Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A collection of over 110 recipes for sweets, baked goods, and confections from superstar chef Yotam Ottolenghi, thoroughly tested and updated.

Yotam Ottolenghi is widely beloved in the food world for his beautiful, inspirational, and award-winning cookbooks, as well as his London delis and fine dining restaurant. And while he's known for his savory and vegetarian dishes, he actually started out his cooking career as a pastry chef. Sweet is entirely filled with delicious baked goods, desserts, and confections starring Ottolenghi's signature flavor profiles and ingredients including fig, rose petal, saffron, orange blossom, star anise, pistachio, almond, cardamom, and cinnamon. A baker's dream, Sweet features simple treats such as Chocolate, Banana, and Pecan cookies and Rosemary Olive Oil Orange Cake, alongside recipes for showstopping confections such as Cinnamon Pavlova with Praline Cream and Fresh Figs and Flourless Chocolate Layer Cake with Coffee, Walnut, and Rosewater.

* Finalist for the 2018 James Beard Foundation Book Awards for "Baking and Desserts" and "Photography" categories
* Finalist for the 2018 International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Cookbook Award for "Baking" category

Excerpt provided by Syndetics

Tahini and Halva Brownies  The combination of tahini, halva and chocolate is so good that some members of staff (Tara, we see you!) had to put a temporary personal ban on eating these particular brownies during the making of this book. It is very hard to eat just one.  In order to achieve the perfect balance of cakey and gooey--that sweet spot that all brownies should hit--the cooking time is crucial. It will vary by a minute or so depending on where the pan is sitting in the oven, so keep a close eye on them.  Makes 20  -- 1 cup plus 6 tbsp/310 g unsalted butter, cut into 3/4-inch/2-cm cubes, plus extra for greasing  11 oz/310 g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken into 1 1/2-inch/4-cm pieces  5 large eggs  1 3/4 cups/350 g granulated sugar  1 1/4 cups/150 g all-purpose flour  1/3 cup plus 2 tbsp/40 g Dutch-processed cocoa powder  3/4 tsp salt  8 3/4 oz/250 g halva, broken into 3/4-inch/2-cm pieces  1/3 cup/100 g tahini paste  -- Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C. Grease a 9 x 13-inch/23 x 33-cm pan, line with enough parchment paper to create a 3/4-inch/2-cm overhang and then set aside.  Place the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure that the base of the bowl is not touching the water. Leave for 7-8 minutes to melt, then remove the bowl from the heat. Stir until you have a thick shiny sauce and then set aside to come to room temperature.  Place the eggs and sugar in a large bowl and whisk until pale and creamy and a trail is left behind when you move the whisk; this will take about 3 minutes with an electric mixer on medium speed, longer by hand. Add the chocolate and fold through gently with a spatula--don't overwork the mixture here.  Sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt into a bowl, then gently fold into the chocolate mixture. Finally, add the pieces of halva, gently fold through the mix, then pour or scrape the mixture into the lined baking pan, using a small spatula to even it out. Dollop small spoonfuls of the tahini paste into the mix in about 12 different places, then use a skewer to swirl them through to create a marbled effect, taking the marbling right to the edges of the pan.  Bake for about 38 minutes, until the middle has a slight wobble and it is gooey inside--they may be ready anywhere between 36 and 40 minutes. They may seem a little undercooked at first, but they firm up once they start to cool down. If you want to serve them warmish (and gooey), set aside for just 30 minutes before cutting into 20 pieces. Otherwise, set aside for longer to cool to room temperature. Excerpted from Sweet by Yotam Ottolenghi, Helen Goh All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Nearly ten years since the UK release of Ottolenghi: The Cookbook, readers may be wondering whether Ottolenghi's cookbooks are still worth the hype. In the case of this elegantly understated baking guide, the answer is yes. Written with pastry chef and product developer Goh, the book brings together signature cookies, cakes, confections, tarts, and other desserts from Ottolenghi's eponymous restaurants. Recipes such as chocolate and peanut butter s'mores, apricot and amaretto cheesecake, chai brulee tarts, and yogurt panna cotta with basil and crushed strawberries look terrific on the page and produce consistently exquisite results. Some readers may balk at sourcing hard-to-find items such as passionfruit pulp, prickly pears, and speciality cake rings, but adventurous bakers will embrace the challenge. Plan to review the "baker's tips and notes" section, which contains important information about ingredients and techniques. VERDICT Expect demand for this much-anticipated title. © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

The latest from Ottolenghi (after Nopi), written with pastry chef and longtime collaborator Goh, displays the signature dishes that have earned the London restaurateur legions of fans and a monthly column in the New York Times: doughnuts filled with saffron custard and dusted with cardamom sugar; dark-chocolate brownies streaked with tahini and halva, which incorporate Middle Eastern ingredients used in new ways; and clever lemon layer cake with vertical stripes of blackcurrant puree and buttercream and a trio of cylindrical cakes baked in cans. In the preface, the authors brush off concerns about sugar and note that though gluten-free and nut-free recipes are marked for convenience, there was no purposeful attempt to include them. Many recipes include multiple parts, but thorough instructions and alternatives for the unusual pans sometimes called for make them accessible. The volume closes with thoughtful tips and notes on ingredients. A catch-all chapter includes such different delights as a barley pudding and a frozen parfait in the form of an oversize ice cream sandwich. Modern, creative, appealing, and, most importantly, fun-this is Ottolenghi at the top of his game. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

Superstar chef-proprietor of five London restaurants and the author of four previous cookbooks, including Plenty More (2014) and, most recently, NOPI (2015), Ottolenghi, with Helen Goh, his colleague of more than 10 years, shares his first desserts-only collection. Recipe and section introductions refer to the authors' Sunday recipe-testing sessions (oh, to be invited to one of those!); call out their many international influences; and share credit with collaborators. Although the authors stress that baking, to them, means perfecting recipes to be the best versions of themselves and that any allergy-friendly recipes came to be so by accident only, they also happily note several gluten-free and nut-free options. The temptations are too many to list, but fans can expect Ottolenghified riffs on classics, like millionaire's shortbread flavored with halvah and tahini, pastry with polenta mixed in for crunch, and Cleopatra Cake, made with grapes and an entire bottle of wine. Ingredients are listed in both weight and volume, instructions are detailed and clear, and showstopping photos give meticulous home chefs something to aim for.--Bostrom, Annie Copyright 2017 Booklist