Sweet By Yotam Ottolenghi

Carol

5+++++ stars.
Loved this book so much that I have already preordered my hardcover version and thank you very much netgalley and Ten Speed Press for the ARC and the opportunity to review. My eyes are glazed over and I am drooling at the mouth. Very impressive selection of Sweets. Loved English and New Zealand influences at work here. Beautifully photographed desserts with clear and concise recipes that are laid out in a friendly and warm narrative manner.
Truly Dessert Heaven!
10/07/17
Received my Hardcover copy the other day and look forward to baking some of these this holiday season.

Gretel

A solid book with fantastic recipes I can't wait to try.

However, I'm deducing two stars due to the grating patronizing tone the authors - or rather Ottolenghi - has in the foreword, where he talks about how: there's always a food that is deemed dangerous and now it's sugar hurr durr; "WE LIKE SUGAR SO WE WON'T MAKE RECIPES WITHOUT IT FUCK YOU", which is really obnoxious and also stupid since, ya know, there are people with diabetes who need to be careful; all recipes without gluten were accidents (which he stresses in these exacts words, they're "accidents") because they don't believe in not using gluten.

There are so many people who can't eat gluten and/or sugar and/or nuts. Food allergies are real and his obnoxious "anti-establishment" (who the fuck would this ~establishment~ be? Doctors saying that we need to eat balanced to be healthy? Scientists who say that too much sugar is dangerous? People with allergies/intolerances?) towards reducing or cutting food or even making gluten free recipes blows my mind.
"Scientists say we should be careful with our sugar consumption and customers would like to have recipes without gluten??? WELL I'M ADDING TWO KILOS OF SUGAR AND DOUBLE THE GLUTEN JUST TO SPITE YOU! Hah, showed them!!!"
Dude. Stop. You're being ridiculous. You're being the Neil deGrasse Tyson or Piers Morgan against an enemy that doesn't exist.

I really don't get the antagonistic and provocative tone in the foreword. Dude, just say you got gluten and nut free recipes and possible ingridients to swap with so that people can change according to their needs. No need to be a dick about it...against the evil health crusaders who just want people to not have diabetes and die.
????

srly wtf

The Candid Cover (Olivia & Lori)

Full Review on The Candid Cover

I have never had the pleasure of visiting an Ottolenghi restaurant, however it is definitely one thing on my travel to-do list. When I saw this recipe book was available for request, I was instantly excited to give it a try. The images are stunning, the layout is simple, and the instructions are easy to follow. That being said, depending on where you live, some of the interesting ingredients required to create these unique treats may be hard to find.

Admittedly, I have quite a large sweet tooth, so a collection of yummy new desserts to make is something that brings me joy. Sweet is a collection of cookies, cakes, and more that can be made at any time of the year. Although the instructions are clear and concise, these recipes are geared towards experienced bakers. The techniques and tools that are required do involve some prior training, and while the recipes could be made with the assistance of children, it may be a bit overwhelming to tackle.

I do enjoy creating interesting and new treats. One thing that I discovered about my own habits, however, is that simplicity is something I strive for. I found myself drooling over all of the recipes included in Sweet, but just didn’t have the desire to put in the effort required to create most of the desserts.

I did opt to make the Orange and Star Anise Shortbread cookies. Sourcing most of the ingredients was fairly simple. The Italian and rice flours, vanilla beans, and star anise took me to 2 different stores to find. As the instructions are laid out quite well, these cookies turned out as expected and were absolutely an explosion of flavours in your mouth. The star anise is a very unique addition to a shortbread cookie and gives a flavour of liquorice to the cookie. Also, my entire house was filled with a wonderful aroma that was so enjoyable.

The citrus and spice combinations that can be found within the pages of Sweet are incredible. The book is a gorgeous addition to any baker’s collection. For those who enjoy a challenge in the kitchen, I highly recommend giving these recipes a try.

TS Chan

A friend gifted me this gorgeous cookbook for my birthday. Can't wait to try out some of these sweet delights.

Katie N

Sweet by Yotam Ottolenghi is straight up, chock-full of innovative and delicious food combinations that I would like to Accio straight into my mouth. Ottolenghi cookbooks never fail to disappoint and this one just follows suit. It is full of sweet, yummy, wonderful (insert your adjective here) sounding food and gorgeous, lush photography. Poor food photography is one of my biggest cookbook (and Instagram...) pet peeves. Sweet has food that looks like if you were like Mike Teavee in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and able to reach into the screen and grab the food, you would not be disappointed... I lost the thread on that but you know what I mean.

In terms of the nitty gritty, Sweet is broken down into 7 major sections ranging from cookies to cheesecake to tarts and pies. There is an incredibly helpful Baker's Tips and Notes that breaks down various steps even further. Things like how to make a water ganache and the importance of resting (the food, though I'm sure this doesn't need clarification) are explained clearly and thoroughly. Following that is a section on the ingredients with explanations of what they are and recommended alternatives for the harder to find ones. Recipes also have tips on tools, timing and storage. No stale cookies here!

The real meat of course is the recipes- which are all meat free. You've got your basics, like Chocolate and Pecan Cookies (take a Pecan you'll see they sound pretty good! *crickets*) and Chocolate Peanut Butter S'mores. Then you have fancies like Apple and Olive Oil Cake with Maple Frosting, White Chocolate Cheesecake with Cranberry Compote, Fig and Pistachio Frangipane Tartlets, and Apricot and Thyme Galettes with Polenta Pastry. Let me say that louder for those of you in the back- POLENTA PASTRY! To quote Fancy Nancy, "Isn't that just marvelous?" (That's a fake quote but I'm sure she has said something like that.) Also, when I said basics before, I was lying, there is nothing basic about these recipes.

Thank you Netgalley and Ten Speed Press for the ARC!

Alexa

This is by far the BEST cookbook I've ever read.

So much so that it is the FIRST cookbook I've actually bought.

So far I've tried:

Neapolitan Cake.

Gorgeous look, pretty nice crumb, awesome taste. Of all the recipes I've tried so far this is the one at the top of my "make this again!" list. The icing might be too sweet for some, so try it before adding it to the cake.

Rum Cake.

Same lovely crumb, very flavourful. It has a LOT of rum but doesn't taste too boozy. I skipped the raisins and it could have used something extra... might try adding walnuts next time. (Also in the remake list but not as high)

Lemon Cake.

Gorgeous. GORGEOUS. Must remake tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that. I do love lemon cake so I might be biased.

Lemon and Blackcurrant Stripe Cake

This cake is a showstopper. People LOVED it. They ooh-ed and aaah-ed as I cut into it. It's not the easiest cake to make, and it will take a while. Ensure you have a good 2 or 3 hours, all ingredients for all steps at hand, and prep your space beforehand.

Take-home chocolate cake.
Of all the recipes this was the one I was the most excited about (Chocolate cake is my fav) but so far is the only one I didn't like. Neither did most of the peeps that tried it. Very dense, very dark. Cut it into small pieces and have ice cream close.

Sarah

By now you probably know how I feel about Ottolenghi. But... I was skeptical about a dessert cookbook. I was absolutely wrong to be skeptical. The feel of a classic Ottolenghi savory recipe is maintained in these sweet treats, which highlight beautiful fruits, simple elegance, and delicious results. I feel confident I could handle the recipes in my home kitchen, which is not always the case with dessert cookbooks. I am so eager to start baking and find out for sure! I will most definitely buy a copy to add to my home library and I encourage you to consider doing the same.

I received a review copy from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Yaaresse

Frankly, I'd love to just make everything in this book because it all looks delicious. That's not going to happen, but there are at least half a dozen that will be made in the not-too-distant future. I'm thinking this will end up being a four star rating once I have time to cook a few things from it.
That may take a while, so I'll leave the rating blank for now.

I read the ebook version of Sweet. It is an interesting, unique collection of dessert recipes that are shamelessly heavy on the fruits and nuts end of the dessert tray. This made me happy since it seems so many dessert cookbooks are "all chocolate all the time." Figs are heavily represented in Sweet, which is unusual. Personally, I adore figs in any form, but I can't remember the last time I saw a fresh fig at either the grocery or farmer's market, so it's kind of an exquisite torture to know I can only armchair cook most of those recipes.

The thing I like about Ottolenghi's cookbooks is that he manages to find the balance between challenging a cook and providing a comfort zone. Some of these recipes are a production. They're going to require serious attention and serious kitchen time. But he provides plenty of encouragement, tips, alternatives, and directions for how to break a complicated recipe into smaller parts. At the end of every recipes are tips for how best to store the goodies, something I wish all baking cookbooks would do.

He's also not too chatty. The recipe introductions share stories or information about the recipe's history without taking on that weird hyperventilating confessional therapy vibe so many cookbooks have lately.

As with all Ottolenghi cookbooks, the photographs are gorgeous and plentiful. The recipes are clearly written, and book is organized in a logical way. In the Kindle version, the table of contents expands to include every recipe by name (yes!), AND there is a fully-hyperlinked index with shortcut alphabet menu (so you aren't tapping fifty times to get to "truffles" or "saffron").

That's the good. Now for the bad: there are errors.

Because I've found so many mistakes in cookbooks lately, I contacted the publisher and asked if the Kindle version currently available on Amazon is the corrected edition. A rep responded promptly and assured me that the Kindle version "should be" error-free; however, she also sent me the errata sheet from the last print version "just in case." Good thing that she did. About half the errors listed on the errata sheet are in the Kindle edition. That's annoying, especially since ebook files are not difficult nor expensive to update and replace. Amazon is very good about alerting buyers to updated Kindle editions. So get with the program, Ten Speed Press. It took me about five minutes to find and add corrections (via Kindle's note tool) to the file. It should take one of your underpaid interns less time than that. Fix it.

Shelby

Read cover to cover a couple times because I adore Ottolenghi and Goh! This is one of my all time favorite cookbooks- it's so luxurious. Everything in here is complex and is definitely not for a beginner but if you're up for a challenge or enjoy a more high end dessert experience this is definitely the book for you! Also recommend Ottolenghi's other books! I just love him!

Gianna Lorandi

I love Ottolenghi's food and this is very welcome addition to my cookbook collection. I'm new to baking and the recipes are very well put together. Can't wait to try some of these beauties!

Andrea

Already a fan of Ottolenghi and having recently been to Ottolenghi in Islington, London and sampled some of their exquisite, heavenly sugary treats, I was chomping at the bit to get my hands on this book to replica some of my favourites. Drooling with anticipation, I started to flick through the pages........

There are all sorts of sweet recipes in here, desserts, confectionery, ice-creams and cakes for breakfast lunch and tea to name just a few. Whilst preparation of some may be time consuming, these recipe all look so utterly devine that you will be spoilt for choice and won't know which one to make first. Detailed background descriptions of each one and the photos simply serve to enhance the recipes further still. The use of Middle Eastern and exotic spices and flavourings, all make for originality. There are also old favourites in here, many with exciting and interesting twists on the original recipes.

These sumptuous recipes serve to make sweet treats feel rather exotic and extra special. A book full of pure yumminess and extravagance. I fail to see how anyone could ever be disappointed by it. I had high hopes for this book but even I couldn't have predicted just how good this would be. Just wow!

Hot chocolate and lime pudding anyone? That's what I'm now off to try.

Many thanks to Netgalley who provided me with this ARC. I chose to read it and give a voluntary and unbiased review.

Ella

My motto is: “Life is short, eat dessert first”.... & this book does not disappoint! Love the pictures!!!!

Hilary

Sweet has been long awaited and finally arrived in my Australian home. Yotam Ottolenghi is one of my top favourite chefs and this book he and Helen Goh have created together is a pleasure to read and use. I love how clearly the recipes are written, how beautiful the photographs are and how they make these temptations seem possible. Apart from the clear, easy to follow recipes there is interesting comment and advice, written in the way that makes you feel as though a kind friend is sharing and teaching you how to bake with happiness.

Your efforts may not mirror the skill and perfection of professionals perhaps, but well enough to give anyone who enjoys baking a sense of achievement and their families some indulgent pleasure.

To mark this as Read in a GR sense is blatant untruth, although I have been through the book, loving the pictures and tried a few recipes. Of course it will never stop being read, either in my comfy chair for sheer pleasure and dreaming of what to try next, or propped up in the kitchen and risking batter-splat or grubby fingermarks.

Guess you may conclude I am very happy with Sweet and am delighted to recommend it to all who enjoy baking and desserts.

Amanda

Thank you to Netgalley, Ten Speed Press, Yotam Ottolenghi, and Helen Goh for the chance to read and review this ARC;

Are you a self-proclaimed sweet tooth holder? Then, this is the book for you.

From the cover to the first pages sumptuous desserts are leaping out off of every page at you. The authors are lovely, laughing, smiling and look to be heart-deep enjoying the creations of their confectionaries every single time you see them, and through all the ups and downs of the story that brought them to where they are now.

The 'sweetheart' of the book is, of course, the recipes and you will find yourself salivating at the titles, the pictures, and the recipe ingredients. My first and fastest recipes for this book are going Soft Date Bars, "Anzac" biscuits, Baked Ricotta Cheesecake, Chai Tarts, Yogurt Panna Cotta with Crushed Raspberries, and Compari & Grapefruit Sorbet.

This is definitely on my list for giving all my favorite chefs as gifts this year!

Wendi

To be perfectly frank, writing a review for a book by Ottolenghi is perhaps only slightly less like writing a review for a book by Jamie Oliver or Tana French. It's just exceedingly unlikely that I'm going to find any work by any of them to falter much. It's difficult to be even-handed.

But I'll do my best. :)

For over four years, I've been absolutely resolute on my follow-through with reading and posting any reviews for advanced reader's copies that I accept. Whether my review is a positive one, it only seems fair and appropriate that I give a response to the publisher's kindness in providing me a copy.

However, it's all completely disintegrated in the last six months or so. I have about a dozen books that I have utterly failed to read and review and are now long past their publication. There are multiple reasons for this, but the two most overwhelming are an incredibly long and incredibly hot summer, which was energy sapping and demoralizing (and hasn't this year in general been, anyway?), and second is that I accepted a new job.

But I return! I return for Ottolenghi. I was so incredibly excited to receive an advanced copy of his new book, Sweet. I'd be excited for any Ottolenghi, but this one is particularly in my wheelhouse, given that it is all about sweet things.

This book doesn't disappoint.

I have, in fact, already baked something from it, but it was in the midst of an already busy week and made for guests for a Wednesday (!) night dinner party, so I have no photographs of the cake or the guest who took one bite and instantly said, "Oh! Now tell me about THIS."

In classic Ottolenghi style, he and Goh are excellent at overwhelming the reader with gorgeous photography and equally if not more enticing recipes that marry often unique combinations of flavours (but don't read unique to be questionable or difficult-to-source).

It should be noted, however, that some of the recipes may both seem and be daunting to less experienced bakers. I'd categorize the Roma's Doughnuts with Saffron Custard Cream or the Mont Blanc Tarts here, for example. There are multiple steps including more fiddly things like frying or tempering chocolate, but it's a minor complaint because it is a book centered around sweets and baking so of course there's going to be some of this. One can be reassured that even in these more daunting recipes, they are excellent at providing details and specifications and even alternative ingredients or methods to guide and support. For example, they clearly LOVE mini-cakes, which frequently require speciality bakeware that can often be more difficult to source, require spending more money, and take up room in one's kitchen that be difficult to justify, being that they exist for ONE sort of creation. It makes sense that they like them because that's the sort of thing to sell in their bakeries/restaurants in London. However, in (almost) every single instance, they acknowledge all the above limitations and tell you how to adjust the recipe, as needed, if you choose to just make a full cake in your one regular cake pan or a muffin tin.

But the recipes that are more approachable certainly outweigh any that might give a moment of hesitation....

Orange and Star Anise Shortbread

Soft Gingerbread Tiles with Rum Butter Glaze

Lemon and Raspberry Cupcakes

Beet, Ginger, and Sour Cream Cake

Apple and Olive Oil Cake with Maple Frosting

Almond Butter Cake with Cardamom and Baked Plums

Rhubarb and Blueberry Galette

Walnut and Black Treacle Tarts with Crystallized Sage

Sticky Fig Pudding with Salted Caramel and Coconut Topping

Campari and Grapefruit Sorbet

If you love cheesecakes (not really my thing), you are going to be so happy with this. A disappointment for me is no chapter on yeasted things. I can certainly understand their decision not to court a Pandora's box by trying to restrict such a broad category to one chapter (and he mentions this briefly), but still.

Ottolenghi and Goh both have sections where they write about their partnership and what brought them to this point in their careers and in both instances, they mostly write about one another.

There's an extensive section of Baker's Tips & Notes, information that is often easy to gloss over in cookbooks but they keep the writing engaging and informative enough that it makes it easy to keep reading because of how many interesting tidbits and techniques one can learn.

Ottolenghi's section of writing, which opens the book, begins with a Sugar Manifesto. I was sorely tempted to recount almost all of it here but in the interest of brevity, here's just part of it:

"In the fickle world of food fads and fashions, Public Enemy No. 1 is constantly changing: eggs, fats, carbs - we are told to restrict our intake of them one year, and then to make them a major part of our diet the next. To those who do as they're told, it's all very confusing.

In the midst of this confusion, we try to stick with the simple rule of what you see is what you get. People will make responsible choices about what and how much to eat so long as they are not consuming things without realizing it - hidden sugars, hidden salts, hidden elements with names we can't even pronounce, let alone understand what they are. There is nothing wrong with treats, as long as we know what they are and enjoy them as such."

While I hesitate to concur with the statement that "people will make responsible choices about what and how much they eat so long as they are not consuming things without realizing it...", I do agree that there is nothing hidden here - everything is clearly a treat, and clearly meant to be moderated as one. I'm reminded of a Michael Pollan statement that I am certainly going to butcher so much that it's not even a quote, but it was about how we can eat things like french fries.... so long as it's something that we make ourselves. The effort that it takes to peel and prepare the fries and to fry them up is one that both reminds us of precisely what is in such a treat and also prohibits (most of) us from making and eating them every day (also, the act of making it at home gives us the opportunity to control what's going into the dish). It's precisely the same situation here, with all these astounding sweets.

I made the Gingerbread with Brandy Apples and Créme Fraîche. This is one of those recipes that lies within the realm of There's a Bit of Effort Required But It's Really Not All That Much and Its Returns are Well Worth It. If you actually decide to get the book (I actually had my physical copy pre-ordered back in February and despite that Penguin Random House provided an advanced digital copy, I retained my pre-order because the book is too amazing in print to not have) and to make this recipe, my only suggestions would be not to run out of molasses and partially substitute with golden syrup like I did (and I am, in fact, going to try it with the treacle syrup next time) and to probably make at least half as much more of the brandied apples and their sauce.

Jessica

I knew nothing of Yotam Ottolenghi’s restaurants and fame before reading this cookbook. This book is full of detailed, elaborate recipes for decadent sweet treats. The number of recipes that call for saffron, cardamom and rose water makes me wonder if we are making food for human consumption or if we are brewing concoctions of perfume. I suppose to standout in the culinary world, one must be innovative and daring. Though many, many items appear mouthwatering in this book, their recipes are overly ambitious for home cooks, hence intimidating by nature. Without extensive baking experiences, I find myself lack the urge to try making them myself. Here are few of which I find quite interesting (and manageable):

Hazelnut crumble cake with Nutella icing
Baby black or orange tea cakes
Coffee and walnut financiers
Flourless chocolate tea cakes
Chocolate Guinness cake with Bailey Irish Cream
Tin can cakes
Festive fruitcake
Flourless chocolate layer cake
Rhubarb and blueberry gellete
Chocolate tart with hazelnut, rosemary and orange

Pineapple jam:
2 pineapples
1 3/4 granulated sugar
6 pandas leaves or 1/4 vanilla pod
6 whole star anise

I give this book 2.5 stars.

Jillyn

4.5 out of 5 stars.

This book is gorgeous from cover to cover. I bake a lot more than I cook, so I'm always looking for new baking books to add to my shelf. I wasn't disappointed in Sweet even a little bit.

The book is divided into chapters by the type of dessert, making recipes easier to find. The chapters include: Cookies, Mini Cakes, Cakes, Cheesecakes, Tarts and Piers, Desserts, and Confectionery. There's also a list of ingredients and their descriptions, as well as a glossary.

There's a nice variety of recipes here, both in terms of skill and of taste. Some recipes seem really simple, and others are really complex with lots of ingredients and components. The steps are numbered, but long. Like, full paragraphs long. Seems like they could have just added more numbers and broken it down a bit more, but that's nitpicking. There's also a bunch of hints and tips in the sidebars of the recipe pages.

There are pictures of almost every recipe, and the photos that are included are really high quality. It's a bit intimidating, but definitely makes you want to bake.

Some of the recipes that I most want to try include Pistachio and Rosewater Semolina Cake, Neapolitan Pound Cake, and Passion Fruit Cheesecakes with Spiced Pineapple.

This book is sure to make any baker happy, and has something for everyone. It's a bit intimidating when you first look at it, but the steps are well explained and often are less complicated than the gorgeous looking pastries make it seem.

I received a copy in exchange for my honest review.

DelAnne Frazee

Title: Sweet - Desserts from London's Ottolenghi
Author: Yotam Ottolenghi
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Published: 10-3-2017
Pages: 368
Genre: Cooking, Food & Wine
Sub-Genre: Cookbooks; Desserts; Celebrities; Baking
ISBN: 9781607749141
ASIN: B01NAW3RDM
Reviewed For NetGalley and Ten Speed Press
Reviewer: DelAnne
Rating: 5 Stars

If you aren't craving something sweet when you pull "Sweet" from the shelf, you soon will be after opening it. the many photos of Varied sweet snacks and delicious desserts offered. I wonder if one can have an entire meal compiled completely of desserts? I could try. Check out the Banana Cakes & Rum Caramel. A combination of my two favorite cakes was the Lemon Poppy Seed Cake turned out beautiful and was a great success at the church potluck.

Instructions are clear and concise. There are some rather labor intensive recipes, but none that can not be reproduced with attention to detail.

My rating of "Sweet" is 5 out of 5 stars.

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Maggi LeDuc

My list of recipes from this book that I want to try is 50 recipes deep. But nearly every single recipe in this book requires either a specialty purchase or a substitution, which knocks a star off the rating.

Teawench

I love to bake and eat desserts but this book did not thrill me. there's only a handful of recipes that I was interested in making.

Mauri

Cookbook. Yottam Ottolenghi, of London's Ottolenghi, and Helen Goh, the restaurant's lead product developer, share recipes for desserts either served at Ottolenghi and/or inspired by their upbringings in Israel and Australia. Beautiful pictures for most recipes, 20 of them gluten-free, and notes on substituting or eliminating any alcohol.

I went a little above and beyond this time - normally I just drool over cookbooks like this, but turn to my old favorites or allrecipes.com when I want to cook or bake. But I love sweets and my first culinary love was baking, so I thought, why not? I'll try a few before returning this to the library.

Recipe: Orange and star anise shortbread
Why this one? Don't laugh, but originally I was going to try a recipe from each category in the book: cookies, mini-cakes, cakes, cheesecakes, tarts & pies, desserts, and confectionery. Then I remembered that I have a job and several other hobbies. And that at some point my coworkers would murder me for bringing in so many sweets.
Substitutions: I've never heard of "Italian '00' flour" but divined that it meant "super fine flour" and bought very finely milled cake flour. The recipe also calls for vanilla pods but I subbed in vanilla extract. I'm not made of money, I'm a public servant.
Numbers: The recipe promises 40 cookies, I got 26 Minnesotas. (Listen, I only have the one cookie cutter. I'm a very loyal public servant.)

The recipe was simple and came together easily enough, save for one minor quibble: I blended the butter with the dry mixture and obtained the called-for breadcrumb consistency. Then I added the egg...and nothing. Breadcrumbs it remained. I frantically re-read the recipe for the addition of any other moisture, but came up empty. After some prolonged glaring at the mixing bowl and a little Googling, I decided that maybe my large egg was medium one and added a second egg.

Still breadcrumbs. I swore a lot, packed the dough together as best as I was able, and chucked it into the fridge. An hour later, I swore as I rolled the dough out and cut the cookies.

The finished product was delicious, though the anise flavoring was polarizing. The cookies kept well for the five days it took my team to eat them. Next time I wouldn't use cookie cutters, I'd just press it into the tins I usually use for shortbread.

Recipe: Roma's doughnuts with saffron custard cream
Why this one? I'll take a good doughnut over a good piece of cake, and since I'm usually having to choose a good piece of cake over a mediocre doughtnut, I wasn't passing up this opportunity.
Substitutions: No orange zest left after the above recipe, and I used peach schnapps instead of saffron. (Still not made of money.)
Numbers: The recipe promises 10 doughnuts, I got 10 plus one half-doughnut.

If you're not afraid of frying stuff (and maybe even if you are), these aren't as much as a pain as you might think for a recipe that requires two days. Dry ingredients, wet ingredients, 5 minutes in the stand mixer with the dough hook. Let rise, then pop in the fridge overnight. Divide in the morning, let rise again. Heat the oil (use a thermometer to make life easy), fry the doughnuts for 3 minutes a piece. Ottolenghi and Goh have you do the second rise of the dough balls on little squares of parchment paper - both parchment paper and dough go into the pot and you fish the paper out with tongs. The delicate, air-filled dough ball doesn't get mangled and you don't have to get super close to the oil. Brilliant.

I don't find custard to be a pain, but I recognize that I might be alone there. Anyway, the custard was tasty, but if I did this again I'd invite five people over, make half-sized dough balls, roll them in sugar and call it quits. I would be hard-pressed to find something more transcendent than a homemade doughnut one minute out of the oil.

...

Wait, you might be thinking, two recipes? That's it?

Yep. I tried a third last night and it was an unmitigated disaster. I learned a lot about myself (and about hazelnuts), but now that the floor's been mopped and I think the cat will recover, I'm going to quit while I'm ahead.

Victoria Peipert

Beautiful images.
Touching personal stories and details.
Fantastic unique recipes.

A must have for any bakers collection!!

Karen

For years I had thought Yotam Ottolenghi was a bit overrated (while my friends raved about him), I have flicked through many of his books and was still unconvinced. Sweet is the book that, finally, changed my mind.

I love books about baking, and this is a helluva book about baking. The recipes look and sound fantastic, all things I would love to taste, and to cook. I like the many modern takes on classics. I particularly love the Aussie influences brought by Helen Goh, master pastry chef and co-author (perhaps I like this book because of Helen rather than Yotam!?)

Definitely worth reading, and worth buying too.

Sangeeta

I love the structure of the book. It goes beyond just the usual ingredients and methods to also inform the reader about any specific technique or equipment that is used as well as how to best store or serve each item. What I found wonderful is how Ottolenghi has managed to deliver a nudge of encouragement with every single recipe. I am all charged up with my bowls and whisks to get baking now :D

Casey

As a big fan of Ottolenghi's other cookbooks I was pretty excited to check this out even though I don't bake or make sweets on the regular.

Sure enough, this book, written with pastry chef Helen Goh is full of recipes incorporating middle eastern ingredients like pistachios and figs into western favorites. Although I can't say many of the recipes jumped out at me, I did attempt and incorporate rosewater cream and tahini caramel into some other items I made and they were both a big hit.

I pulled this complimentary e-book from a 400 degree NetGalley oven.

Leith Devine

Thanks to Ten Speed Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Yotam Ottolenghi has done it again. His approach to food is "abundance, inclusion, and celebration", and the recipes in this book reflect that philosophy. If you are familiar with his other cookbooks, you know how amazing they are. Sweet is no exception. It's written with Helen Goh, an Australian chef at his restaurant Ottolenghi in London. I was a little surprised to see a dessert cookbook from him, but I understood after I read the preface where he explains his love for meringues!

The recipes range from Middle Eastern flavors to English tea time favorites, and there are recipes for every taste, from a simple chocolate chip cookie to a more complicated pistachio roulade. They've all been tested extensively, and some are actually on the menu at Ottolenghi.

From the first time I opened the book, I had a list of recipes I wanted to cook. They all sounded amazing, and every recipe has a story. The directions are concise and easy to follow. I made the following recipes, and thoroughly enjoyed every one.

Pecan Snowballs
Rum and Raisin Cake with Rum Caramel Icing (wow!)
Rhubarb and Strawberry Crumble Cake
Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake
Yogurt Panna Cotta with Basil and Crushed Strawberries

I highly recommend this book. It's a winner, and would make a great gift for cooks and dessert lovers.

Jessica

I never know how many recipes I should make before it is fair to review a cookbook, so I'll start with what I've made and maybe add more as I go. This book is amazing. I really like the flavor combinations, using lots of almond flour, fruits, and spices. I could happily make nearly everything in here. For context, I do bake a lot, so I can't gauge how these recipes are for a relative novice in baking.

Louise cake with plum and coconut. This is my favorite in the book so far. I've made it a few times and love it. The meringue has come out perfectly with a nice crunch and marshmallow-y texture. I skipped the coconut and thought it worked just fine without it.

Chocolate Guinness cake with Bailey's. These are a bit more work, but they are amazing. I brought them into work and received rave reviews. I did find the amount of Bailey's suggested made the cream too watery, so I would recommend adding the Bailey's slowly until the consistency is right.

Lemon poppy seed cake. Very easy and delicious. Nice lemony flavor!

Blackberry and star anise friends. I found the combination of blackberry and star anise was delicious and quite an unusual flavor for a dessert. They were relatively easy and kept well for a few days.

Tahini and halva brownies. They were tasty, but not necessarily the best brownie recipe I've come across. I feel like the halva and tahini weren't as prominent relative to the chocolate.

Next up...I really want to try those Mont Blanc tarts.

Ciara

Loved, loved this book! This was a thoughtful, well-written and inviting commentary from bakers who truly love their craft.

Each recipe has it's own unique history and I loved reading through them. I was getting hunger pains just reading and looking at the beautiful images of all of those sweets. The authors encourage you to modify things to your taste, provide options for substitutes, and are incredibly descriptive in their instructions.

I have never been to Ottolenghi's but I am adding it to my bucket list. Can't wait to make some of these recipes!

Title	:	Sweet
Author	:	Yotam Ottolenghi
Rating	:
ISBN	:	1607749149
ISBN-10	:	9781607749141
Language	:	English
Format Type	:	Hardcover
Number of Pages	:	368
Publication	:	First published September 7, 2017
Awards	:	Goodreads Choice Award Food & Cookbooks (2017)

Sweet Reviews

Releated on Sweet