in both cups and grams. All recipes are accompanied by a beautiful photo that makes you want to stock up on pounds of butter and flour so you are always ready to get your kitchenmaid mixer out and experiment. Each recipe also has a “notes” section on the side to provide clarity or critical points for success of the recipe, which I have found extremely helpful. The recipes are reminiscent of European-style pastries/desserts versus that of the American-style traditional bakes. I highly recommend this book and have used it pretty regularly since having it.

I must admit upfront that I was biased before I opened this book as Yotam Ottolenghi’s books are my favourites on my rather extensive cookbook shelves. And I was not disappointed! As he says in the introduction: these recipes are “conceived with love and a bit of flair and made with real ingredients and lots of attention to detail” A perfect description! As with previous Yotam Ottolenghi recipe books, the book is beautifully presented. Superb photographs and clear instructions, with details of timing, storage details and useful hints. I also like the clear quantities given – so for example, ½ small banana = 50 g mashed. There are so many interesting and exciting recipes to try. But also those that give pizazz to well known favourites. For example the Custard Yo-Yos – with roasted rhubarb icing. Absolutely gorgeous to look at and superb tasting. Also Banana Cakes - with rum caramel. What a delight! Other little details such as how to make the Chocolate Chip Cookies crispy or chewy are what set this book apart from so many other baking books I have. So top marks to Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh for providing a wonderful selection of recipes and to the publishers for presenting a most glorious, readable and beautiful book.

Simplemente maravilloso. Dan ganas de hacer absolutamente todas las recetas y tiene de todo, desde bizcochos más sencillos hasta tartas más elaboradas, pasteles pequeños, galletas y un apartado de tartas de queso increíble. De momento llevo tres recetas hechas y las tres me han salido bien, está perfectamente explicado. Es muy del estilo al de Dan Lepard ("Short and sweet") pero aún más completo, diría yo. Para pedirse un año sabático y no dejar de cocinar :)

Gosto muito das receitas e das histórias que acompanham as receitas de Yotam Ottolenghi e seus colaboradores. Por um motivo que nem eu mesma sei, pulei este livro de "Doces", que resgatei agora. Recomendo muito, mesmo que alguns poucos ingredientes não estejam disponíveis aqui. As receitas são bem detalhadas e fáceis de seguir e são muito diferentes das usuais por aqui: bonitas e muito saborosas

Wer einfache Rezepte erwartet, ist hiermit nicht richtig bedient - das genau war der Reiz für mich, dieses Buch zu kaufen. Es ist wie immer bei Ottolenghi (denn alle Kochbücher sind sehr empfehlenswert) hochwertig, wunderschön, nett geschrieben und toll fotografiert, außerdem erhält man detaillierte Hinweise, warum ein Prozess genau so und nicht anders gemacht werden muss. Auch auf gewisse Freiheiten bei den Rezepten sowie Vereinfachungen oder Methoden zur Zubereitung wird hingewiesen. Ich kaufe Kochbücher immer im Original, um sicher zu gehen, dass die Maßeinheiten korrekt sind, manchmal werden diese falsch umgerechnet und das Rezept funktioniert nicht mehr. Demnach passt hier alles, ich habe bisher einige der Keksrezepte gemacht und bin begeistert, besonders von den Sternanis-Orangen-Plätzchen. Alles in allem ein sehr schönes und nützliches Buch für den fortgeschrittenen Koch, der sein Dessert-Game verbessern möchte, mit vielen eindrucksvollen Rezepten und dem Anspruch, dem Koch etwas beizubringen.

this book had been in my MUST list for a long time. He has covered everything we call dessert in this book. Gorgeous photos , good explanation of the recipes. Some are really superb, some mmm - i may not even to attempt (ex.: Rice pudding with roasted rhubarb and tarragon). But the cookbook is very beautiful.