Notes about Recipes in this book

• Amaretti

  • mtnbaker5280 on August 03, 2025

    I landed on this recipe because I had 2 egg whites in the freezer I needed to use. I only had almond flour so I added it to the pistachios halfway through grinding them. The cookies were fantastic! The rest of the batch went to my office where they disappeared quickly.

• Juniper and white chocolate ice ceam

  • anothersarah on February 23, 2023

    Unusual pairing - every person who taste tested it couldn't pin down the flavor but noted its unique taste. It was good because it's ice cream and I appreciate the creativity but there are so many other ice cream recipes out there, I don't think I'd make this one again.

• Lemon curd streusel cake

  • Astrid5555 on February 23, 2023

    Hurry up and make tis cake as long as citrus season lasts. This cake is amazing and the best Thalia Ho recipe I have made so far. The crumb ist light and fluffy, and the lemon curd adds just the right tartness and lemon flavor.

  • jenburkholder on January 18, 2025

    Agreed that this is a great cake. Fluffy and citrusy, not too heavy feeling. Used Meyer lemons instead of regular.

• Fennel pollen pistachio cake

  • anothersarah on January 19, 2026

    Really nice and easy cake to make. Moist with the anise flavor from the fennel pollen coming through. I took this to a party and everyone liked it. Also, I baked it in a 9" pan (recipe calls for 8") at 350 and it came out slightly overdone at 33 minutes (30 would have been perfect).

• Lemon thyme bars

  • kimdube17 on March 29, 2026

    Both the crust and the filling had to be baked for quite a bit longer than suggested.

• Cantucci

  • Astrid5555 on February 04, 2023

    Substituted hazelnuts and pistachios for the almonds, the addition of the white chocolate was good, but not necessary for me. All in all a nice cookie to have with my matcha latte.

• Basil sugar pound cakes

  • Babycarrot on June 29, 2024

    The bake time was way off on this recipe but perhaps that was because I made one large pound cake instead of the smaller ones. That being said the pound cake is lovely, really nice crumb and I enjoyed the lemon zest. Very easy to whip up. Same goes for the basil sugar. Mine didn’t look like anything in the book despite blending this only for a small amount of time. That being said, it was tasty and easy.

  • DKennedy on March 27, 2025

    https://food52.com/blog/26515-why-thalia-hos-basil-sugar-pound-cake-is-genius Really helpful video

  • DKennedy on March 29, 2025

    Per Food52 video, if making a regular size loaf instead of 3 small ones, decrease temp to 325 and increase time to 60 minutes.

• Herbes de Provence loaf

  • Astrid5555 on February 20, 2023

    Lovely little loaf, quick and easy to make, a keeper!

  • eclairea on April 18, 2026

    What a perfect cake for afternoon tea! It smells incredible coming out of the oven, and the herbs are perfectly balanced with the sweetness. What sorcery is this! Would absolutely make this again.

• Petal granola

  • jdjd99 on February 19, 2024

    I love this. I used orange blossom water instead (and slightly less than the indicated amount for fear of too much floral flavor). Mine didn’t cluster, but I was at the end of a honey jar and it was probably less than 1/2 cup, but it turned out plenty sweet. Perfect atop some vanilla Greek yogurt.

  • jenburkholder on February 25, 2024

    Very nice granola. Rose water flavor is subtle but adds a nice undertone. I omitted the petals, as I didn’t have any around, and used pecans for my nut.

• Lavender scones

  • anothersarah on February 23, 2023

    I may have over baked but these were only ok

• Rhubarb and pink peppercorn tart

  • Astrid5555 on May 05, 2022

    Not a traditional tart, more a crumble cake with roasted rhubard. The addition if pink peppercorns elevates this tart to something really special, delicious!

  • takstephe on June 08, 2023

    Worth making again, had a really beautiful flavor. Loved the combo of rhubarb, rose water and pink peppercorns. Took much longer than 20 minutes to get golden brown

  • anothersarah on July 18, 2023

    This is one of the best desserts I've made. The flavors are amazing and the texture of the polenta really compliments it. I needed 40 minutes (not 20) to cook and was still a little wet in the center but that may be the nature of the rhubarb.

  • EmilyR on March 19, 2024

    I don’t quite understand how this is supposed to make a 9” tart when the recipe calls for a 14x5” rectangular tart pan, however I am guessing it’s rather versatile and glad plenty of other reviewers have made this with success. My tart also took about 40 minutes to bake. It is sweet but not cloyingly so and the pink peppercorns really do make this a bit special.

  • eclairea on June 15, 2025

    GREAT! Could do with 1/4 or 1/2 tsp more pink peppercorn if making for more adventurous palates. Baked another 10 mins than what recipe called for, as the top took a while to brown.

• Sea salt violet cupcakes

  • d.giginyc on April 19, 2026

    If you do not enjoy chocolate, I mean REALLY enjoy it, stay away from this. Very intense and rich chocolate dessert. Not the biggest fan of ABC so I’d make a SMBC to pair with it next time. Also, DO use dark chocolate for the ABC. I had to use majority semi-sweet after running out of dark chocolate. It was waaaay too sweet for me. Cupcake itself feels/tastes so decadent. Really nice for a breakfast or lunch treat with a good cup of coffee or tea and/or an evening dessert.

• White rose cake

  • d.giginyc on April 13, 2026

    Made this again! Two layers and I used the SMBC as a filling as well. Everyone loved it.

• Rose walnut chocolate chip cookies

  • meginyeg on May 22, 2022

    The dark chocolate I thought I had mysteriously disappeared so I ended up using white chocolate. These still turned out great. Texture and taste were perfect. Will make again.

  • anothersarah on February 23, 2023

    Had high hopes for these but didn't love them. Think I need to re-try.

  • Astrid5555 on April 17, 2023

    An elevated chocolate chip cookie with a subtle undertone of rosewater and walnuts!

  • megann_b5gxnm on February 22, 2026

    Made the base chocolate chip cookie recipe, without the walnuts or rosewater. Excellent, not too sweet. Easy to make on a whim since the butter is melted. Don't forget the salt on top!

  • Rachel_ on June 01, 2026

    Substituted semisweet chocolate chips since that’s what I had around. Rose flavor was not as strong as I would have guessed from the recipe. May try a little extra next time.

  • megann_b5gxnm on June 01, 2026

    Made it per instructions. Rose flavor was imperceptible, not sure if the rose water I got isn't strong enough. Could smell it when they were warm.

• Chamomile shortbread

  • claire_txa051 on December 25, 2025

    Will look super duper crumbley but does come together into a cohesive shortbread, really subtle flavors great for a brunch or tea. Sugar on top comes out so sparkley ?? would’ve been better to use parchment for serving if I’d had it

• Rose macaroon cake

  • Astrid5555 on February 20, 2023

    I was sure that I had some rose water but just could not find it. So I made an almost rose water macaroon cake with vanilla, and it was delicous.

• Cocoa brownies

  • Astrid5555 on February 04, 2023

    Always judge a book by its brownies and this one delivers. The recipe is very similar to Alice Medrich‘s cocoa brownies and they are equally delicious.

  • dosojosazules on April 16, 2023

    Completely perfect

  • Happykikkers on October 21, 2024

    5* Delicious! Super fudgy.

• Strawberry sumac buckle

  • megann_b5gxnm on May 02, 2026

    Lovely cake, subtle flavor, not too sweet. Surprisingly thick batter. Almost overflowed in my cake pan. Next time going to try in a 9x13 pan to make it less tall and spread out the large volume of topping.

• Plum and hazelnut financiers

  • Astrid5555 on August 29, 2021

    These were quite good bot not earth-shattering. Reduced the sugar by 20%, still sweet enough. Would have liked more plums so maybe add diced plums into batter instead of only topping the cakes with a few plum slices. Do NOT try to take them out of the mold while still warm, once they are cooled they are so much easier to unmold.

• Black forest cookies

  • jenburkholder on December 15, 2023

    Nice, rich, chocolatey cookie. Everyone enjoyed, but didn’t stand out in the gift boxes.

• Fig clove fregolotta

  • Kinhawaii on February 04, 2026

    This was okay. If I was a bigger fig newton fan I would probably like this more. I ate it the next day & couldn’t taste the orange zest.

• Drunken fig brownies

  • megann_b5gxnm on March 02, 2026

    A more involved recipe with an absolutely decadent result. I used unsweetened tart cherries instead of figs and it is delicious. Chocolate lovers dream, the best brownies!

• Tart cherry semifreddo

  • anothersarah on February 23, 2023

    So, so good. The flavors and texture make this desert feel very gourmet.

• Oat biscuits with apricot, rosemary, and white chocolate

  • dmco6863 on April 01, 2023

    Erred on the side of caution and only used half a tablespoon of rosemary. I probably could have used the full amount. Crispy, buttery and addictive. These turned out just as I hoped they would.

  • ShayLRoss on April 18, 2026

    Did a mix of white and dark chocolate, and swapped the dried apricots for dried figs. The shape retained pretty well, it's an interesting mix with the rosemary, orange, chocolate, and figs!

• Sugared sesame banana bread

  • Astrid5555 on April 17, 2023

    I am a sucker for anything sesame so naturally I had to give this one a try, and it did not disappoint. Using toasted sesame oil in baking is a game changer!

  • anothersarah on February 13, 2024

    Good but did not get a lot of sesame flavor once baked. Tasted like pretty standard banana bread imo.

  • jenburkholder on March 17, 2025

    Eh. Texture was nice, but in contrast to anothersarah I thought it was too sesame-forward. I tend to like my banana breads to focus on banana, and this one didn’t.

  • Rachel_ on January 31, 2026

    Really liked the extra depth the sesame brings. Needed extra time in the oven.

  • ShayLRoss on April 18, 2026

    Loved adding the tahini and sesame oil for an additional flavor, I'm always down to explore another banana bread variation. The bread pan required was unfortunately too small for my batter and I should have sent one size up as the batter rose above and over the rim. I also did have to bake it for longer than called to address the middle section still being raw at the one hour mark. Despite that, the results are good and I would try it again in a bigger pan size.

• Buckwheat chocolate chunk cookies

  • d.giginyc on February 04, 2026

    First of all, do NOT make this without dark chocolate. You will be doing yourself a disservice. This was my first time using buckwheat but it turned out good. I thought it would give me some weird aftertaste or something but it didn’t. I made the cookie using semi-sweet chocolate chips because that’s what I had on hand. However, I could tell it would go so much better with dark chocolate because there is a bit of an earthiness to the cookie. Not necessarily nutty IMO but still earthy. It’s a solid cookie and I’d actually recommend it for those who aren’t into super sweet chocolate chip cookies. I’ll be making this again when I can get some dark chocolate.

• Bay leaf blondies

  • Rachel_ on December 31, 2025

    Think I messed up the brown butter and it was too hot going into everything else

  • LE1162 on January 20, 2026

    The blondie problem: a gooey, greasy mess in the center that won't bake no matter how long you leave it in. The flavor in this is excellent enough that I'm going to try again using Stella Parks's method: whip the batter in a stand mixer thoroughly after the eggs are added, until it is truly aerated and the color and texture have changed. Food52 has an article with a visual aid, we'll see how it goes. UPDATE: still a complete failure. Something is wrong with the ratios in this recipe. I'm going to keep working on it.

• Parsnip cake with tahini frosting

  • Astrid5555 on February 04, 2023

    Who would have thought that parsnips in a cake taste that delicious, and that frosting is to die for. This makes a moist, dense and beautifully spiced cake with enough tanginess from the cream cheese frosting (I cut the sugar by 1/3) to cut through the sweetness of the cake.

  • kelly_ff7q50 on April 23, 2026

    Crazy good.

• Espresso marble cake

  • Astrid5555 on April 17, 2023

    Excellent marble cake, the chocolate crumble elevates this cake to something special!

  • bwhip on July 29, 2025

    I love this cake. Great flavors, nice texture, and the streusel topping makes it special. I didn’t have cocoa nibs for the topping, so finely chopped some bittersweet chocolate instead.

• S’mores pie

  • Rachel_ on December 21, 2025

    I didn’t mix in all the spices into the meringue and probably should have . Because it was VERY sweet.

• Bitter nib shortbread

  • Astrid5555 on March 26, 2022

    Delicious, loved the subtle coffee flavor and the crunch from the roasted coffee beans.

• Molasses gingersnap cookies

  • jenburkholder on December 15, 2023

    Nice version of a molasses crinkle. Not sure why they’re called gingersnaps in the recipe, since they have absolutely no snap to them, but I prefer that anyways. Spice mix is a bit different than a basic molasses cookie, in a good way.

  • Rachel_ on January 26, 2026

    Did not slow down mixer so molasses went everywhere. Poured some extra in to replace it based on vibes but still tasty overall.

• Teurgoule

  • anothersarah on February 23, 2023

    French baked rice pudding - heaven! The skin did not caramelize as much as I would have liked (and it's a bit scary looking) but still tasted divine.

• Winter citrus cake

  • Lepa on March 14, 2022

    This is a dreamy cake. It's substantial with the almond flour, not too sweet, very buttery and has a lovely citrus flavor. I used candied citron and the overall flavor was really delicious.

  • Astrid5555 on February 04, 2023

    A not too sweet very citrusy and delicious cake.

  • adelina on May 06, 2025

    Here is my Instagram post on this delicious cake! https://www.instagram.com/p/DH4vho8xy0C/?img_index=1

  • megann_b5gxnm on March 08, 2026

    Great moist texture with a nice crisp crust. Gentle sweetness. The batter was surprisingly thick.

• Raspberry blondies

  • anothersarah on February 23, 2023

    Made 2x and each time they required twice as much bake time than recipe indicated. These also seem to taste better after taking a day to set.