2024 the best of both worlds cookbook review

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A collection of over 110 recipes for sweets, baked goods, and confections from superstar chef Yotam Ottolenghi, thoroughly tested and updated.

Yotam Ottolenghi is widely beloved in the food world for his beautiful, inspirational, and award-winning cookbooks, as well as his London delis and fine dining restaurant. And while he's known for his savory and vegetarian dishes, he actually started out his cooking career as a pastry chef. Sweet is entirely filled with delicious baked goods, desserts, and confections starring Ottolenghi's signature flavor profiles and ingredients including fig, rose petal, saffron, orange blossom, star anise, pistachio, almond, cardamom, and cinnamon. A baker's dream, Sweet features simple treats such as Chocolate, Banana, and Pecan cookies and Rosemary Olive Oil Orange Cake, alongside recipes for showstopping confections such as Cinnamon Pavlova with Praline Cream and Fresh Figs and Flourless Chocolate Layer Cake with Coffee, Walnut, and Rosewater.

• Finalist for the 2018 James Beard Foundation Book Awards for "Baking and Desserts" and "Photography" categories
• Finalist for the 2018 International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Cookbook Award for "Baking" category

From the Publisher

Chocolate 'O' cookies

Makes 22 (if using a 2½-inch/6.5-cm cutter)

Helen set herself the challenge of making a cookie to rival the popularity of our chocolate chip cookie. These were the result and they’ve become something of a signature cookie in the shops. We find their combination of salty, sweet and spicy both delicious and intriguing.

The 'O' in the name nods three ways: first to Thomas Keller, whose own version of an Oreo inspired the base for our cookie; second to their small coin shape; and third, of course, to the big round 'O' in the name on the door.

Recipe

1. To make the cookies, place the butter, sugar and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment in place. Beat on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda into a bowl, turn the speed of the mixer to low, then add the dry ingredients in two batches until a dough forms. Tip onto a clean work surface and knead gently until smooth and uniform. Cover the dough loosely in plastic wrap, press to form a disk, and keep in the fridge for 1 hour to firm up.

2. Preheat the oven to 325°F/160°C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

3. Remove the dough from the fridge about 5 minutes before rolling, so that it has some malleability. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough so that it is about 1/8 inch/3 mm thick; you can divide it in half before rolling, if that’s easier. Using a 2 1/2-inch/6.5-cm round cutter, cut out 44 circles and place them on the parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 13–15 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through, until firm, then remove from the oven and set aside on the sheets until completely cool.

Cookies 3/4 cup plus 1 ½ tbsp/190 g unsalted butter, at room temperature, cubed 2/3 cup/130 g granulated sugar ½ tsp flaky sea salt 1 ¾ cups/220 g all-purpose flour ¾ cup/75 g Dutch-processed cocoa powder ¼ tsp baking soda

4. To make the ganache, place the cinnamon, orange peel and pepper flakes in a small bowl and cover with the boiling water. Set aside to infuse for 30 minutes.

5. After the water has been infusing for about 20 minutes, place the chocolate, vanilla seeds and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

6. Place the sugar and corn syrup in a small pan and warm over medium heat, stirring from time to time, until the sugar has melted. Increase the heat to medium-high and boil until the sugar caramelizes and turns a light amber color, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the infused water and aromatics. Don’t worry if the sugar seizes in the pan; just return it to the heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Return the caramel to a boil, then strain the liquid over the chocolate and vanilla; the aromatics can be discarded. Leave for 2–3 minutes until the chocolate has melted, then mix together.

7. Add the butter, one piece at a time, stirring continuously until all the butter is incorporated and the chocolate is smooth. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes until the ganache is firm.

8. Spoon a heaped teaspoon of the ganache onto the underside of a cookie, then, using a knife or the back of a spoon, spread it evenly all over the cookie. Place another cookie, underside down, on top of the ganache and sandwich together. Set aside while you repeat with the remaining cookies and ganache.

The dough can be made in advance and kept in the fridge for up to 2 days, or frozen for future use.

Once baked and filled, these will keep for 5 days in an airtight container.

Water ganache ½ cinnamon stick shaved peel of ½ orange ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes 6 tbsp/90 ml boiling water 4 ½ oz/125 g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), roughly chopped into 1/3 -inch/1-cm pieces scraped seeds of ½ vanilla pod ¼ tsp flaky sea salt ¼ cup/50 g granulated sugar 2 ½ tbsp/50 g light corn syrup 3 ½ tbsp/50 g unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 3/4-inch/2-cm cubes

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ten Speed Press; First American Edition (October 3, 2017)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1607749149
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1607749141
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.3 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.94 x 1.21 x 10.89 inches
Reviewer: RoscoeBoscoe
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A must for serious bakers
Review: A wonderful addition to your cookbook shelf. So many delicious, beautiful, and sophisticated desserts.

Reviewer: Kat L
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Brilliant cookbook full of both familiar and stunningly original desserts
Review: 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).

Reviewer: Jennifer Guerrero
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Delicious, fresh, creative dessert book! Recommend!
Review: 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 308I’ll update this as I play in the book more.

Reviewer: Brian & Caresse
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Brilliant, unique and so delicious!
Review: 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!!

Reviewer: R. Carswell
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This book from Ottolenghi and cowriter Goh is simply amazing with clarity and method and timing out front for the wannabe bakers at Christmas. Great photos as usual. Our collection of his books grows annually.

Reviewer: Alfonso Martinez
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Todos los libros, y este no es la excepción, son de gran calidad, tanto en su contenido como en la calidad de las fotos, el papel, el número de recetas (algunas más laboriosas que otras) pero excelentes

Reviewer: Noemia
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: 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

Reviewer: ReviewRobert
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I bought it as a present, very happy with the quality of the book, the photos are beautiful.

Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Sehr schöne Bilder und Rezepte für die, die nur Anregungen suchen. M.E. sind die Rezepte für Märkte bestimmt, in denen supersüss eine gesuchte Eigenschaft ist. Meinerseits rate ich dazu die Zuckermengen auf 30 % zu reduzieren...auch die Flüssigkeitszugaben sind mit Vorsicht zu beachten. Kurz: ein schönes Kochbuch zum Stöbern, nicht für Anfänger empfohlen ...