Trophy Cupcakes and Parties!: Deliciously Fun Party Ideas and Recipes from Seattle's Prize-Winning Cupcake Bakery


Jennifer Shea - 2013
    It’s also the go-to place for anyone looking to throw a phenomenal celebration, and now their recipes and party secrets are yours in this essential guide for every occasion--from luxe soirées like a sparkling engagement celebration, or an exotic Moroccan-themed bash, to crafty kids' parties, such as a bike parade and picnic, or a forest fairy tea party. Inside are recipes for Trophy's most prized flavor--red velvet!--as well as their popular everyday flavors like salted caramel and triple chocolate, and unique ones such as piña colada, and a gluten-free orange almond rose. You’ll also get the basics on how to dream up party themes, create DIY crafts, as well as decorating and entertaining ideas, and insider baking and frosting tips, all from Trophy founder Jennifer Shea.

The Art & Soul of Baking


Cindy Mushet - 2008
    Beautiful photographs and more than 250 easy-to-follow recipes lead you into a world of alluring aromas and light, flaky pastries. Illustrated asides take you step by step through important techniques, from carmelizing sugar to working with croissant dough. Plus, you'll find invaluable information on over 100 ingredients and 50 baker's tools. A true pleasure for anyone who loves to bake.Each selection of the Gourmet Cookbook Club is handpicked and road-tested by the editors of Gourmet magazine, so readers can cook with confidence, knowing the recipes really do deliver. Online at Gourmet Book Club you can find videos of the authors demonstrating recipes, share your thoughts on the cookbooks in the forums, and learn more about each book's topic.BENEFITS: * The ultimate book for bakers.* Professional tips and tricks are made easy for the home baker.* Step-by-step techniques of baking.* 100 photographs, 250 foolproof recipes and variations, and information on over 100 popular baking ingredients and over 50 pieces of baking equipment.Praise for The Art and Soul of Baking..".when a baking book in which the recipes perform as flawlessly as they do in "The Art and Soul of Baking" comes out, we're particularly impressed." --"Gourmet" magazine, October 2008, Cookbook Club selection"If you buy just one new baking book this season, make it this one. ...covers everything from essential equipment...and pantry staples to chapters on savory breads, quick breads, tarts, pies, cookies and cakes.... The recipes are exceedingly detailed and include do-ahead tips, notes on equipment needed, advice on storing the finished treats and suggestions for variations." --Associated Press, September 2008"Mushet's invaluable lessons in ensuring oven accuracy, incorporating butter into dough for layered pastries...and the causes of falling souffles will get novices up to speed.... Those already comfortable with baking will get the most out of the book's 250 recipes, but there are plenty of dishes well within the reach of those new to creme brulee and lemon bar construction, making this a great volume to learn and grow with." --"Publishers Weekly," August 2008"Many elements combine to make a great cookbook, all of which are in "The Art and Soul of Baking." ...the book possesses the singular quality that lifts a cookbook above the rest, and that is the ability to inspire. "The Art and Soul of Baking" inspires." --inmamaskitchen.com

The Sweetapolita Bakebook: 75 Fanciful Cakes, Cookies & More to Make & Decorate


Rosie Alyea - 2015
     The world of Sweetapolita is sparkly and sprinkly and charming as can be, with 75 recipes for everything from pretty homemade cookies to decadent layer cakes. But what really sets these treats apart are interactive designs that let everyone in on the fun of decorating: Painted Mini Cakes are served with edible "paint" for guests to personalize at the table, the fondant-covered tiered Chalk-a-Lot cake is paired with homemade edible "chalk," and Rainbow Doodle cookies are made for kids to go to town on with edible markers.  Rosie Alyea, the creator of the Sweetapolita blog, frolics in flour and frosting, and she loves to get her two young daughters involved, too. The pages of her debut book are full of playful ideas that will inspire creativity in bakers of all levels—including a recipe for making sprinkles at home and numerous ways to showcase them, such as the Sprinkle-Me-Silly Pizza with rainbow jimmies and nonpareils galore.  With 75 full-color photographs of cookies, cakes, and more plus step-by-step technique tutorials, The Sweetapolita Bakebook will change the way bakers decorate, while entertaining every kid—and kid-at-heart.

The Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, and Sweet Accompaniments


David Lebovitz - 2007
    Fragrant vanilla, toasted nuts, and spices. Heavy cream and bright liqueurs. Chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate. Every luscious flavor imaginable is grist for the chill in The Perfect Scoop, pastry chef David Lebovitz’s gorgeous guide to the pleasures of homemade ice creams, sorbets, granitas, and more. With an emphasis on intense and sophisticated flavors and a bountiful helping of the author’s expert techniques, this collection of frozen treats ranges from classic (Chocolate Sorbet) to comforting (Tin Roof Ice Cream), contemporary (Mojito Granita) to cutting edge (Pear-Pecorino Ice Cream), and features an arsenal of sauces, toppings, mix-ins, and accompaniments (such as Lemon Caramel Sauce, Peanut Brittle, and Profiteroles) capable of turning simple ice cream into perfect scoops of pure delight.

The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook


Deb Perelman - 2012
    It’s as simple as that. She isn’t a chef or a restaurant owner—she’s never even waitressed. Cooking in her tiny Manhattan kitchen was, at least at first, for special occasions—and, too often, an unnecessarily daunting venture. Deb found herself overwhelmed by the number of recipes available to her. Have you ever searched for the perfect birthday cake on Google? You’ll get more than three million results. How do you choose? Where do you start? What if you pick a recipe that’s downright bad?So Deb founded her award-winning blog, smittenkitchen.com, on the premise that cooking should be a pleasure, and that the results of your labor can—and should be—delicious...every time. Deb is a firm believer that there are no bad cooks, just bad recipes. She has dedicated herself to finding the best of the best and adapting them for the everyday cook—the ones with little time to spare, little money to burn on unpronounceable ingredients, and little help in the kitchen. And now, with the same warmth, candor, and can-do spirit her blog is known for, Deb presents her first cookbook—more than 100 new recipes, plus a few favorites from her site, all gorgeously illustrated with hundreds of Deb’s beautiful color photographs.The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook is all about approachable, uncompromised home cooking: stepped-up comfort foods, stewy dishes for windy winter afternoons, an apple cake that will answer all questions: “What should my new signature dessert be?” “What is always welcome at a potluck?” “What did Deb consume almost single-handedly a week after having a baby?” These are the recipes you bookmark and use so often they become your own; recipes you slip to a friend who wants to impress her new in-laws; and recipes with simple ingredients that yield amazing results in a minimum amount of time. Deb tells you how to host a brunch and still sleep in—plus what to make for it!—and the essential items you need for your own kitchen. From salads and slaws that make perfect side dishes (or a full meal) to savory tarts and pizzas; from Mushroom Bourguignon to Pancetta, White Bean and Swiss Chard Pot Pies; from Buttered Popcorn Cookies to Chocolate Hazelnut Layer Cake, Deb knows just the thing for a Tuesday night, or your most special occasion.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays


Ree Drummond - 2013
    Filled with creative and flavorful ideas for intimate dinners, group gatherings, and family meals, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays includes dozens of mouthwatering dishes (with nineteen recipes for Thanksgiving alone!), helping home cooks create a variety of delights.Whip up a Resolution Smoothie on New Year’s Day; Whiskey BBQ Sliders and Dr Pepper Cupcakes for The Big Game; Glazed Ham for Easter; Watermelon Sangria for a sizzling Fourth of July cookout; and perfect Popcorn Balls on Halloween. For Christmas, Ree includes special homemade treats, including Caramel Apple Rolls, Christmas Rum Cake, and a selection of smile-inducing cookies, perfect for Christmas deliveries to family and friends.Enjoy holidays all year ’round...Pioneer Woman style!

Sugar Cube: 50 Deliciously Twisted Treats from the Sweetest Little Food Cart on the Planet


Kir Jensen - 2012
    Sugar Cube founder and baker Kir Jensen left the fine-dining pastry track to sell her handmade treats on the street. Recipes for 50 of Kir's most enticing cupcakes, cookies, tarts, muffins, sips, and candies are made more irresistible (if possible!) by 32 delicious color photographs. Sassy headnotes and illustrations that resemble vintage tattoos liven up this singular boutique baking book.

Baked Occasions: Desserts for Leisure Activities, Holidays, and Informal Celebrations


Matt Lewis - 2014
    Rum-infused Hair of the Dog Cake for New Year’s Day and Peanut Butter Sheet Cake for Texas Independence Day join Praline Ice Cream Cake for Mardi Gras, Chocolate Pop Tarts for Halloween, and 12 Days of Cookies for Christmastime. With 65 gorgeous photographs and 75 unique recipes, you’ll have everything you need to create a wide range of sweet treats for quirky festivities and traditional holidays all year round.

Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza


Ken Forkish - 2012
    For Portland-based baker Ken Forkish, well-made bread is more than just a pleasure—it is a passion that has led him to create some of the best and most critically lauded breads and pizzas in the country. In Flour Water Salt Yeast, Forkish translates his obsessively honed craft into scores of recipes for rustic boules and Neapolitan-style pizzas, all suited for the home baker. Forkish developed and tested all of the recipes in his home oven, and his impeccable formulas and clear instructions result in top-quality artisan breads and pizzas that stand up against those sold in the best bakeries anywhere. Whether you’re a total beginner or a serious baker, Flour Water Salt Yeast has a recipe that suits your skill level and time constraints: Start with a straight dough and have fresh bread ready by supper time, or explore pre-ferments with a bread that uses biga or poolish. If you’re ready to take your baking to the next level, follow Forkish’s step-by-step guide to making a levain starter with only flour and water, and be amazed by the delicious complexity of your naturally leavened bread. Pizza lovers can experiment with a variety of doughs and sauces to create the perfect pie using either a pizza stone or a cast-iron skillet. Flour Water Salt Yeast is more than just a collection of recipes for amazing bread and pizza—it offers a complete baking education, with a thorough yet accessible explanation of the tools and techniques that set artisan bread apart. Featuring a tutorial on baker’s percentages, advice for manipulating ingredients ratios to create custom doughs, tips for adapting bread baking schedules to fit your day-to-day life, and an entire chapter that demystifies the levain-making process, Flour Water Salt Yeast is an indispensable resource for bakers who want to make their daily bread exceptional bread.

Sugar Rush: Master Tips, Techniques, and Recipes for Sweet Baking


Johnny Iuzzini - 2014
    Iuzzini starts by sharing his expert tips on fundamentals such as making caramel and mixing butter cakes, with accompanying step-by-step photographs, before moving on to recipes for Salted Caramels and Sticky Caramel Date Cake. After mastering the simple method for making light-as-air meringues, anyone can make ethereal espresso marshmallows, mile-high souffles, and chewy French macaron sandwich cookies. Readers can finally expand their cake and ice cream horizons to embrace flavors as thrilling as those in Brown Sugar-Molasses Layer Cake and Bitter Orange Ice Cream.The 250 photographs include both instructive technique shots to reassure bakers at every turn as well as stunning photographs of the ready-to-eat treats. With Sugar Rush, baking at home has never been easier--or more inviting.

Tartine


Elisabeth Prueitt - 2006
    Acclaimed pastry chef Elisabeth Prueitt and master baker Chad Robertson share their secrets, fabulous recipes, and expertise to create a truly priceless collection of culinary delights."One peek into Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson's sensational cookbook whisks you into their popular Tartine Bakery and reveals everything you need to know to create their superb recipes in your own home." –Flo Braker, author of The Simple Art of Perfect Baking and Sweet MiniaturesIt's no wonder there are lines out the door of the acclaimed Tartine Bakery in San Francisco. Tartine has been written up in every magazine worth its sugar and spice. Here, the bakers' art is transformed into easy-to-follow recipes for the home kitchen. The only thing hard about this cookbook is deciding which recipe to try first.Features easy-to-follow recipes meant to be made in your home kitchen. There's a little something here for breakfast, lunch, tea, supper, hors d'oeuvres and, of course, a whole lot for dessert.Includes practical advice in the form of handy Kitchen Notes, that convey the authors' know-how.Gorgeous photographs are spread throughout to create a truly delicious and inspiring party cookbook.Makes a delectable gift for any dessert lover or aspiring pastry chef.Pastry chef Elisabeth Prueitt's work has appeared in numerous magazines, including Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, and Travel & Leisure, and she has appeared on the television program Martha Stewart Living. France Ruffenach is a San Francisco-based photographer whose work has appeared in magazines and cookbooks including Martha Stewart Living, Real Simple, and Bon Appétit magazines, and in Cupcakes, Everyday Celebrations, and Ros.

BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts


Stella Parks - 2017
    Whether down-home delights like Blueberry Muffins and Glossy Fudge Brownies or supermarket mainstays such as Vanilla Wafers and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream, your favorites are all here. These meticulously tested recipes bring an award-winning pastry chef’s expertise into your kitchen, along with advice on how to “mix it up” with over 200 customizable variations—in short, exactly what you’d expect from a cookbook penned by a senior editor at Serious Eats. Yet BraveTart is much more than a cookbook, as Stella Parks delves into the surprising stories of how our favorite desserts came to be, from chocolate chip cookies that predate the Tollhouse Inn to the prohibition-era origins of ice cream sodas and floats. With a foreword by The Food Lab’s J. Kenji López-Alt, vintage advertisements for these historical desserts, and breathtaking photography from Penny De Los Santos, BraveTart is sure to become an American classic.

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking


Jeff Hertzberg - 2007
    With more than half a million copies of their books in print, Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois have proven that people want to bake their own bread, so long as they can do it easily and quickly.Crusty baguettes, mouth-watering pizzas, hearty sandwich loaves, and even buttery pastries can easily become part of your own personal menu, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day will teach you everything you need to know, opening the eyes of any potential baker."

The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook


Ina Garten - 1999
    For many of those years, people have tried to get the exuberant owner, Ina Garten, to share the secrets of her store. Finally, the energy and style that make Barefoot Contessa such a special place are shown here, with dozens of recipes and more than 160 breathtaking photographs, in The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. Ina's most popular recipes use familiar ingredients, but they taste even better than you would expect. Her Pan-Fried Onion Dip is the real thing, with slowly car-amelized onions and fresh sour cream. Tomato soup is created from oven-roasted tomatoes and fresh basil to intensify the flavors. Meat loaf is as good as your grandmother's, but it's healthier because it's made with ground turkey and fresh herbs. The light and flaky Maple-Oatmeal Scones are baked with rolled oats, whole wheat, and real maple syrup. Now these and other famous Barefoot Contessa recipes can be prepared at home. Ina says that before she owned a specialty food store she often spent a week making dinner for six friends. Her experience at Barefoot Contessa has given her hundreds of ideas for creating wonderful parties in a few hours. And they're all in this book. Crab Cakes with Rémoulade Sauce can be stored overnight in the refrigerator and sautéed just before the guests arrive. Cheddar Corn Chowder can be made days ahead, reheated, and served with a salad and bread for a delicious autumn lunch. The ingredients for Grilled Salmon Salad can all be prepared ahead and tossed together before serving. The batter for the Raspberry Corn Muffins can be mixed a day before and popped into the oven just before breakfast. Ina Garten teaches us how to entertain with style, simplicity, and a relaxed sense of fun. There are notes throughout the book for giving cocktail parties, lunches, and dinner parties where everything is done before the guests arrive. And there are easy instructions for creating gorgeous party platters that don't even require you to cook! With Ina Garten and The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, you have the perfect recipe for hosting parties that are easy and fun for everyone--including the cook.

A World of Cake: 150 Recipes for Sweet Traditions from Cultures Near and Far; Honey cakes to flat cakes, fritters to chiffons, tartes to tortes, meringues to mooncakes, fruit cakes to spice cakes


Krystina Castella - 2010
    In this delectable cookbook, Krystina Castella offers more than 150 irresistible cake recipes from around the world, accompanied by mouthwatering photographs and insights into unique cultural traditions. Discover exciting new flavors and innovative twists on your favorite desserts as you explore the sweet delights of a variety of chiffons, fruitcakes, meringues, and more.