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by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh. There are signature flavors you’d expect from an Ottolenghi book like rose water, saffron, and orange blossom water, and there are also classic combinations like rum-raisin, banana-caramel, and chocolate-peanut butter. The recipes span a range from simple to elaborate. There are cookies, cakes, cheesecakes, tarts and pies, desserts, and confectionery. I’m eagerly awaiting an upcoming occasion, or any sooner excuse, to make the Sticky Fig Pudding with Salted Caramel and Coconut Topping which would be perfect for Christmas dinner. The Saffron and Almond Ice Cream Sandwiches look like a lot of fun for a celebration too. There’s really not one thing in this book that I don’t want to try. A couple of recipes are intriguing because I’ve never tried making a rolled pavlova or a wide roulade that you stand on end and cut to see vertical stripes. Those are two adventures I look forward to attempting along with so many others. Custard Yo-Yo’s with Roasted Rhubard Icing, Cranberry Oat and White Chocolate Biscuits, Saffron Orange and Honey Madeleines, Banana Cakes with Rum Caramel, Coffee and Walnut Financiers, and Spiced Praline Meringues are all on my short-list. And, all the recipes come with straightforward information. If a specific pan is required, they let you know, and if there’s another size or shape that will work as a substitute, that info is provided. They also include good guidance on ingredients including the difference in texture between cream cheese sold in the US vs. that sold in the UK. It wasn’t easy to pick a first recipe to try, but it’s fall and spice cake sounded perfect. This is described as a simple spice cake, which it is, and as advertised the crumb is tender and lovely. The cake was originally made with Chinese five-spice, but mixed spice, pumpkin pie spice, or quatre epices are all suggested alternatives. It occurred to me that I’d never baked with quatre epices, and I quickly became fixated on it. Sadly, our neighborhood Penzeys is no more, and driving all the way across town to our local Savory Spice Shop seemed like too much. Instead, I gathered the individual spices that make quatre epices and made my own. I ground some whole white peppercorns, grated some nutmeg, and added ground ginger and allspice. I added a pinch of cloves as well. To start the batter, butter was creamed with dark and light brown sugar and orange zest. In a separate bowl, eggs, sour cream, and vanilla extract were whisked. In a third bowl, the spices, flour, and salt were sifted together. The wet and dry ingredients were added to the butter mixture alternately in thirds. Last, baking soda was mixed with apple cider vinegar, and that was added to the batter. The cake was baked in a small loaf pan for about 50 minutes.
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by Valerie Gordon of Valerie’s Confections in Los Angeles, the first thing I liked about the book was the one-word chapter titles. Pedestal (celebration desserts), Plate (everyday cakes), Tin (pies and tarts), Box (chocolates and confections), Bowl (desserts to eat with a spoon), Jar (cookies and bars), Larder (jams and marmalades), and Hand (breakfast and snacks to eat on the go). Each title defines the category so well and so simply and directs you to options for every possible occasion. Valerie’s Confections began as a boutique for toffees and chocolates and has grown to offer a wide variety of sweets. I was fascinated with the recipes for cakes from the past. Through research and trial and error, well-loved cakes from Los Angeles bakeries and restaurants that no longer exist have been recreated. Blum’s Coffee Crunch Cake, topped with coffee whipped cream and shards of a coffee-flavored, honeycomb kind of candy, looks delightful, and I have to try The Brown Derby Grapefruit Cake with cream cheese and grapefruit juice frosting during citrus season. The truffles, toffees, and caramels would all make great holiday gifts, and there are tips for packaging them beautifully. In fact, there are helpful tips throughout the book for making your sweets as pretty as they can be including best ways to frost cakes, how to score toffee before it sets, and how to candy rose petals or mint leaves for garnish. And, I was thrilled to learn of Valrhona pearls which are chocolate-coated bits of puffed cereal that dress up the vertical surface of a frosted layer cake. I made several mental notes of fancy cakes I’d like to attempt some day, but the recipes I wanted to try right away were the Salted-Peanut Blondies, the Hazelnut Orange Cakes with Orange Glaze, the Tangerine Sour Cream Pound Cake, and the Meyer Lemon Tea Cakes with Pomegranate Glaze. 
