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!!

I can't tell you how often I have reached for this cookbook. I have made many many recipes from this fantastic book. Standouts are the Passionfruit cheesecake with spiced pineapple and the Gingerbread with brandied apples. The coconut, almond and blueberry cake is also fantastic. The chocolate, banana and pecan cookies are another go-to. Everything in this book is terrific. Keep in mind that many of these recipes have a middle Eastern twist to them. For instance, there are countless madeleine recipes out there. The one in this book has orange, honey and saffron. There's your mid eastern twist! Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh wrote a winning book with "Sweet".

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.

This is my 5th Ottolenghi book. I think of him as the very creative, now voice of produce, and think of baking as more historical. I wondered how an Ottolenghi dessert book would work out. It’s amazing. Ottolenghi and Goh pulled all of those things together. About half of the desserts center around fruit. Others have botanical play going on in the background, to make something you know and love, very new. If you have all the books, you’ll be surprised by the normal cover. That’s my only disappointment - it’s not puffy! Recommend! Pictured below: 1) Vineyard Cake (Cleopatra Cake) – p 134. This is so wonderfully fruity. It’s filled with grapes, wine, and citrus zest. It’s supposed to be baked in an angelfood cake pan, but I don’t have one, so I used a bundt. That worked just fine. 2) Honey, Macadamia, and Coconut Caramels – p 339. This is unmistakably caramel, but the floral notes of the honey, teamed up with the macadamia and coconut, take away that over the top sweetness that caramel sometimes has. Beautiful. 3) Cinnamon Pavlova, Praline Cream & Fresh Figs – p 291. I was an exchange student in Australia in high school forever ago. I’ll never forget the first thing we experienced when we got to the host’s house - making and tasting a pavlova together. I loved it then, and love this take on it. There’s a layer of dark chocolate between the cinnamon pavlova and the praline mascarpone and cream. So decadent, but not too sweet. 4) Apricot & Thyme Galettes with Polenta Pastry – p 253. Divine. I love the gentle sweetness of the polenta with the apricots and custardy pastry cream. Fragrant like a summer orchard. 5) Saffron, Orange & Honey Madeleines – p 76. Oh, these are just heavenly little cakes. Such a fresh citrus taste and really moist. Some others I have flagged to try: Custard Yo-Yos with Roasted Rhubarb Icing – p 19 * Cranberry, Oat & White Chocolate Biscuits – p 24 * Chocolate Chip & Pecan Cookies – p 26 * Brown Butter Almond Tuiles – p 30 * Gevulde Speculaas – p 33 * Chocolate & Peanut Butter S’Mores – p 48 * Pecan Snowballs – p 63 * Persian Love Cakes – p 74 * Lemon & Raspberry Cupcakes – p 79 * Tahini & Halva Brownies – p 87 * Lemon, Blueberry & Almond Teacakes – p 88 * Banana Cakes with Rum Caramel – p 100 * Chocolate Guiness Cake with Baileys Irish Cream – p 117 * Beet, Ginger & Sour Cream Cake – p 130 * Lemon & Black Currant Stripe Cake – p 145 * Rhubarb and Strawberry Crumble Cake – p 148 * Tropical Fruit Cake – p 161 * Pistachio and Rose Water Semolina Cake – p 165 * Almond Cake with Cardamom and Baked Plums – p 176 * Neapolitan Pound Cake – p 184 * Lime Meringue Cheesecakes – p 201 * Passion Fruit Cheesecakes with Spiced Pineapple – p 207 * Baked Ricotta and Hazelnut Cheesecakes – p 209 * Rhubarb and Blueberry Galette – p 230 * Chai Brulee Tarts – p 239 * Fig and Pistachio Frangipane Tartlets – p 247 * Rolled Pavlova with Peaches & Blackberries – p 263 * Gingerbread with Brandy Apples & Crème Fraiche – p 266 * Sticky Fig Pudding with Salted Caramel & Coconut Topping – p 287 * Knickerbocker Glory – p 293 * Chocolate, Rose & Walnut Ice Cream – p 308 I’ll update this as I play in the book more.

This book has 124 recipes. All of the desserts are unique and special compared to most American baking books. They are unique desserts based on European and Middle Eastern ingredients and recipes. I'm looking forward to making the rolled pavlova, vineyard cake (made with muscat), ricotta crepes with figs and honey, sticky fig pudding with salted caramel and coconut topping, and more. I don't bake much, but these recipes are unique and special. Most of the recipes include a photo, which always helps provide some inspiration and excitement. About half of recipes that call for specialty ingredients - caster sugar, demerara sugar, light muscovado sugar, rose water, kaffir lime leaves, halva, etc. Most are available at my local specialty grocery or Amazon, but it's kind of a pain to buy an ingredient just for a recipe. I knocked off a point because 1/3 of the recipes call for one or more forms of almond. My husband won't eat anything with almond because it's high in oxalates (leads to kidney stones).

Ottolenghi's recipes are so accurate, precise, and tasty. I have my hits from this book, for e.g., espresso frozen parfait. It's a "king of desserts" as I call it.

I love the recipes and the style. Love everything about this cookbook. I bought 3 other books from the same author and they are all great!

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.

Fantastic dreamy cookbook

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 :)

Ottolenghi è sempre uma garanzia, ricette golose e perfette da realizzare, molto valido anche come idea regalo

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