• Eat Your Books

  The publisher has issued an Errata sheet with corrections and updates for the US edition only, which can be accessed online here.

• MittenRD on May 31, 2018

  Note that this book was recalled for the US edition due to inaccurate baking temperatures and times. They kindly sent me a new copy for free, signed by the authors, along with a nice olive wood spoon gift. It would be worth checking out if you have the first edition United States version. https://ottolenghi.co.uk/blog/sweet-us-edition-information/

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Lemon and blackcurrant stripe cake

  • Nikapai on February 09, 2018

    Beautiful both to look at, and eat. Can make the buttercream up to three days ahead and refrigerate, which I did and am glad I did, as it reduced the cook time on the day. Really interesting textured cake too. So many rave reviews from people who ate it!

  • steinsm on February 28, 2018

    This is absolutely delicious. But, I found that the first time I made it, it was only 4" high (which is logical when the strips are 4" wide.) So, this time I doubled the recipe and made the strips 6" wide. Much better! Also, I use my own Swiss meringue buttercream recipe as the one in Sweet made a huge mess and just didn't work for me.

• Tahini and halva brownies

  • Jane on January 16, 2018

    I thought these were very good. I agree the middle pieces were quite soft but I like that in a brownie. I made them in an 8.5x11 inch (30x22 cm) pan and that was perfect. I used an espresso halva which gave a great flavor. But I would use less tahini next time and do lines and feather rather than large blobs that were difficult to swirl.

  • Kitchengeek on November 24, 2017

    I did not have the proper pan, so multiplied by 1.25 and used a 9x13 inch pan. I do not know if this is why, or if I just didn't cook it long enough, but the brownies came out very mushy. Also the tahini did not spread easily, or as prettily as shown in the photo. I think it would have helped to have warmed the tahini first. The brownies are very rich and quite good, but somehow not as ... interesting as I expected. // On the other hand, Mike likes them a lot.

  • Rutikazooty on January 25, 2018

    Made these and though they were interesting they weren't good enough for me to ever repeat. I do love tahini and halvah so that wasn't the problem.

• Rhubarb and strawberry crumble cake

  • Jane on April 24, 2018

    Not a great success due to oven conversion issues. I knew baking a cake at 390F for 70 minutes was too long but such is my faith in Ottolenghi I went along. I should have listened to my inner baker. The bottom and outside of the cake was black. The issue was the conversion of 200C in the UK edition I own to 390F for my US oven. I've now found out the US edition has the temp as 375 which would have been a lot better. I will make it again as I liked the combination of cake, fruit and crumble. But a lower temp and checking more often will result in a much better cake.

  • TrishaCP on May 14, 2018

    Thank you so much Jane for the note. I used the measurements from my UK edition but the 375 degree oven temp that you mentioned, and had great success with this cake. (Though judging from Jane's picture, my cake didn't rise quite as much as hers.) I needed the full 70 minutes of baking time, but checked at least every ten minutes after the first half hour. I covered my cake with foil (loosely) at 40 minutes.

  • Astrid5555 on June 03, 2018

    Delicious! Based on my previous experience with this book I reduced the sugar in the crumble and in the cake component by 20g each and the cake was still a little sweet for me. Also, I used only half the crumble mixture, which I found plenty enough and froze the rest. Thanks to Jane’s and TrishaCP’s notes I started checking the cake in 5 minute intervals after 40 minutes and covered it with foil. Because of my dark springform pan, it was done already after 60 minutes.

• Coconut, almond and blueberry cake

  • Jane on November 19, 2017

    What a fantastic cake. So easy to put together and wonderful results. Moist, flavorful and pretty - what more can you ask for in a dessert?

  • Jane on March 18, 2018

    I used unsweetened coconut and I thought the cake was sweet enough.

  • Astrid5555 on September 16, 2017

    On a rainy fall day this is comfort baking at its best. Only 2 bowls needed, mixed by hand, done in an hour (because of my dark baking pans my cakes usually need considerably less time in the oven than specified in the recipes, in this case only 40 minutes). I reduced the sugar by 50g (still sweet enough for my taste) and used ground unblanched almonds, thus the dark color of the cake. I especially enjoyed the addition of the desiccated coconut which gives this cake a subtle coconut taste. Boys gave it a 10/10.

  • eliza on March 27, 2018

    I wanted to make a gluten free dessert so I chose this cake to try as it has relatively little flour in it. The resulting cake worked well and tasted very good. I subbed the flour with the gluten free blend from bulk barn and added 1/2 tsp of baking soda in my half recipe. This smaller cake took 30-35 minutes to bake at 350 convection. Thanks to the previous reviewers for the notes on coconut; I used unsweetened.

  • lilham on October 14, 2017

    A lovely mix of coconut and almond flavours. I used frozen blueberries straight from the freezer. I'm baking my second in a week while I'm typing this.

  • FJT on October 14, 2017

    Another vote for this cake: minimum effort for maximum taste.

  • stockholm28 on June 17, 2018

    This recipe is very quick to put together. You don’t need a mixer; it just takes two bowls and a whisk. The cake is primarily almond flour with a small amount of self rising flour (I subbed A.P. with 1 tsp baking powder). It is flavored with coconut, lemon zest, and blueberries. My cake was a little overbaked around the edges. I checked at 40 minutes and it was raw in the center. At 50 minutes, the edges were well done. I used a dark pan ... would that make a difference. I thought this was a very good cake, although it is a bit sweeter than I prefer. I might try it again with less sugar.

  • coryelizabeth on March 18, 2018

    Does anyone know whether you're supposed to use sweetened or unsweetened coconut in this cake? The recipe just calls for "finely shredded coconut."

  • coryelizabeth on March 20, 2018

    Thanks, Jane! For future bakers, I made the cake with unsweetened coconut, and it turned out just fine. Additionally, I felt the cake needed more salt and lemon zest than the recipe called for; however, I recommend simply adding these elements to taste.

  • lou_weez on November 12, 2017

    Everyone loved this delicious, moist cake and I loved how quick and easy it was to make!

  • LadyCJKT on June 14, 2018

    This is a lovely cake - it's very moist and flavourful. I made half the recipe and it's a great size cake. I used 90g of sugar instead of 125g but kept the amount of unsweetened desiccated coconut the same as the recipe. I'd happily make this again but perhaps cook it for a bit longer next time as it is probably too moist.

  • Scubadiva on December 29, 2017

    Everyone I’ve served it to has loved this.

• Take-home chocolate cake

  • Jane on November 02, 2017

    I liked this cake a lot though it really needs the ganache and coffee/cinnamon cream to make it a special dessert. With those it was a lovely dessert for not a lot of effort or time. I found it took 65 minutes at 170C to be baked through. Be aware the recipe on the NYT website has the F conversion at 350 which is too high - it should be 338F. Not sure if the US edition of the book has the same error in conversion.

  • lou_weez on September 22, 2017

    AMAZING!!!! Instead of using coffee granules + 350ml water I made up 350ml of coffee , using my pod machine. The coffee flavour was probably a lot stronger, but we really enjoyed it :) Can't wait to make this again!

• Soft gingerbread tiles with rum butter glaze

  • DKennedy on October 06, 2017

    This is the first recipe I tried from Sweet. I made a test batch of these tiles in preparation for an upcoming tea. The dough came together easily, though I was worried it might be a little dry as I was kneading it. I didn't have any real tile molds so I used a variety of cookie cutters for this test batch. I have a tile press on its way from Russia - hopefully it will arrive in time for the tea. The cookies held their shape and impressions well. My cookies were rolled too thin and so were crispy instead of soft. Baked at 375 for 9 minutes, turning once, I think I might back off of this time going forward. I also didn't read ahead so I didn't have my glaze ready til the cookies cooled, but it didn't seem to matter. I made the lemon version of the glaze and it was perfect. Excellent right before bedtime with a cup of tea. /Users/prallfreedman/Desktop/image1.jpeg

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on October 06, 2017

    Using the same cookie presses as those used in the photo in the book, these cookies have a diameter of almost 10 cm. The cookies very nice and fragrant and the glaze, I made the rum version was delicious. I used the time and temperature of the oven as indicated in the book and they were very good, a little soft in the middle.

  • raybun on December 20, 2017

    I loved these cookies but mine were very crisp, probably due to my fan oven. Next time I’ll reduce the baking time by a few minutes, just to compare. The rum butter glaze is heavenly. (Photo)

• Coffee and walnut financiers

  • DKennedy on October 23, 2017

    My second recipe out of the book - made for Tea '17. Lots of steps for mis en place can be done in advance (brown butter, toasting the walnuts, sifting the dry ingredients, making the coffee). If all that is done in advance the recipe will be quite simple to throw together. If done all at once, a bit overwhelming. Note that I bought the straight sided pan referenced in the book/photo and using that mold, made 17 financiers baked at 400 for 14 minutes. I loved how these came out. Note that the icing sets quickly so it is best to make just before using and put on while the cakes are hot so it will run down the sides. The icing is wildly sweet and makes a ton so next time 1/2 the frosting recipe and maybe add cream instead of milk to cut through the sweetness and maybe add more liquid? So, so good.

  • jluvs2bake on June 17, 2018

    Love the melding of the flavors. The brown butter and coffee almost have a caramel hint together. My husband ate the leftover icing plain... I made mine with pecans instead of walnuts, and it was delicious! I made mine in a popover pan because the book said that's how they make them, and that's what the accompanying photo was. I wanted mine to look like that rather than a muffin. It would have made 6 regular popovers nice and tall, but I filled them slightly less and put the extra batter in 2 ramekins for a total of 8 financiers. These would be lovely for a coffee or brunch.

  • bwhip on September 22, 2017

    These turned out excellent. A nice crispy edge, with a moist, delicate crumb, and wonderful flavor from the coffee and brown butter. The glaze was a little sweet for my taste, but overall we really enjoyed these and will make them again.

  • anya_sf on December 06, 2017

    I made half the recipe and got 21 mini-muffins, so my molds must have been small. They baked in 12 minutes. They were a nice two-bite size. I omitted the espresso powder (didn't have it), but the financiers still had plenty of coffee flavor from the instant coffee. These were easy to make, but do require a couple hours of chilling, so plan ahead. I used less icing, but it seemed like enough. The icing was quite stiff; I had to add a bit of water to thin it enough to spread, and even then it didn't drizzle. I tried a few cakes plain, and they were good too, so the icing isn't needed, although it looks pretty. We really enjoyed these.

• Lemon and raspberry cupcakes

  • TrishaCP on May 27, 2018

    The flavor of these cupcakes is great, both the cake and the icing. The icing came out a bit runny for me, maybe because it was quite a hot day to be baking, or maybe because I used jarred lemon curd instead of the book's recipe. Regardless, I will definitely be making these again!

  • Frogcake on March 21, 2018

    Fabulous cupcakes! These are OMG lusciously lemony. I used frozen wild blueberries in place of raspberries. Otherwise they come together very quickly as bwip notes. My guests couldn’t stop raving about them. Definitely a repeat.

  • bwhip on December 14, 2017

    Another excellent recipe from this outstanding cookbook. The lemon curd prep technique is quick and easy, and the frosting, which is made with the lemon curd and mascarpone, is wonderful with just the right amount of tang. The cupcakes turned out great. We'll definitely be making these again.

• Lemon and poppy seed cake (National Trust version)

  • TrishaCP on May 06, 2018

    This is for sure the best lemon poppyseed cake that I've ever made, and it will be my standard from here on out.

  • Astrid5555 on December 09, 2017

    Simply divine! Since I used Meyer lemons I reduced the sugar in the batter by 10% and used only half the sugar for the glaze. Still a little bit too sweet for my taste, yet one of the best lemon and poppy seed cakes ever!

  • Rachaelsb on March 25, 2018

    Lives up to reputation:-) Light but nice lemony overtones. Great texture to cake.

  • Frogcake on March 21, 2018

    Excellent, but this is the same recipe as the lemon raspberry cupcakes with a few tweaks.

  • anya_sf on May 10, 2018

    Delicious, with a lovely, soft texture. I might try to reduce the sugar next time though.

• Lemon, blueberry and almond "teacakes"

  • pumpkinspice on February 27, 2018

    Tender, tasty and just the right balance of flavors and sweetness.

  • lilham on May 06, 2018

    Simple but so delicious.

  • stockholm28 on April 22, 2018

    Very nice and fairly quick to make. Love the lemon almond blueberry combination. Mine were a little overbaked around the edges, so next time will check a few minutes earlier.

  • Smokeydoke on May 11, 2018

    I had problems getting them to unstick from the pan, so be generous with the butter and flour. The icing is forgiving and covers a lot of flaws. But, oh my, these are so delicious!

  • bwhip on January 26, 2018

    These are fantastic. Nice and lemony, and they just melt in your mouth. Delicious.

  • koolMoD on March 09, 2018

    So easy and simple to make and so delicious. Tart and sweet cakes that are soft and moist. Will definitely make again.

• Louise cake with plum and coconut

  • Astrid5555 on September 12, 2017

    A little sweet, but sooo good. Three different layers (a coconut cake bottom, plums in the middle and a meringue with flaked almonds on top) that complement each other perfectly. I was a little hesitant to follow the instructions which tell you to bake the cake layer by itself until fully cooked and then top it with the plums and the meringue and continue baking for another 35 minutes. I was afraid that the cakey part would be dry, but it was perfect! I used Italian prune plums instead of dark red plums because these are what we have in abundance here at the moment, worked perfectly.

• Tessa's spice cake

  • Astrid5555 on December 28, 2017

    This cake is worth baking just for its Christmas-y smell while in the oven, heavenly! This is an outstanding cake, perfect with a cup of tea. Quick to throw together, but do check it before the 50 minute mark, mine was done and quite dark already after 45 minutes. Used apple cider vinegar with honey instead of malt vinegar. Will definitely be making this one again!

  • FJT on October 20, 2017

    Ignoring the facts that I should have checked and put some foil over the top of the tin to stop the cake over-browning (almost burning) on top and my loaf tin is obviously slightly smaller than the one specified in the book, this is a really, really nice cake and does indeed go very nicely with a cup of tea. I made it with home-made mixed spice (Nigella has a recipe on her website), a gluten-free flour mix and cider vinegar in place of malt vinegar. I have a suspicion that, just like gingerbread which is very similar, this cake will only get better after a day or two ... if it lasts that long!

• Belinda's flourless coconut and chocolate cake

  • Astrid5555 on November 19, 2017

    Amazing! So quick to make and so delicious. Made for a gluten-free friend, but all guests raved about it. Baked in a 23cm round springform pan instead of a loaf pan. Made the chocolate glaze as written but it never got to the golden syrup like consistency. Mine was more pudding like, nevertheless easy to work with and just enough to cover the top. While the cake itself was deliciously moist, coconutty and buttery, the glaze brought it to the next level. A definite keeper!

  • mightyvanilla on February 25, 2018

    Made the cake and it was incredibly greasy, to the point where pressing on the cake oozed liquid fat. It feels like the 200g of butter to 180g of almond flour was a typo. I didn't even both trying to make the chocolate glaze once I saw how the cake had turned out. This was a very disappointing recipe, even more so because it was from an Ottolenghi cookbook.

  • lou_weez on November 16, 2017

    A really delicious and easy cake to make. I didn't have time to make the chocolate so served it with a vino cotto and caramel sauce (Maggie Beer - jar). It would also be lovely with some coconut ice-cream.

  • sosayi on October 17, 2017

    Imagine a dense, buttery cake that tastes exactly like a dream version of a coconut macaroon and you've captured this cake. Incredibly easy to make and incredibly delicious. My only snag on this cake was with the chocolate glaze. Mine seized up horribly. Probably my fault, though, as I was running all over the kitchen that day. Easy to fix, though, with a splash of cream.

  • LadyCJKT on January 03, 2018

    The cake is absolutely sublime. It's so moist and delicious and I envisage making this many more times in the future. I halved the recipe to great success. I haven't yet made the ganache for it as it's not cool enough but the cake is delicious without it.

• Persian love cakes

  • eliza on March 25, 2018

    These were nice cakes with a very nutty flavour. I used the almond extract option and would reduce the amount next time. In the recipe, a silicon loaf pan is recommended. I don't have this so I used metal tins of the same size, and found lining with parchment was important to extract the cakes after baking. I'm not sure if I'd make these again...possibly.

• Tin cake pan part 1 (butternut, honey and almond)

  • eliza on December 02, 2017

    My first recipe from the book, this is definitely a dessert. It's very sweet and I would reduce the sugar slightly next time. The flavours are excellent and I liked the toasted almonds with the orange and raisins. I used 3 small loaf tins instead of cans; for this, the baking time needs to be reduced to about 35 minutes. I'm disappointed that the book (Canadian edition) calls for self raising flour which we don't have in Canada so I used 2.25 tsp baking powder in the flour, and this seemed about right. I froze one loaf and it reheated beautifully. Great with a cup of tea as an afternoon snack; will definitely make again.

• Tin can cake part 3 (banana, date and walnut)

  • eliza on March 11, 2018

    These cakes were very good. I liked the method of heating the dates with the sugar, butter and water since that softens the dates making them easier to cut in the finished loaf. I'm glad I made the date mixture ahead of time as it takes quite a while to cool. I cut back the sugar by about 10% and it was still plenty sweet. Again there is self raising flour in this recipe so I used all purpose plus 2.25 teaspoons of baking powder for the flour. Along with the extra baking powder as stated in the recipe, this seemed about right. Three mini loaves took 40 minutes at 350 convection in my oven. In the future I will make this again when I want a sweeter loaf and/or I have only 1 banana, and I will continue to make the Smitten Kitchen banana loaf for a less sweet/more bananas version.

  • lou_weez on September 15, 2017

    When I make banana cake, it's usually because I have a glut of overripe bananas. This cake however, only uses 1 banana , so I doubled the recipe (2 bananas...woohoo!!) and made two loaves. The cake itself is very nice, sweet and soft with a slightly chewy crust. I will definitely make this again, though I might try knocking back the sugar and adding a banana.

• Custard Yo-Yos with roasted rhubarb icing

  • readingtragic on October 13, 2017

    If you leave the icing in the fridge, it sets too hard to spread - I sandwiched the biscuits, put them in a jar and then stored them in the fridge - perfect, and no worries about the butter going off...

  • luluf on September 22, 2017

    The shortbread biscuit was perfect and the rhubarb icing was tangy and delicious. They were very simple to make and I will definitely be making them again

  • Illyria on October 23, 2017

    I used three stalks of rhubarb, probably cos I wasn’t sure about how much to trim them. The icing was beautifully tangy.

• Chocolate, banana and pecan cookies

  • lilham on October 22, 2017

    This is a gooey cookie and very delicious. I used a mini blender to chop the pecans because i don’t like the idea of very large pieces of pecans. I also skipped the second chill after rolling in pecan pieces, putting the baking sheet straight into the oven instead.

  • Zosia on October 23, 2017

    Oh, these are good! With subtle banana flavour, fudgy interior and nutty crunch, they're much much more than other chocolate crackle cookies. Note that a 3 hour chilling time is required though I reduced that by portioning the just-made dough on a cookie sheet (cookie scoop #70; yield of 34 cookies) and freezing it for 20 minutes before rolling in the pecans.

  • stef on April 29, 2018

    As described these are so good and fudgy I also made them smaller and got 30 cookies. Toasted the pecans and then grounded them in my mini cuisinart

• Hazelnut crumble cake with Nutella icing

  • lilham on January 06, 2018

    This is a variation of the Hazelnut crumble cake with Gianduja icing. I always have a jar of nutella at home, so I made this variation. I cooked this in a large bundt tin in a fan oven at 160C for 55 min. The cake was just cooked, but the outside was a slightly too crisp for my liking. Next time I'll use a lower oven temperature. The authors gave the instructions to thinly sliced hazelnuts using a mandoline for sprinkling on the ganache. Because I was feeling lazy, I used flaked almonds instead. I also reserved 1/3 of the ganache for serving and would recommend it. The cake looks great and was very delicious too. Will definitely make again.

• Chocolate banana ripple cheesecake

  • darcie_b on October 03, 2017

    The crust is divine and the remainder of the cheesecake is excellent. The white chocolate flavor is nearly indiscernable so don't worry about using it even if you aren't a fan of white chocolate.

  • anya_sf on December 07, 2017

    I made the crust 2 days ahead. All the steps are easy, but the whole thing still takes quite a while, as cheesecakes usually do. I melted the chocolates in the microwave, but otherwise followed the instructions exactly, and the cake turned out great. It tasted just like it sounds - chocolate, banana, and cheesecake. The banana flavor really comes through. The white chocolate isn't noticeable. It looks really impressive, but isn't at all difficult. Highly recommended if you love chocolate, banana, and cheesecake.

• Pistachio and rose water semolina cake

  • romy.backus on November 27, 2017

    Like baklava in cake form - dense and moist, but not too sweet. Would be the perfect end to a Middle Eastern themed meal.

  • Zosia on June 04, 2018

    Rose and lemon flavours came together beautifully in this rich cake. I served it the day after it was made and it was perfectly moist with the syrup evenly distributed throughout. The rose water cream was a delicious finishing touch.

• Chocolate chip and pecan cookies

  • mondraussie on February 18, 2018

    I didn't bother with the 1 hour in the fridge and they turned out just fine. I didn't have SR flour so I mixed baking powder with plain flour. Next time reduce the quantity of baking powder to make the finished product a little denser.

  • Tatiana131 on January 25, 2018

    The dough does not contain enough moisture as written, especially in our very dry climate. As written the dough was super crumbly and did not spead into cookies when baked. We added just enough milk to bind the dough together to get actual cookies. The balls that didn't spread tasted of uncooked flour in the middle. Very mediocre recipe.

  • stef on December 06, 2017

    I made the dough and refrigerated it overnight. Next day it was very crumbly even at room temperature. Maybe because I made my own self rising flour. Cookie is good with a shortbread type of texture.

  • Mtetpon on December 12, 2017

    I agree the dough was very crumbly. The cookies do not spread very much at all.

• Beetroot, ginger and soured cream cake

  • dinnermints on November 18, 2017

    Very good cake, and it does have a lovely color. I especially like that instead of butter the frosting uses heavy cream, which makes for a luscious mouthfeel. The frosting is quite soft and I thought it would sploop down the sides of the cake, but it stayed put. I'm curious about stem ginger after MelanieG's comment and would like to try that, as I agree that the ginger flavor could be stronger.

  • MelanieG on November 02, 2017

    Use stem ginger- the alternative candied ginger process is not great as not very gingery result. I grated ginger into the frosting instead of adding ginger juice and thought it was better probably as more gingery taste. Addition of vit C tablet really does make the beetroot stay brighter than in other cakes.

• Grappa fruit cake

  • dinnermints on December 17, 2017

    I made this in a brioche pan, and while it wasn't exactly burned, it did brown more than I would've liked. I couldn't have taken it out sooner, because the center wasn't done. I know my oven was at the correct temperature, and this hasn't been an issue for his other cakes so far. Am guessing I should try baking it longer at a lower temp next time? Also, for feeding 10 people, it was a lot smaller than I expected. I was a bit sheepish about bringing it out to our table full of people for dessert, being that it was small and on the darker side of brown, but then it turned out to be delicious (used Grand Marnier instead of grappa). I believe there is a mistake in the recipe for the icing, though. 1.5 tsp of liqueur made a very stiff clump that could in no way be drizzled, but 1.5 T of liqueur was perfect. And would taste fabulous on gingerbread.

• Pineapple and star anise chiffon cake

  • dinnermints on October 08, 2017

    First time I've made a chiffon cake, and was desperately afraid it would turn into a frisbee. Thanks to some online tutorials about how not to eff it up, it turned out really well (can't say if it's perfect....don't think I've ever even eaten chiffon cake before). I used an oven thermometer and determined I needed to turn it down to 390 for the desired temperature, and tried to not over-stiffen the egg whites. And I lightly greased the foil before putting over the cake after 25 min in the oven. I couldn't get the pineapple slices to form flowers - wish there was a video on this - but the pieces still looked nice on the cake (though difficult to slice into). Verdict: it was delicious even though the pineapple I bought was not the most flavorful, and an impressive-looking dessert to bring to the table. And everyone appreciated the lightness of the cake.

  • Zosia on November 12, 2017

    Chiffon is my favourite type of cake and this one turned out very well: the crumb was light and fluffy and the pineapple, orange, and star anise flavours went together beautifully. In place of self-raising flour, I used 215g cake & pastry flour and 10g baking powder, and needed 10 egg whites and 6.5 yolks to meet the required weights for those ingredients using Canadian large eggs. My oven doesn't bake cakes well at high temperatures so I baked this at 175C; there was no need for foil and the cake was done in the allotted time.

  • anya_sf on April 02, 2018

    The dried pineapple flowers were a bit difficult and confusing - at first I couldn't tell whether the pineapple was supposed to be unpeeled or peeled for those. I went with peeled. I had trouble slicing it thinly enough, then didn't leave the pieces in the oven long enough - they seemed dry and leathery, but apparently not dry enough, as they didn't retain their shape after unmolding. But I had enough OK pieces to decorate the cake. The cake itself was straightforward, although the flour weight didn't seem to match the measurement; I went with the weight. The cake took 50 minutes to bake, and I covered it with foil after 35 minutes. The pineapple taste wasn't that pronounced, and amazingly neither was the star anise (which smelled overwhelmingly strong in the jar), but blended with the orange zest to give the cake a lovely, bright flavor. We loved it.

• White chocolate cheesecake with cranberry compote

  • dinnermints on November 12, 2017

    Took this to a friend's crab feed, and once word got around, it disappeared very quickly. I don't think I had a post-cheesecake conversation that didn't involve how good it was (and it was gorgeous-looking). Not too sweet, and then the sweet-tart topping with it was the perfect foil. Next time I'd make it the morning before the evening I wanted to serve it, and possibly do some prep the day before that if need be. It took me around 90 minutes to get it in the oven, with a few distractions. It would be better to chop the nuts rather than put them in a food processor for consistency's sake. I didn't notice distinct chocolate chunks in it, so maybe I could have let the melted chocolate mixture cool longer.

  • Rradishes on January 19, 2018

    Made this on NYE and it’s the first recipe I tried out of this book. Was so excited considering all the great book reviews and the combination of white chocolate seems foolproof. Unfortunately I won’t be making this again. The cheesecake was too dense for my liking and the flavor of white chocolate was too rich for me.

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on December 26, 2017

    Made this for Christmas dinner, after dinner this was enough for 16. I didn’t purée and sieve the raspberries for the compote, I just added them at the end of cooking time. Also added extra water since the compote was very thick. The cheesecake was a very big success, everybody loved it.

• Gingerbread with brandy apples and crème fraîche

  • dinnermints on December 10, 2017

    Very, very good. Didn't try it with the brandy apples, but was lobbying for it (we were taking it somewhere for a Thanksgiving dessert, my fam thought dealing with the apples would be too fussy...next time!). I really don't see the point of steeping the crystallized ginger in water; it just leeches flavor out. The crystallized ginger doesn't need to be softened. I added it as is, and it was great - would even add a bit more (wish I'd done that with his beet cake too).

  • coryelizabeth on February 15, 2018

    I made this cake twice (in the same day). The first time was a disaster; the second time, it worked out pretty well. Here is what made the difference. You must use a spring form pan to bake this cake. The recipe says it will work in a Bundt pan, but it's not possible to line a Bundt pan with parchment and, without parchment, the cake will stick hopelessly and eventually fall into pieces. In addition to using a spring form pan, take the time to butter the pan well, before lining the bottom AND the sides with parchment. Additionally, 50 minutes at 400F led to a burned cake. The second time around, I covered the cake with tin foil at 30 minutes and pulled it out at 40. It was still a bit scorched on the top and bottom, though it still tasted good. Next time, I might try a slightly lower oven temperature to avoid burning.

  • coryelizabeth on February 17, 2018

    **UPDATE: I just ate a leftover slice of this gingerbread and can report that, a week later, it is still moist, tender, and even more delicious than it was originally. The brandied apples and creme fraiche make this into a "showstopper" dessert, but the cake on its own is lovely and complex. Worth the effort, with a few adjustments (see below).

• Not-quite-Bonnie's rugelach

  • Zosia on December 20, 2017

    This is an excellent recipe for one of my favourite pastries that produces a flaky dough with more flavour than most of its type. I'll definitely repeat this one but I'll use a little less flour next time (130g instead of 160) as my dough was a little on the dry side. I used apricot jam.

• Saffron, orange and honey madeleines

  • Zosia on November 20, 2017

    These weren't as airy and spongy as others I've made, but they were moist and tender, and my mini chopper did the work of making the batter. They were also very flavourful, with the saffron quite prominent, on the verge of being overpowering. I'd like to try these again without the saffron, which is actually listed as an optional ingredient, to let the orange, honey and pistachio flavours shine.

  • Jojobuch on March 04, 2018

    I liked the simplicity of the recipe (using your food processor) and dipping them in the pistachios makes them very pretty; however, I agree with the last reviewer that the saffron is a bit more prominent than I'd expect - next time, I'd boost the orange zest and omit the saffron.

• Coffee and cardamom pound cake

  • Zosia on January 06, 2018

    Delicious cake with a moist, fine crumb and excellent coffee flavour. The cardamom was too subtle to taste, though its fragrance wafted through the house as the cake baked, but I used pre-ground cardamom that perhaps wasn't as new as I thought it was. I baked the batter in two 21x11cm loaf pans but would have used smaller if I'd had them as there really wasn't enough batter for them. I replaced the self-raising flour with cake & pastry flour and 1-1/2tsp baking powder and used only half the glaze.

  • rchesser on February 27, 2018

    The cake was easy and non fussy to put together, and it came out moist and with a wonderful crumb. I put only a teaspoon of ground cardamom as opposed to the 1 1/2 tsps called for in the recipe because cardamom can be a bit overwhelming and floral to me. I'm glad I did not use as much cardamom as specified as just the 1 teaspoon caused the cake to get a few thumbs down, one of the testers said it tasted like a florist shop smells. The coffee flavor was subtle in the cake but absolutely delicious in the icing, overall not my cup of tea but I am looking forward to cooking through the rest of Sweet.

• Rhubarb and blueberry galette

  • Zosia on June 04, 2018

    Fabulous! I didn't expect this combination to be so good but the blueberries' natural sweetness was a great foil for the tart rhubarb. Making this recipe was a last minute decision to use up 300g rhubarb (I used the full amount) so I did make a few changes but nothing that would have affected the results dramatically: cake crumbs from a failed vanilla genoise to absorb the juices (omitted the amaretti, sugar and flour); frozen wild blueberries that I layered under the rhubarb; reduced the sugar by 25g. The crust was excellent too, crisp and flaky.

• Schiacciata with grapes and fennel seeds

  • Zosia on November 24, 2017

    Such an interesting sweet and savoury flatbread that was a big hit served before the meal at a recent dinner party. The crust had a crisp bottom as promised and the egg yolk added a little richness to it. I used red grapes so it was less dramatic looking than if I'd used black but it was delicious nevertheless.

  • stef on January 01, 2018

    This went so well with chardonnay. Next time I will crush all the grapes

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on October 01, 2017

    Delicious! Easy, not fast, but very much worth the effort.

• Gevulde speculaas

  • Kitchengeek on November 24, 2017

    These were fairly easy to make, and fantastic - not to sweet. // I did not have dried ginger so I subbed a bit of fresh ginger, adding to the wet ingredients rather than the dry, and that worked fine.

• Soft date and oat bars

  • Rutabaga on October 29, 2017

    This is the first recipe I've made from this book, and it's a winner. Everyone who tried them liked them, and my one-year-old was an especially big fan. I myself find them difficult to stop eating. The only issue I had was that they fell apart easily, which probably means I didn't grind the oats finely enough. That didn't affect the taste, fortunately.

  • Lepa on May 21, 2018

    I was disappointed with this recipe. My bars were dark brown and hard and too sweet. I wanted something soft and chewy and healthier. Mine didn't fall apart but I suspect it's because they were overcooked? I will keep searching for a date bar that I feel good about sending in my kids' lunchbox.

  • Illyria on October 23, 2017

    I chopped the dates a bit more finely & also used golden syrup instead of date syrup.

• Lemon and semolina syrup cakes

  • jluvs2bake on June 15, 2018

    Delicious! Light, lemony. Very simple but attractive appearance. Recipe as written except used a little more zest (because I had it) and then added another Tablespoon or so of sugar to the syrup because mine tasted a little too bitter. (I think it was just my lemons, not the recipe.)

• Kaffir lime leaf posset with fresh papaya

  • Joyceeong on March 02, 2018

    This is so yummy! Rich but good! The cream is heated and infused with kaffir lime leaves fresh from my garden pot. Instead of bruising the lime leaves, I merely snipped the leaves into pieces with a scissors. The only changes I've made is, to reduce the sugar to only 4 tablespoons. I tasted after the sugar has melted into the cream, and the sweetness was just right for us with 4 tablespoons (about 50gm, instead of the original 140gm). I made it in the morning, refrigerate until serving time as a cold dessert after dinner, and it was perfectly set. The papaya needs to be sliced to thin slices, so that they can bend easily, otherwise they will break, but then that is not really a problem, only look prettier when they are in one piece. The lime zest and juice which is sprinkled over the posset, helps to reduce some of the richness of the cream. Smells deliciously fragrant from the kaffir lime leaves and the lime. We really enjoyed this. I would definitely be making this again! Yum!

• Chocolate, rose and walnut ice cream

  • Poppyseedbagel on April 02, 2018

    This is truly delicious.

• Sticky fig pudding with salted caramel and coconut topping

  • lindayorke on November 20, 2017

    I substituted dates that I already had on hand for figs and it worked perfectly. Also, I made it in a 9" springform pan and cooked it 30-35 minutes before adding the coconut topping. Killer dessert!! Serve with a little ice cream and caramel sauce to take it up another notch...but not necessary.

• Ginger crème caramel

  • raybun on May 18, 2018

    Let me start by saying that the flavour is fantastic. I made the mistake of using my le creuset braiser for the water bath and it dried out, so don’t be lazy like me and get down the turkey pan! The flan curdled and was dimpled and motley looking, nothing like the glorious glossy smooth crème caramel in the book! I will definitely be attempting this recipe again asap.

• Victoria sponge with strawberries and white chocolate cream

  • lou_weez on April 26, 2018

    I made one 20cm cake and while the taste was deliciously familiar, I unfortunately, overcooked it slightly. Oh well, I'd better try making it again.

• Neapolitan pound cake (for the family)

  • lou_weez on November 16, 2017

    When I went to check on my cake, it was considerably higher on one side. So then I needed to cook it a little longer, which meant it was overcooked and dry...oh the injustice of it all!! The kids still ate it, and I will make it again, without ruining it!

• Passionfruit cheesecake with spiced pineapple

  • lou_weez on November 05, 2017

    As far as cheesecakes go, this is relatively easy to make. It got a big thumbs up from everyone, not too sweet and oh so delicious. The topping is amazing! As passionfruit is expensive at the moment ($2 each), I opted for tinned passionfruit pulp, it worked but we probably didn't quite get the full passionfruit hit. Can't wait to make this again.

• Frozen espresso parfait for a crowd

  • lou_weez on April 06, 2018

    This is a recipe that requires serious commitment. Whilst not difficult, it is very time consuming. Having said that it was definitely worth it. It tastes amazing, with a serious hit of coffee and has both smooth, crunchy, bitter(coffee) and sweet elements.

• Festive fruitcake

  • AlexH on September 15, 2017

    There's a wonderful article (with video interviews!) all about their Christmas Cake on Ottolenghi's site! They start macerating their fruits in giant buckets in September/October. http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/blog/yotam-discusses-ottolenghi-christmas-cake/

• Banana cakes with rum caramel

  • amandacooks on May 21, 2018

    This turned out beautifully in a single 6 cup bundt pan. Mine took about 40 minutes to bake in that size pan. Didn't make the glaze, but the cake is great without it. Moist, as you’d expect from a banana cake, with just a hint of rum. I’m sure it would be much “rummier” with the rum caramel on top.

• Flourless chocolate "teacakes"

  • bwhip on December 03, 2017

    My favorite recipe so far from this cookbook (most all of which have been really good). They absolutely melt in the mouth, with just the right amount of chocolate. Fantastic! I didn't bother with the almond praline, and I didn't have Amaretto so I used Kahlua instead.

• Hot chocolate and lime puddings

  • bwhip on September 22, 2017

    These were fantastic. We made them with orange, rather than lime, as the recipe had indicated might be a good option. Loved them and will definitely make them again.

• Pecan snowballs

  • sosayi on December 08, 2017

    Great iteration of this cookie. I used the Greek variation mentioned in the headnote (where you sub walnuts and ouzo) and loved it. I'd definitely do that again. My cookies were a mite on the small side (around 18 g, not the recommended 20g) and I think were slightly overcooked at 17 minutes. I'd try 15-16 instead (from the listed 16-18). Still melt-in-your mouth, but just with an initial bite. Two days later only 3 are left so I'd call it a win.

• Tin can cake part 2 (pineapple, pecan and currant)

  • anya_sf on December 09, 2017

    I baked this in a 9x5 loaf pan. It started browning too quickly, so I turned it down to 350 partway through, and it was done after 50 minutes. I adjusted the ingredients as follows: 1 20-oz can crushed pineapple; 1 stick butter; light brown sugar instead of demerara; a mixture of white whole wheat flour, baking powder, and salt instead of self-rising flour. The cake turned out well, and we enjoyed it for breakfast, as it wasn't too sweet.

• Apricot and Amaretto cheesecake

  • anya_sf on June 14, 2018

    Like most cheesecakes, this was easy to make. The only problem I had was that the roasted apricots got awfully dark on the bottoms. I was worried they'd taste burnt, but fortunately they tasted OK. The cheesecake was creamy and delicious, with a bright flavor. I thought there was a lot of amaretto, but it wasn't that strong in the baked cake. Note: I did not see the correction to reduce the oven temp to 325, so baked it at 350 and it turned out OK.

• Raspberry lollipops

  • Rutikazooty on January 25, 2018

    I made this with a friend who went to culinary school. We followed the directions and the lollipops looked beautiful and the taste was delicious. But the sugar must have cooked to the wrong stage; we used a good digital thermometer. They ended up being more like something that totally sticks to your teeth and which would be a real problem for anyone with dental appliances in their mouth (oh, there's my denture). If I did this again, I would research the temperature etc of making a lollipop.

• Cats' tongues

  • Livmichelle on January 23, 2018

    Yummy hard to get the right shape

• Apricot and almond cake with cinnamon topping

  • luluf on September 22, 2017

    The cake component was great but mine was a lot higher than the picture so the cake to apricot ratio was not quite right. I used tinned apricots because apricots aren't in season yet, but they weren't flavoursome enough so I will only make it with fresh apricots in future

• Cranberry, oat and white chocolate biscuits

  • Illyria on October 23, 2017

    Time consuming but well worth the effort. I forgot to chop the cranberries in half, so the edges of my biscuits were a bit rough, but that added to the appeal.

• Amaretti with honey and orange blossom

  • LadyCJKT on January 27, 2018

    I really enjoyed this recipe. It's quite straightforward and easy to follow. I used double the almond extract called for as my one is not a good quality one. I didn't think the orange blossom came through strong enough so may try a little more next time. I would also try rubbing the zest into the sugar next time to release the oils more from the zest. I loved these both warm and cold and will be making them again. They would be perfect to take along to dinner at a friends.

• Chocolate tart with hazelnut, rosemary and orange

  • Scubadiva on December 29, 2017

    The pastry recipe in the US version has way too little liquid. There must have been an error in conversion or a failure in testing.

• Food52

  I love baking and this has knocked all my previous baking favorites off the shelf. It’s beautifully presented, with Ottolenghi’s characteristic style, and I would cook each recipe I’ve tried again.

  Full review

• Food52

  Publisher announces updated version of the book. See how to get it.

  Full review

• Eat the Love

  None of the recipe are overly complicated or require difficult to find ingredients, but they are all a step up above the usual layer cake or pie you find in an average baking cookbook.

  Full review

• Food52

  Picked for Food52's December 2017 Cookbook Club. Follow link to join.

  Full review

• Simply Recipes

  ...feature fresh produce, as well as unusual and compelling combinations of sweet spices. The directions are very specific and easy to follow, too, which is important in a baking book.

  Full review

• Joy the Baker

  ...here to blow our minds with sophistication and simplicity and flavor with his new book Sweet. I mean… I’m still wrapping my head around Plenty, but the hits keep comin’.

  Full review

• Real Baking with Rose Levy Beranbaum

  Having cooked from Yotam's savory books, it is really exciting to be in possession of his first book devoted to sweets--after all, he started off as a pastry chef!

  Full review