5 comments about Baking with Agave Nectar: Over 100 Recipes Using Nature's Ultimate Sweetener.

1. I decided to try and cut down on sugar in my diet and needed a replacement to get me through my addiction with the white stuff. While researching, I came across a product called Agave. So, I ordered some and sure enough, it's a perfect replacement for sugar. The only problem, I wasn't sure how to cook or bake with it. So, back to the drawing board.. I did a search on Amazon and found this little gem of a cookbook. I ordered it and a few days later (thanks Amazon Prime) I received this at my door step.
   I have made 2 recipes from it so far, the black bean brownies and the butter cream chocolate frosting. The frosting was really good and I ended up making truffles out of it instead of making anything to use it with and the brownies are simply divine!
   I can't wait to explore more of her recipes in this book.
   Don't hesitate, just order. You'll be glad you did.



2. The editorial accompanying this book claims it is vegan. Many of the recipes call for yogurt, which is a dairy product. Therefore it is not a vegan cookbook (I don't think the author claims that it is, but allergy sufferers and vegans should note that it is not).



3. I'm a decent cook and tried several recipes in this book, they seem OK when I'm preparing but ...



4. What a let-down! I live in Seattle, where "healthy" ingredients are readily available, and I still haven't found half of the ones required to bake these things after months of looking. The items I've tried have turned out horribly and I consider myself a skilled baker. It's a shame that this book won't serve to inspire others to use agave nectar more readily and a huge shame that I can't look forward to more low-glycemic treats as a result of using this cookbook. I give it 2 stars only because I haven't tried every recipe and I'm optimistic there might be one or 2 that are good. I just don't know if I'll have the patience and trust to use up ingredients finding out....



5. Thankfully I did not purchase this book. I borrowed it from a friend. I'm giving it back!
   I have tried 5 recipes in this cookbook, and so far all of them have been either a bad texture or taste. I tried flourless chocolate cake last night, and realized halfway through the recipe that it calls for you to "set aside" a bowl of ingredients and never says to add them in later. It is frustrating using this book.
   I am sure there must be some good recipes in it, but I'm not sure I care to spend more time and money in expensive ingredients to find those jewels amongst the fluff. Given that it does have some good information on agave nectar and possible one or two good recipes, I'll give it two stars rather than one.
   Good luck cooking with this one!

5 comments about The Craft of Baking: Cakes, Cookies, and Other Sweets with Ideas for Inventing Your Own.

1. This is an excellent cookbook, for a number of reasons. First, the directions are clear and accurate in all of the recipes I have tried. Second, the recipes are not, for the most part, fussy; they are do-able if you have any experience in the kitchen. If you've never rolled piecrust before, a more basic book, like Dorie Greenspan's "Baking" or Marion Cunningham's "The Fanny Farmer Baking Book" might be more useful. Third, some of the recipes will make you see old things in new ways; the jasmine rice pudding (especially with the added rum raisins) is simple and brilliant. You can put it together while you're making dinner. Fourth, the recipes are well chosen and, thank heavens, limited in number. There's no need to contemplate a whole bunch of chocolate cakes, wondering which one is REALLY good, as you must do with a more extensive volume, like Greenspan's "Baking" (an excellent book in its own right). Finally, the recipes are delicious. I certainly haven't had a chance to make all of them (although I can speak for the trifle, which speedily disappeared from the Christmas dinner table), but it's easy to see that it's the kind of book I'll want to work my way through. It's worth adding that "The Craft of Baking" includes recipes that never see an oven, like the wondrous cashew brittle or the ones in the chapters on puddings (the lemon steamed pudding!) and ice creams. Even if you are as guilty as I am of owning too many cookbooks, you will want to get this one.
   M. Feldman



2. With the recent surge in dumbed-down baking books (like those that zip up boxed cake mixes,) and overly-complicated ones (like those that require professional culinary knowledge,) it is refreshing to see a book that settles nicely in between. //The Craft of Baking,// is an accessible dessert book that presents primarily simple, creative recipes with a focus on fresh, seasonal ingredients. DeMasco, currently the pastry chef at Robert De Niro's Locanda Verde in New York, cut her teeth at some of Manhattan's finest restaurants.
   
   Recipes in the book feature familiar ingredients used in both traditional and unique ways. More straightforward are those like rich Chocolate Pudding or Sour Cherry Scones, while, conversely, the Rustic Blueberry Cornmeal Tart, bursts with interesting flavors and textures and dense Gingerbread Cupcakes, carrying deep undertones from dark beer, coffee, and molasses, are brightened by candied fresh ginger.
   
   The book includes subsections, packed with tips for recipe additions and substitutions, that encourage you to flavor things exactly as you like. In addition, deft explanations, such as mixing brioche dough until "it is shiny and makes a slapping sound on the sides of the bowl," help to guide you through the more challenging processes.
   
   
   Reviewed by Andrea Rappaport



3. Gave this as a gift so I haven't tried the recipes, but the book is very well laid out.



4. Although the pics were nice, the book is hardly about ideas for inventing your own recipies, which is the reason for my
   purchase. Had I been able to thumb through this book at a "box store" I would not have purchased it. I was looking more for information about the requirements in creating my own cakes, not a suggestion that I use "almond extract instead of vanilla extract". Big deal. As it was a gift for an avid baker, the book will no doubt be appreciated, but no more than any of the others on the shelf. My search continues!



5. this has great recipes and really easy to follow...my daughter has tagged about 20 pages as must do's!

4 comments about The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Pastry Arts.

1. The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Pastry Arts is an amazing book for pastry geeks like me. I'm a home cook, but very experienced with creating gourmet & restaurant-type desserts. I took a trip to Paris and visited some lovely little neighborhood patisseries, and tasted as many french desserts as I could during my short visit. Almost all of them were absolutely amazing, and completely different than what is available locally in my area of the U.S. This big, thick, colorful book shows how to make all of the desserts we tasted and loved on our trip. It has just enough photographs to illustrate key points of the recipes, and many of the recipes have photos of the finished product. One thing that I would have enjoyed is photographs showing some of the desserts plated and ready to serve. There were a few photos of finished desserts where I wanted to see what it looked like when it was cut. Still, I love the book, and there are a lot of things that make it "better than the rest of the crowd". I very much appreciate the "Evaluating Your Success" section for each recipe, and also the "Tips" section that accompanies each recipe.
   This is a BIG book, and though I initially read the book all the way through, it's obviously better suited as a reference book, not a read-it-in-bed-as-you-fall-asleep book. It's just too heavy & bulky to read easily as a bedside book! I also liked the inclusion of not one, but *two* ribbon bookmarks to help mark pages for easy reference. Beautiful book, and worth every dime!



2. The only way to describe this book is incredible. It is so comprehensive, it is like taking a 4-year pastry course in Paris! This book covers every aspect of the fine art of pastry in simple, understandable steps. When broken down like this and explained, it makes it seem so easy. The pictures are beautifully done. I love this book. What a great addition to any cook's library. Definitely as must have. Would make a wonderful Christmas gift!



3. 
   I recently purchased this book from my book of the month club. I love to bake and have quite a collection of baking specific books. I pulled out The Fundamental Techniques tonight to review genoise ( french sponge cake)page 328 since I plan on giving this versatile cake a try. Everything is explained clearly and the tips seem great until you get to the ingredients where I noticed flour is missing! It is mentioned in the recipe directions but no quantity is listed anywhere. This is such a fundamental cake and the recipe is carelessly WRONG. This is the only recipe I have looked at and have not baked from the book... now I am regretting my purchase of a VERY expensive book.



4. Bought this book as a birthday gift for a friend who loves to bake, and she loved it. She said the info was great and the recipes have worked, of the recipes she has done.

5 comments about The Donut Book.

1. I don't understand why everyone is so giggly about this book. I thought it would have many recepies and a "how to" make a great donut. The Food Channel has covered most of these donut places. I want to duplicate the kind of donuts found in these great donut places at HOME! Save your money and buy a dozen donuts instead.



2. Although this is a cute little book about the history of donuts, I guess I didn't read thoroughly enough. I thought it was a donut cookbook. There are a few recipes, but not many. It's more of a coffee table book.



3. I thought this book would have recipes for making donuts. If you are looking for the history of the donut, then this book is for you. I was disappointed as there were very few recipes and not much on icing or pictures either. I'm returning it.



4. I purchased this book because amazon recomended it to go with the doughnut baking pan I purchased, however there are no recipes in this book for use with this pan. If you want a history and photos of doughnuts this is fine , but if you want baked doughnut recipes look elsewhere.



5. A fun walk down memory lane. The book is very retro in feel, which stylisticly is appealing. And the recipes are yummy. I say buy the book and include a box of Dunkin Donuts as a gift to your favorite donut lover.

5 comments about The Ultimate Ice Cream Book: Over 500 Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, Drinks, And More.

1. ! ! ! W A R N I N G ! ! !
   DO NOT BUY THE KINDLE VERSION!
   
   I bought the Kindle version and found that all of the ingredients and their quanties were missing from the recipes. Of course this makes the recipes kind of useless. This is really too bad because the book looks pretty good. I also bought the Kindle version of the companion volume, "The Ultimate Frozen Dessert Book", and that book has all the ingredients and is outstanding.
   
   I did contact customer support at Amazon and they refunded my money, and asked that I purchase it again and download it again. I tried this, but it is still the same version that is missing the ingredients. I just thought I'd warn everybody.



2. I have been using this book down in Australia for YEARS. I have my favourite recipes from it, that i make time-and-time again: Pistachio, hazelnut and the lemon sorbet are almost always sitting up in my freezer! A great resource for lovers of homemade ice cream....



3. I originally got this book and the Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book book together. I used the Ben and Jerry's book for quite some time because of how much easier the recipes were. Once I started taking the time out to use the recipes in this book, I was well rewarded. I have now recommended this book as the must have ice cream book and have continued to find great recipes in it. My favorite right now is to follow the peanut butter ice cream recipe and replace the peanut butter with Nutella.



4. This is a great companion to my stand-mixer ice cream maker. Lots of recipes and ideas.



5. There are a lot of different recipes in this book, some that use egg, some that don't, some fantastic milk-free (chocolate sorbet), and tons of different flavors.
   
   This is a great book to start with, though I recommend also scouring the internet for additional recipes if there's something specific you want to try

5 comments about Baked: New Frontiers in Baking.

1. Reading Baked, it seemed the authors had a new lens on American classics; as other reviewers have said, they interpret old standbys with higher quality ingredients and updated flavorings. I also liked the light humor expressed in a sparing use of candy to decorate the cakes. Here's what happened in the oven and on the palate:
   
   1. Coconut Cupcakes (with coconut filling and coconut frosting). We served them to Mom on Mother's Day, and they were a hit. They require a bit of effort (wouldn't any cake that has filling?) but were light, fluffy, coconutty, and decadent. 2. S'more Nut Bars (rechristened Smut Bars at the party I brought them to) were rich yet casual. Baked's chapter on bars makes a convincing argument for whipping up bars and carrying them with you to any/all events. 3. The Whiteout Cake was a knockout. We used high-cacao white chocolate disks (Valrhona) for the frosting. A serious pleasure was decorating it with a few well-placed nonpareils, as recommended by the book's authors. 4. Today we made Peanut Butter Cookies (with milk chocolate chunks) because we're having some kids over. They look professional and taste perfect.
   
   At least one reviewer has gasped about the amount of butter in these recipes. In their cakes, the authors call for shortening along with butter: perhaps this combination makes their cakes so fluffy and perfectly textured. Meanwhile, the frosting recipes have truly helped me turn a corner in my baking. The frostings for the cakes mentioned above require cooking, yet they are not difficult, and there's no thermometer needed. They emerge gorgeous, light, and inexplicably perfect. While dazzling your guests, it can be a little frightening to know these stunners contain so much butter. (The coconut cupcake frosting called for three sticks of butter; I was skeptical, so made a 2/3 recipe and had some left over.) My husband and I have concluded that we shall make Baked's cakes when we have enough guests to serve everyone a generous amount and finish it all up! You simply don't want to be stuck with a Whiteout Cake in your household of two, planning to enjoy it for the rest of the week.
   
   For impact, style, fun, and taste, this is my baking book for now. I see no reason to go elsewhere for a while.



2. This book has beautiful pictures and fabulous recipes!!! It is inspiring. I impressed all my coworkers with the fabulous brownie recipe!



3. I got this book for a really good friend of mine, and she really likes it. Of course, she is a baker and naturally loves the book.
   
   I suppose anyone who plans to take up baking would like to have it.



4. The book is beautiful and the recipes look wonderful. I love the story of these Brooklyn boys and their funky storefront. I would rather visit their shop than trust their cookbook again. I have made the chocolate chip cookies and they were terrible - the recipe needs less butter and at least some baking powder. The fudge popcicles were horrible.



5. We've had this book out of the library several times now, and now we're giving in and buying it. The Sweet and Salty Cake is now our birthday cake of choice, and the Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins are the bomb and the Peanut Butter Crispy Bars are a bomblet.

5 comments about Baking with Julia Savor the Joys of Baking with America's Best Bakers.

1. I watched the PBS series based upon this book. I learned a lot just watching the series, but couldn't get all the ingrediants down, so I had to have the book! I really like to bake and learn how to make better breads & pasteries, and also newer techniques from the professional people. This book has a lot of this in it. A good reference book besides having some wonderful recipes in it.



2. Over the years I've accumulated dozens of books on cooking and baking, and this is the best. The writing, photography, and production of the book are superb. It has outstanding sections on ingredients and basic techniques. I've had the book for several years. I haven't made all of the recipes, and not all would be to my taste, I'm sure, but every recipe I've tried from the book has been excellent.



3. I ordered this book about a month ago and have already made about half a dozen recipes from it, including the authentic french bread. I'm a total amateur baker, but I am inspired by these recipes and just love the outcome! I'm totally into breads now, on top of my already existing passion for cakes and cookies. I would highly recommend this book to anyone with any level of baking experience. The recipes work, just follow the directions! One quick note of disappointment though: I realized today that my book is missing about 18 pages between 166 and 184...bummer. However, Amazon.com is sending a replacement. You might want to check your book to make sure you have all the pages! Have fun baking!



4. I loved the informational part of the book, I was actually looking for some new desserts and was a little disappointed.



5. The relatively old "Baking with Julia" book is still one of the best. The chapters on French backing are truly excellent, with clear, precise directions and alternatives (as for instance, making the dough by hand or by mixer). If you're a dedicated baker, this book is well worth having.

5 comments about Crazy About Cupcakes.

1. This was a gift for my daughter who is a great baker and cook. She loves the book and says it's full of inspiration and ideas. She is VERY picky and in my opinion, her accolades say everything that needs to be said about this book. Highly recommended!



2. I was very disappointed with this book - the cupcakes all look very amaturish which i found surprising - I can do amaturish on my own! I think the book called "Hello Cupcake" is much better - it has better picutures and and has really cute ideas. Martha Stuart's cupcake book is also excellent - so I would buy either of those 2 books before I invested in this one.



3. I bought this book some time ago and at the beginning I refered to it very often for ideas and recipes. However, now I think some of the decorations are a bit dated and amatuerish. The book itself is well laid out and the recipes are easy to follow. Great book for baking cupcakes with kids but not really that good if you are looking to bake and decorate elegant cupcakes for a special occasion.



4. This was my first ever book about cupcakes. I started getting interested in these beautiful cakes about a year ago and that's when I bought this book (cupcakes are kind of a new craze in the country where I live..yes we're THAT far behind) The book looks supercute with its beautiful cakes on the front cover. Am I really gonna be able to make this kind of pretty cakes?
   
   The first chapter covers cupcake basics such as how to store and transport, ingredients and substitutions. Good to know, but if you're an experienced baker you know all this stuff.
   The second chapter is about baking and decorating techniques, such as information on tools, sugar paste icings and garnishes. I like to learn all this, but I'm missing pictures! There's just a lot of text and a few illustrations.
   
   My favorite chapter is the third one, the recipes!
   I guess this is not your average book about cupcakes, because the part with recipes is so small (about 50 out of 250) - and that includes recipes for frosting, topping and filling!
   The recipes are usually easy to follow and I've tried out about 1/3 of all the recipes and have had success with most of them (a couple of failures now and then) The frostings are good as well, lots of different ones to choose from. Not all of the frostings have been successful though.. but when they do turn out well they taste excellent. One big drawback.. there are NO pictures during the whole chapter!
   
   The next chapter covers different types of "Everyday cupcakes". It mixes the recipes with decorating - so you learn how to "coordinate" your cupcakes into themes. You'll find inspiration for breakfast cupcakes, hidden suprise cupcakes and healthy cupcakes. Nothing new in here, but if you're lacking creativity there are instructions on how to create fun and festive cakes. Also, here you'll find photos of the cupcakes (finally).
   The rest of the book is basically the same with cupcake ideas for different occassions; "Parties" (Tea party petit four cupcakes, Luau Beach party cupcakes, Cocktail party cucpakes.. and so on) I see some reviewers complain about tacky decorating, I think most of them are fun and cute - kids will love them, but I agree that not all of them are equally pretty and delicate.
   
   The book also provides ideas for holiday cupcakes (for Christmas you have "gingerbread men cupcakes" and "peppermint candy cane cupcakes", "champagne cupcakes" are perfect for New Year's Eve and "Roses and truffles cupcakes" for Valentine's Day) Then there's a chapter for "Occaccions and events" and one for "Kids".
   Lots of different themed ideas!
   
   The last chapter is about flavor combinations and design elements, and I like the part where each recipe is linked to different types of frostings so you see which ones goes well together.
   
   Basically it's a great book about cupcakes with some good recipes, probably not the best book out there, but if you find the decorating and getting creative is the most fun part of making cupcakes, you'll LOVE this book!



5. I was a beginner cupcake baker when I bought this book (only had experience with out-of-the-box baking) and am now experimenting with my own recipes! Directions are very clear and precise, and the ingredients and tools needed can all be found in your local supermarket or arts & crafts store. Perfect book for someone just getting into baking, or looking for new techniques or flavors to make edible art! The photos are extremely helpful for replicating her cupcakes as well.

5 comments about Petite Sweets: Bite-Size Desserts to Satisfy Every Sweet Tooth.

1. Who knew baking could be so cute? But every time one of my co-workers sees this cookbook on my desk, they say, "Awww." Then, they flip through the pictures and say, "Yum!" And then they fling it away and say that it's making them hungry, LOL.
   
   So, basically, this is book full of recipes of adorable, miniature desserts. The idea behind mini-desserts is that you can eat a smaller portion because it's healthier, because you don't want any more than just a little somethin', or because you want to sample lots of mini-desserts. These are all good thoughts in my book! And on top of that, the presentations of these charming sweets, thanks to lots of wonderful photos, is inspiring enough to make me want to whip up a few of everything in the book.
   
   Petite Sweets contains chapters on Basics; Little Cakes; Petite Pies and Tarts; Fruit and Berry Desserts; Mousses and Chilled Desserts; Creams, Custards, and Frozen Desserts; and Pastries and Sweets. I think you'll agree that that pretty much covers the sugary territory. Most of the recipes are fairly simple--in some cases a little more basic than I might have chosen, but the author, Beatrice Ojakangas, offers useful advice on how to adapt other favorite recipes for miniature versions. And some of her shortcuts are just plain clever, such as using a whole vanilla wafer as the base of a miniature cheesecake.
   
   A lot of the recipes call for specialized mini baking dishes, but there are helpful substitutions like to use mini muffin tins with foil cupcake liners for those of us who don't yet own 24 miniature baking ramekins. And who are you kidding? You know you'll be prowling Williams-Sonoma waiting for a variety of mini pans and dishes to go on sale. How can you resist, when the results are so darn cute and scrumptious? Soon you too will be turning Coconut Rum Butter Cakes out of the mini Bundt cake pans. And you'll be filling up that old shot glass collection with Chocolate Espresso Mousse. And you'll be collecting vintage parfait glasses to hold your Vanilla Banana Cream Pies.
   
   Have I not tempted you yet? Can you resist the Miniature Bread Puddings, the Whoopie Pies, the Angel Cakes with Lemon Sauce, the Mini Chocolate Soufflés, the Strawberry Bruschetta, the Fresh Ginger Carrot Cakelets, the Greek-Style Honey-Nut Pastries, the Blueberry Cobblerettes, the Crispy Cream Puffs, the Mango Mousse, the Chocolate Truffle Tarts...? As you can see, the list goes on and on. Resistance is futile. Get to baking!



2. Especially appropriate for parties, small bite-sized deserts can provide a truly gourmet touch to any and all celebratory events. That's why Beatrice Ojakangas' "Petite Sweets: Bite-Sized Desserts To Satisfy Every Sweet Tooth" is such a timely and highly recommended addition to personal, family, and community library cookbook collections. Superbly illustrated throughout with the color photography of Roger LePage, "Petite Sweets" offers a range of delectable treats from Fresh Ginger Carrot Cakelets; Whoopie Pies; Chocolate Truffle Tarts; and Applesauce Crisp; to Chocolate-Dipped Cherries; Creamy Pumpkin Mini Mousses; Miniature Bread Puddings; and Crispy Cream Puffs. Palate pleasing and 'kitchen cook friendly', this compilation of miniature desserts is also especially commended to the attention of professional caterers as well.



3. I often think about what kind of literary voice a cookbook author is striving for before I read the cookbook for the first time. In the case of Beatrice Ojakangas, who wrote "Petite Sweets," as a "James Beard Cookbook hall-of-fame author" I'm sure she wanted to sound authoritative as in "I know my stuff," but to me, once I read through the whole book, she also sounded 'motherly." An unusual voice for a cookbook author.
   
   While there are no nutritional tables in the book to let her readers know how much one of her bite-size morsels will cost them in ounces and/or pounds when they reluctantly step on a scale, you can tell from some of the recipe's ingredients, such as in "Angel Cakes with Lemon Sauce," which makes 24 servings, that it won't put you into a deep, dark, depressing funk because you lost control and ate one or two.
   
   Learning how to downsize desserts, your own, or making Little Cakes, Petite Pies & Tarts, Fruit & Berry Desserts, Mousses and Chilled Desserts, Creams, Custards and Frozen Desserts to Pastries and Sweets from her dessert recipe book with gorgeous photographs by Roger LePage is one of the newest food trends and Ojakangas is leading the way with her 2009 thin but masterful book.
   
   Buy the book, try all of the recipes if you can find the time and enjoy eating one of each or sampling several. Take Ojakangas and her publisher's word for it, that's good advice. Maybe even - motherly?



4. A chef who begins an introduction to a pastry book with an exhortation to "waste not, want not", a reference to sin, and an evocation of the hardships of her childhood has, perhaps, missed the point about the ways in which we relate to desserts.
   
   The desserts are tiny and adorable, and the recipes are simple, but the book conveys a wintry sparsity at odds with its subject matter. Furthermore, the author has sacrificed quality and flavor to simplicity: anyone who has ever had real dulce de leche can tell you that it cannot be imitated by melting Brach's milk caramels with heavy cream.
   
   If what you are looking for is a resource to help you create the perfect bite, this is not the book for you.



5. I really wanted to go small and varied for our Christmas sweet table and this little gem delivered. I have done all the panna cotta's esecially loved the ginger panna cotta!

5 comments about The Best Ice Cream Maker Cookbook Ever.

1. I was quite happy with this recipe book. The recipes are simple enough to seem do-able but complex enough to offer flavors that are not available in the supermarket.



2. I gave this book to my dad as a gift. He loves it! Read it from front to back.



3. This book was purchased together with an ice cream maker as a gift for our grandchildren. Our daughter reports that the recipes taste wonderful and are all easy to make. They are exactly what she needed to provide a delicious, healthy treat for her seven kids.



4. The custard-based plain vanilla recipe was extremely good and easy to follow - including guidance to temper the eggs before adding to the mixture. I've also tried the lemon granita with honey instead of sugar -- it was a unique flavor and one appreciated by my family members who don't like super-sugary things. Anyway, so far so good and I have a number of other recipes I'm looking forward to trying. It is a much more complete guide than what came with my ice cream maker -- I highly recommend including this when buying a new ice cream maker.



5. I bought this book based on other reviews, but was disappointed when I received it. I really prefer to see some pictures when looking at a cookbook and there are none in here. I also did not realize every recipe in the book requires cooking before making the ice cream. I don't want to take the extra time to mix and cook,cool, and then make ice cream. I have returned the book for that very reason. If you have the time for the extra steps you might like this book.