Notes about Recipes in this book

• Strawberry & rose jam

  • EmilyR on April 26, 2019

    I reduced the sugar by 200g and it still worked. I was very diligent about scooping the foam off and using high heat. The result was really excellent. This made a decent quantity of jam, but wasn't overwhelming. The rose is very subtle and the strawberry most definitely comes through. I always say I'm done making jam, because canning it is such a process, but I'd do it again for this one! ... and I did it again a week later and I will be doing it again in the coming days with organic strawberries in season. I'm going to be gifting jam to everyone I know, but I am really in love with this one.

• Orange, thyme & cardamom marmalade

  • e_ballad on November 26, 2016

    You can tell a good cookbook by judging how quickly you make a recipe from it. I read this recipe & was instantly transported to the kitchen. I will make the disclaimer that I only had a few stray blood oranges that were at the end of their season, but this marmalade is exquisite & I can't envisage that a difference in orange variety would detract from that.

• Whole lemon &/or orange marmalade

  • MarciK on February 08, 2020

    Well this was an adventure. The recipe said 8 lemons or oranges for 5-6 jars. I wanted 20 jars, so I bought 32 oranges, actually around 36 because there was approximately 12 per bag. It didn’t say a weight in the ingredient list, and I didn’t think to decipher the recipe. After you boil the whole oranges and pull them apart, 8 oranges is supposed to make 1 kg. That would mean I needed 4 kg. I ended up with more than 10.5 kg of oranges. We made 34 full jars of jam and 1 partial that I refrigerated with the 5 kg and froze the rest of the 5.5 kg mixed with the sugar. In the end once I finish processing the 5.5 kg, my 20 jar project will be somewhere around 70 jars, all because I counted oranges per the ingredient list instead of reading deeper into the recipe and using reasoning (and conversion to pounds). If you make this recipe, weight out your fruit to approx 1 kg or 2.2 lbs.

• Sweet spice mix

  • TrishaCP on March 15, 2020

    Recipes this blend is used in: Fruit & nut loaf p. 122; Fig, orange & walnut loaf p. 127; Butternut squash, currant, & pecan loaf p. 142; Spice cakes with marzipan cream filling & raspberries p. 190; and Kadaif baklava with almonds & sour cherries p. 266.

• Fitzrovia buns

  • anya_sf on June 12, 2018

    I only baked 4 buns and the pan was a bit too large, so they spread out a bit, but tasted fantastic. I couldn't find mahleb, so I used cinnamon. I assembled them in advance, froze them, then thawed and proofed overnight on my countertop before baking in the morning.

  • EmilyR on April 21, 2019

    I made these using mahleb specifically because I wanted to bake something with it. The flavor is pretty incredible and these buns come together surprisingly quickly - if you're not including the waiting time. I froze mine immediately after making them, defrosted overnight a couple days later, and then proofed for about 40 minutes in my proofing drawer. The rise wasn't what I anticipated, though I know it wasn't the yeast, because I use it weekly and store it in the freezer. The flavor is excellent and since I cut the cherries very finely they almost turned into something like a jam. The filling was plenty and they were a slight challenge to roll so I ended up sprinkling the excess over the top. Overall I'm pleased with how these turned out and will definitely make them again.

• Pistachio, rose & strawberry buns

  • MmeFleiss on August 16, 2016

    This tastes amazing and is worth the price of the book alone!

  • RosieB on December 10, 2016

    I made these based on the last review and I can confirm they are delicious. Just like something from an upmarket bakery. They are a bit fiddly but definitely worth the effort.

  • anya_sf on June 06, 2018

    I shaped the buns a few days ahead and froze them, then thawed them on my kitchen counter overnight (my kitchen is fairly cool) and baked them in the morning. Watch the baking time - mine were done after only 16 minutes in the oven. They turned out great - positively scrumptious! This recipe made me decide to buy the book.

  • mamacrumbcake on February 10, 2020

    Overall, these are very nice buns and not difficult to make. The dough is a slightly sweet, sturdy dough—not like a rich brioche. I froze these buns after shaping and let them thaw/rise on the counter overnight (for six hours) and then baked them first thing in the morning. It made the whole process quite manageable; I really appreciated that the authors gave instructions for freezing. The recipe doesn’t say how much pistachio paste to put into each bun. I used a #40 scoop (about 2 tablespoons) to portion it out and it was just right—there was a small amount left over and not too much overflow out of the buns. I was concerned that the rose flavor might be too overpowering (a tablespoon seemed like much too much) so I added it a drop at a time and stopped at a quarter teaspoon. The syrup had a nice, subtle rose flavor, but it did not come through when brushed on the buns, so next time I will add more.

  • chawkins on April 29, 2020

    Great tasting buns. I'll roll the dough out a tad larger next time, once cut , they shrank a little, I tried to stretch it back a little, but still did not get good coverage for the filling, they oozed out during baking. Also half the amount of syrup was plenty for the eight buns.

• Baked doughnuts filled with lime & lemon curd

  • anya_sf on June 04, 2018

    I didn't make the curd, but filled the doughnuts with blackberry jam instead. I did add lime zest to the sugar, which tasted delicious. The dough is similar to brioche, although not as light. It took longer than 7 minutes to come together in the mixer, but eventually got there (I had to add a bit of extra flour). The buns needed extra time to rise in the morning, and actually didn't fully double, but we got tired of waiting. They did rise more in the oven. I only used about half the amount of butter to brush the baked buns. The sugar did not want to stick to the buns - it's like the butter made them nonstick. I rolled them in the sugar a few times and finally just sprinkled a bunch on top. I wonder if they'd stick better if rolled in the sugar right away, rather than waiting. These "doughnuts" tasted fantastic.

  • Zosia on October 09, 2020

    This review is for the lemon-lime curd only as I used a less rich dough for the doughnuts. The curd is fabulous! Its sweet and tart flavours are balanced and it has a wonderfully silky texture.

• Semolina pudding with strawberry & cardamom compote

  • anya_sf on June 03, 2018

    A nice, quick, comforting breakfast. I just used lowfat milk - did not need the extra richness from cream. Watch the milk closely, as it can easily boil over (mine did even though I moved it off the heat). The strawberry compote was good, but a bit sweet; I'd reduce the sugar next time.

• Maakouda

  • anya_sf on June 08, 2018

    This made a nice, light supper, served with a green salad. The ras el hanout added an interesting flavor. I think you could play around with this recipe a lot (more herbs, other spices, maybe some sauteed bell peppers, etc.).

• Shakshuka

  • hlange on January 20, 2024

    This was phenomenal. Flavors were on point. I only had hot smoked paprika on hand instead of sweet, so I used that instead and left out the cayenne. It was the perfect amount of heat for me. Mise en place were very important in this recipe since everything comes together quickly.

• Lahma base dough

  • anya_sf on June 15, 2018

    The dough was easy to make with a stand mixer. I made it in the morning, let it rise in the refrigerator for several hours, then at room temperature for a couple, and baked the lahmas in the evening. As the authors state, the trickiest part is getting the unbaked lahma onto the preheated baking sheet. I prepared the lahmas on a sheet of parchment, then used a flat baking sheet to lift the entire parchment sheet onto the preheated baking sheet (which I had removed from the oven). That method worked well. Six lahmas just barely fit on one baking sheet. In my oven, the topped lahmas took 12 minutes to bake at 500 degrees F, possibly because they were a bit crowded. They are sort of like mini pizzas, but the baked dough is softer and less chewy than pizza crust.

• Spinach lahma with egg

  • anya_sf on June 15, 2018

    See my notes under lahma dough. This was my favorite topping. For convenience, I put the egg yolks on with the spinach so they ended up hard. Next time I might try adding them later. I think feta cheese would be great with the spinach

• Roasted pepper lahma with feta

  • anya_sf on June 15, 2018

    I used jarred roasted red peppers for convenience, so the topping was super quick to prepare. My harissa was quite spicy, so I used less. The topping was tasty. Also see my preparation notes under lahma dough.

• Lamb lahma with pine nuts & cherry tomatoes

  • anya_sf on June 15, 2018

    I made my own baharat spice mix using Ottolenghi's recipe and it was good here. Maybe I undersalted the lamb, as I thought it could have used more oomph, but this was my son's favorite topping. I was out of pine nuts, so omitted them. I did not need to thin the tahini. Also see my preparation notes under lahma dough.

  • Zosia on October 04, 2018

    We really enjoyed these. The dough was easy to make, though I found it tricky to shape, and it went well with the savoury topping. I used ground beef and Bon Appetit's baharat spice mix.

• Potato & oregano burekas

  • anya_sf on February 07, 2020

    I made 1/2 recipe using store-bought puff pastry and dried oregano. Prepped them a few days ahead and froze them. Note that the preface says to thaw before baking, but the instructions omit that step (the eggplant recipe mentions it). The burekas were mostly thawed before baking and needed a couple of extra minutes in the oven. They were rich and delicious.

• Burnt eggplant burekas

  • anya_sf on February 07, 2020

    I made 1/2 recipe using store-bought puff pastry. Prepped a few days ahead and froze, then mostly thawed before baking; they needed a few extra minutes in the oven. My squares were not perfect, plus I wanted to use all the filling, so the triangles were hard to seal. The edges opened during baking, but fortunately the filling did not leak. The rectangular shape (potato variety) is more forgiving. The burekas were very tasty; the burnt eggplant flavor really came through.

• Merguez sausage rolls

  • RosieB on November 23, 2016

    These are delicious and pretty easy to make if your dough has been made in advance.

• Spiced cauliflower muffins

  • anya_sf on June 03, 2018

    I tried to make the muffins healthier by using white whole wheat flour and only half the butter, and they turned out fine. They probably won't keep as well as they would with the full amount of butter, but we ate them right away. The flavor was interesting - mildly sweet, but with savory spices.

• Feta & zucchini muffins

  • anya_sf on June 10, 2018

    I used white whole wheat flour and olive oil, and made the muffins slightly smaller so I got a couple extra. While the zucchini adds nice color to the muffins, the flavor was mainly from the feta, olives, and spices. A very nice snack or savory breakfast option.

• Oat, hazelnut & currant biscuits

  • RosieB on November 23, 2016

    Absolutely delicious. Great on their own or with cheese. A great gift.

• Coconut slice

  • stockholm28 on January 05, 2020

    This was great (and very rich). If you love chocolate and coconut, this basically tastes like the best almond joy that you have ever eaten (with the addition of sour cherries and pistachios). This recipe is also included in Food 52 Genius Desserts. It is gluten free.

  • metacritic on February 06, 2022

    Terrific and incredibly easy. A macaroon in the old style, fashioned as a bar. I baked it as a 9-inch round as I didn't have a rectangular pan approaching the right size. It worked extremely well.

• Oat slices with apricots & orange blossom

  • Lepa on May 18, 2017

    Very disappointing. This turned out to be a tacky, overly sweet mess. My bars look nothing like the ones pictured. I used rolled oats, like the recipe requires, but the pictures look like the oats were finer than mine. In any case, the texture was all wrong. Gloopy and oily. The taste wasn't so good. My four year old said it was "too sweet" and refused to eat it. I think a tiny bit of salt would have balanced the flavors more but I don't think I'll try this recipe again. In fact, I suspect that I'll have to throw most of the bars out, as nobody in my house wants to eat them.

  • cookbookaddict2020 on June 17, 2019

    This was extremely disappointing, and expensive too with all the dried fruit. I was so excited about these flavors (and I even spotted the lack of salt and added some) but the recipe doesn't work. For one thing, now that I see the illustration they provide, they clearly have used quick-cooking oats, NOT rolled oats which is what the recipe specifically calls for. Those are not interchangeable products! For another, this is just way too oily. I'm not sure what I can do with this. I guess I'll break it up (shouldn't be hard as it doesn't hold together at all, except for the burned bits around the edges) and re-bake it and see if it makes a passable granola.

• Fruit & nut loaf

  • TrishaCP on January 16, 2021

    This is a good bake if you want to use up bits of dried fruits and nuts (which I did, since too much accumulated over the holidays). It also seems pretty flexible regarding the add-ins- just make sure you include the sour cherries and hazelnuts since they were delicious here. I skipped the ginger since I didn’t have any on hand, and used a baking spice rather than making the spice mix. I’m sure this is even better with the mahleb and ginger.

• Fig, orange & walnut loaf

  • Lepa on June 06, 2017

    This is delicious with butter and marmalade. I was a bit concerned that it would be too sweet when I was making it but the end result was perfect. The spices are really lovely and the texture is perfect.

  • TrishaCP on March 15, 2020

    This is a wonderful tea loaf. I’ve eaten it plain as well as with passion fruit jam and in both cases it was wonderful.

  • chawkins on May 09, 2020

    A delicious loaf even without the sweet spice mix. I made the spice the day before and had it on the counter in a lidded container with all the other ingredients and somehow overlooked it until after the loaf had came out of the oven and cooled. Even without the spice baked in, it was not overly sweet, I did eat it with a pinch of spice sprinkled on top. I might even make a compound butter with the spice and enjoy it that way.

• Poppy seed roses

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on May 01, 2017

    Used half of a batch of dough, used the other dough for the chocolate bread which was delicious. Expectations were therefore high for these roses. I used whole poppy seeds instead of ground because I didn't have a mortar and pestle. Probably that's why the filling was to wet. I didn't add the egg that was in the recipe. Probably I didn't follow the recipe enough, will try again!

  • anya_sf on February 02, 2021

    I believe I followed the directions precisely, except substituting raisins for currants, but these were disappointing. The dough was very stiff and difficult to roll - looked more like pie crust to the point where I wondered if I'd forgotten the yeast. Poppy seed filling seemed runny so I refrigerated it before using, but it was still runny. There was so much filling that much of it oozed out upon rolling. I scooped it up and spooned it into the rolls. I wasn't sure the rolls would rise, but they did, so I baked them. Skipped the egg wash and the tops didn't brown much. Half the syrup seemed like enough. The baked rolls had decent flavor, but they were soooo heavy and we scraped off much of the poppy seed "filling" (which ended up virtually enveloping the rolls). If I were to make these again (doubtful), I'd use the bun dough and half the filling (but with a whole egg).

• Chocolate, hazelnut & cinnamon krantz loaf

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on April 27, 2017

    Does not require too much work, and was delicious. Since it was chilly, I let the dough prove much longer than was recommended. Came out wonderful and airy.

  • hlange on June 01, 2024

    Several issues with this - it came out too browned by the end of the stated baking time, and that's with using an oven thermometer. The sugar also didn't dissolve in the butter the way the recipe said it should. It definitely needed to be returned to the heat. Overall this was way too sweet for us and the syrup also collected on the bottom which made it soggy there.

• Spiced carrot & walnut cake

  • Lepa on May 13, 2017

    This is just okay. It was a bit too moist/oily for my taste and there is a ton of sugar in this. I think I wanted something more cake-like in texture. My kids, of course, ate it without complaint.

  • anya_sf on June 29, 2018

    I "healthified" the recipe, as I wanted a breakfast loaf and not dessert. My changes: all whole wheat flour, only 200 g sugar, 60 g walnuts, half oil/half applesauce. The loaf turned out great - plenty sweet and not too oily. I would make it again the same way.

• Zucchini, golden raisin & pistachio cake

  • anya_sf on June 04, 2018

    I reduced the sugar just a bit to 200 g total, and found it plenty sweet. The zucchini measurement seemed off to me - my 2 zucchini, which were not that large, weighed about 250 g. I used all of the zucchini, but perhaps shouldn't have, as I did end up with a slight gummy layer at the bottom. The cake was super moist, to the point of being a bit too oily for my taste. I found the olive oil aroma and flavor to be a bit strong, but my family didn't seem to mind. Overall, we liked this cake, but I'm not sure I'd make it again. But I'd definitely use some of the same unusual flavors, like the star anise and pistachio.

  • Nancy402 on September 23, 2018

    Lovely combination of flavours, and light texture. I used about 250 grams zucchini and had no problems. Well worth the time spent shelling the pistachios.

  • TrishaCP on August 03, 2019

    The flavors of the cake are amazing (those spices with pistachios) and the texture is very nice. I agree that you can cut back on the amount of sugar-it was borderline too sweet for me. No problems with the amount of zucchini for me, but the longer the cake sat the oilier it seemed to get. What was perfect on day one was a definite oily mouthfeel by day four. I would definitely consider reducing the oil if making it in advance or if you don’t plan to eat it quickly.

• Pear, ginger & olive oil cake

  • sosayi on November 02, 2017

    Very easy and quick cake to make. And lovely fall flavors: loads of pears and ginger. My only issue was getting the center cooked before the outside browned too much. Perhaps next time I'd bake in a ceramic loaf pan (not a metal one as indicated) and do the 350 oven temp, not the 325 with convection. I also had to add on a good 15 minutes to the suggested cook time.

  • we10mom on March 20, 2021

    I love this easy, quick to put together cake. Baking time was about 15 minutes longer than the instructions and I was thinking I’d need to cover with foil, but the results look very much like the photo in the book—rustic and golden brown. That seems to rarely happen for me. And the taste is wonderful, lovely pears and lots of ginger, including hits of peppery crystallized ginger.

• Balkan cheese bread

  • anya_sf on June 03, 2018

    This was fairly easy to make, although I never could get the filling down into the dough. The dough rose around the edges, but did not cover the filling in the center. I put the topping on anyway, and it turned out great. It's sort of like pizza bread without tomato sauce, but the crust is softer, not chewy. Delicious!

• Large pastel

  • anya_sf on July 15, 2020

    For the potato dough, I had 1.2 kg potatoes and used the full amount of other ingredients, which worked fine. For the filling, I just had 450 g ground beef so I reduced the spices accordingly (with full amounts of onion and water). There was plenty of beef relative to potato. Overall, the pastel turned out well, but I thought the "sweet" spices (cinnamon, allspice) were a little strong, but that also could be my ras el hanut (I used an Epicurious recipe). My family liked it pretty well and I might make it again with spice adjustments.

  • metacritic on February 06, 2022

    This was very good and should have been easy. I didn't cook my potatoes long enough and I didn't heed the type of potatoes to use. As a result, it was hard to rice them and made a simple project rather complicated. For the beef, I wanted it to pack more of a punch so I went rogue, adding garam masala, cayenne pepper, and powdered ginger. The result was superb. I would happily make this again and my family would happily eat it all over again.

• Bleeding hearts (vanilla, rose & strawberry cakes)

  • verorenee on September 23, 2018

    I subbed in plum jam for both inside the cake and the icing. 1/2 tsp of jam seemed awfully small for the icing, I ended up adding around 2 tsp of jam plus a few tsp of water to thin it out (I also left out the rosewater).

• Peach, vanilla & fennel seed mini loaves

  • anya_sf on July 21, 2018

    I made one large loaf, so I baked it at a lower temperature (350 at first, then turned the oven down a bit after 50 minutes); it took about 80 minutes to bake. The loaf was definitely baked through, but was still super moist when sliced, to the point of being wet. Perhaps the amount of peaches should be reduced for a larger loaf. Still, the taste was very nice - the peach flavor really shone, enhanced by the citrus zest. Surprisingly, the fennel wasn't that noticeable; I'd actually use more next time. I would like to make this again, but perhaps with white whole wheat flour, in hopes of making it drier.

• Lemon drizzle cake with elderflower & mascarpone icing

  • anya_sf on October 14, 2018

    I made 1/2 recipe in a 6" cake pan. The batter rises quite a bit during baking (although it later sinks) and nearly overflowed, but thankfully didn't. It took a long time to bake and got quite brown on top, but did not burn. The cake is very wet and dense. Being so heavy, it was tricky to remove from the pan; I had to loosen it around the sides several times, which made it rather unattractive. I piped the frosting because I feared that spreading would tear the cake, which was very crumbly around the edges. The frosting was delicious. The cake was good too, but very sweet, and the lemon and elderflower flavors didn't really stand out. I substituted orange marmalade for lemon, but couldn't taste any orange.

• Clementine cake (inspired by Claudia Roden)

  • anya_sf on February 10, 2025

    I needed 2 1/2 clementines for 200-220 g, so boiled 3 of them and ate the extra half (which wasn't that good). The cake was very thin and so super moist that when I turned it out of the cake pan, I couldn't turn it right-side up again without breakage. That didn't matter much as the bottom honestly looked slightly better than the top. It was really delicious! If serving to guests, I'd definitely top it with whipped cream.

• Lemon, blueberry & cream cheese squares

  • anya_sf on July 12, 2018

    These were simple to prepare and turned out fine using white whole wheat flour and orange marmalade. They were moist, tender, and delicious, with a bright citrusy flavor. I used 50% more blueberries and the cake did not get too soggy. I'll definitely make this again.

• Coconut & chocolate cake

  • RosieB on December 12, 2016

    This cake is absolutely fantastic. I had all the ingredients on hand. Made for desert to take to friends. What a hit. I bought organic coconut flakes to garnish.

  • hlange on June 02, 2024

    Wow this cake is incredibly delicious, but the recipe doesn't mention that for the frosting, you'll need to let the melted chocolate cool a little before adding it to the sabayon.

• Coffee, cardamom & walnut cake

  • MarciK on October 18, 2018

    I had a little trouble understanding how to make the espresso, gave up and went to Starbucks in the middle of cooking. The cake was delicious. It didn't have so strong of a coffee flavour that those who are not coffee drinkers wouldn't like.

• Poppy seed cake with lemon icing

  • anya_sf on August 06, 2025

    Very good cake for poppy seed lovers. I was able to grind (a larger batch of) seeds in my Vitamix. I baked 1/2 recipe in a 6 cup Bundt; baking time was the same.

• Blueberry, hazelnut & ricotta cake

  • anya_sf on August 09, 2018

    A delicious, moist cake that's a cross between a cheesecake and a nut cake. 50 g hazelnuts were plenty for the top, and actually I would use less next time, and chop them smaller. I would try this recipe with other fruit and nut combinations as well. We enjoyed the cake chilled.

• Chocolate, coffee & cardamom cake

  • anya_sf on June 02, 2018

    I made 1/2 recipe in a 6" round pan. I probably overbaked it, as it did not puff in the center at all, so I left the oven on an extra 5 minutes. Nevertheless, it was still quite moist the next day, although perhaps crumblier than it would have been otherwise. The coffee and cardamom are mere background notes for the strong, dense chocolate. This is a super rich, flourless cake - definitely best with whipped cream to balance the strong chocolate.

• Baked apricots with marzipan filling & almond crumble

  • anya_sf on July 12, 2018

    The recipe was easy to scale down for 2 people, and all the components were quick and easy to prepare. The apricots needed to roast a couple of extra minutes; next time I'd let them roast even longer, until they are softer and start to lose their shape, so that they're easier to eat. The marzipan filling was good, but kind of got lost - you could make this without the filling (slice the apricots in half, top with butter and sugar, and roast). The almond crumble was amazing - loved the sesame and spices. In fact, I'd use a bit more fennel and cardamom (I didn't have mahleb) next time. The brandy cream was a nice complement; I didn't sweeten it, but might next time, since apricots tend to be quite acidic. This would be a good dinner party dessert, as you can bake it earlier, then assemble it at the last minute.

• Marzipan

  • hlange on June 02, 2024

    Instead of blanching my own almonds I just used almond flour and brought the dough together by hand adding some additional water as needed, a few tablespoons. Worked perfectly and maybe the easiest recipe ever. Good flavor.

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