“Here is my confession: I rarely go a day without a slice or bite or square of something sweet.” —Yotam Ottolenghi
When food world superstar and New York Times bestselling cookbook author Yotam Ottolenghi started out in the world of cooking, he was “firmly on the sweet side. I trained in patisserie, and my first job in the kitchen was as a pastry chef.”
Now, in his highly anticipated and stunning new baking and desserts cookbook, Yotam Ottolenghi and his longtime friend and collaborator Helen Goh bring the Ottolenghi hallmarks of fresh, evocative ingredients, exotic spices and complex flavorings — including fig, rose petal, saffron, aniseed, orange blossom, pistachio and cardamom — to indulgent cakes, cookies, tarts, puddings, cheesecakes and ice cream.
SWEET (Ten Speed Press; October 3, 2017) brings Yotam full circle back to his roots. It is also the fruit of ten years of collaboration between him and Helen and their Ottolenghi pastry team. It is the book Ottolenghi fans have been waiting and asking for and it embraces indulgence, abundance and generosity, sharing sweet things to celebrate and treat those you love.
SWEET includes over 120 innovative recipes, from Tahini and Halva Brownies, Persian Love Cakes, Middle Eastern Millionaire’s Shortbread, and Saffron, Orange and Honey Madeleines to Frozen Espresso Parfait For a Crowd; Flourless Chocolate Layer Cake with Coffee, Walnut and Rosewater; Apricot and Amaretto Cheesecake; Cinnamon Pavlova with Praline Cream and Fresh Figs; Louise Cake piled high with meringue; Gingerbread with Brandy Apples and Crème Fraîche, and so much more. In a happy accident, there are more than 30 gluten-free recipes, as well as nut-free offerings. While these recipes are underpinned by a rich heritage of baking and dessert making, the Ottolenghi flavor formula brings in influences from Yotam and Helen’s Middle Eastern and Australasian heritage with unique twists balancing the traditional with the exotic.
The book is exquisitely photographed by the award-winning New York team Peden + Munk, whose work appears regularly in Bon Appétit.
A pleasure to read from as well as cook from, there is something here to delight and surprise everyone — from simple mini-cakes and cookies that parents can make with their children to show-stopping layer cakes and roulades that will reignite the imaginations of accomplished bakers. Widely beloved in the food world for his beautiful, inspirational, and award-winning cookbooks, Ottolenghi has created another must-have for home cooks.
About the Authors:
Yotam Ottolenghi is the award-winning author of Plenty and Plenty More, co-author of NOPI with Ramael Scully, and co-author with Sami Tamimi of Ottolenghi and Jerusalem, which was awarded Cookbook of the Year by the International Association of Culinary Professionals, and Best International Cookbook by the James Beard Foundation. All five books were New York Times bestsellers, and his books have sold 3.7 million copies worldwide. Yotam writes for The New York Times and The Guardian, appears on BBC, and made the BBC4 documentary, “Jerusalem on a Plate.” He lives in London, where he owns an eponymous group of restaurants and the high-end restaurant, NOPI.
Helen Goh is a pastry chef, longtime Ottolenghi collaborator, and has been the lead Ottolenghi product developer for ten years. She was born in Malaysia and began her cooking career in Australia. After seven years as head pastry chef at Donovans, a landmark Melbourne landmark restaurant, she moved to London, went to meet Yotam, and they have been baking and discussing the sweeter things in life ever since. She lives in West London.