Baking with Love: Over 200 Sweet and Savory Recipes

Bucking the trends of chatty, idiosyncratic writing and unusual dish stylings, this large, well-illustrated volume has a retro feel that's a little too staid to be chic. The sweet side of baking clearly dominates, with cakes, tarts, flans, cookies and pies aplenty. There are far more recipes that call for fruit, like Pear and Red Currant Filo or the simple but heavenly Blueberry Coffee Cake, than there are for anything with chocolate. Later chapters cover yeast and quick breads as well as savory snacks such as tartlets and crackers, and main dishes like Spinach Quiche and the elegant yet hearty Gruyère Gougère. While the lack of lengthy narration about the recipes' origin or the author's family is refreshing at first, the beginner-baker audience (which would benefit most from the book's "essential classics" approach) will wish for more detail in the instructions and descriptions of what to expect. And despite a section of baking tips, less experienced cooks may still be thwarted by certain nuances like measurement, which are in grams (with conversions in parentheses). Though not comprehensive, this book does make for a sturdy all-in-one roadmap to baking basics. Color photos throughout. (Oct.)