A book review by Sascha Darlington? Yep, I had to remind myself that I’m a book blogger! 😉
Dorie Greenspan
October 19, 2021
Mariner Books
Blurb: Say “Dorie Greenspan” and think baking. The renowned author of thirteen cookbooks and winner of five James Beard and two IACP awards offers a collection that celebrates the sweet, the savory, and the simple. Every recipe is signature Dorie: easy—beginners can ace every technique in this book—and accessible, made with everyday ingredients. Are there surprises? Of course! You’ll find ingenious twists like Berry Biscuits. Footlong cheese sticks made with cream puff dough. Apple pie with browned butter spiced like warm mulled cider. A s’mores ice cream cake with velvety chocolate sauce, salty peanuts, and toasted marshmallows. It’s a book of simple yet sophisticated baking. The chapters are classic: Breakfast Stuff • Cakes • Cookies • Pies, Tarts, Cobblers and Crisps • Two Perfect Little Pastries • Salty Side Up. The recipes are unexpected. And there are “Sweethearts” throughout, mini collections of Dorie’s all-time favorites. Don’t miss the meringue Little Marvels or the Double-Decker Caramel Cake. Like all of Dorie’s recipes, they lend themselves to being remade, refashioned, and riffed on.
Purchase Links:
Amazon | Shop your local indie bookstore
I grew up in a home where holidays, birthdays, special occasions were all marked by the aroma of fragrant home cooking and baking. Definitely baking. Cookies, quick breads, cakes, pies, you name it; just the memory has me salivating. As I was reading through Dorie Greenspan’s Baking with Dorie I was taken back to that time and had this most incredible urge to start baking. I still do.
Baking with Dorie is the perfect baking book for nearly every stage of expertise and includes a variety of recipes for everyday breads to fruit pies, chocolaty desserts, and savory offerings perfect for dinner. There are recipes for desserts that you’ve heard of (pumpkin pie, cream puffs, apple pie albeit a mulled butter one) as well as for ones you might not have heard of (Szarlotka, a Polish dessert that seems like a combination of apple pie and cake and looks like complete yummy goodness; most definitely on my list to bake).
On the savory side, there were lots of recipes that I want to try like blue cheese bites, goat cheese-black pepper quick bread, potato-parm tart—I should probably stop listing now before I list the entire collection of savory recipes.
Most of the recipes include ideas for enhancement, which I love. Unlike my everyday cooking, I’ve always been intimidated about fooling around with baking. I remember the days when new bakers had cakes that did not rise. So it’s kind of fun to have these suggestions to alter the recipes.
My one gripe is probably because I am in that 1% of people who is not a chocolate fanatic. Call me old fashioned, but I like my chocolate eclairs with just a drizzle of chocolate over the top–not made with chocolate puff pastry, chocolate cream, and chocolate drizzle. That sounds more like punishment to me than an exquisite dessert. Most of the sweet recipes incorporate chocolate in some form (at least to this non-chocoholic most seemed to), which kind of made my interest fall a bit. But, like I said, unless you’re in that 1% with me, you probably won’t mind but will probably even welcome those recipes.
The photography is brilliant, drool-worthy, thanks to photographer Mark Weinberg.
I have been seriously cutting back on the number of books coming into my house (I need somewhere to sleep and walk and cook), but this one is probably finding a home very soon so that I can fill the house with sweet scents to welcome the Christmas season. This would be a great gift for the baking enthusiast in your life or a wannabe baking enthusiast.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
