Rating: 
Summary: Beyond cake mix and toll house...
Review: I received this book for Christmas, but didn't actually pick it up until recently. It's really marvelous. I am an amateur baker and found the tools and ingredient sections to be extremely helpful in finding my way around the baking kitchen. I really feel like this book has opened up a new world for me in the kitchen. This book really isn't for someone who bakes a birthday cake once a year, but it certainly shouldn't be limited to professional minded cooks either. It is for anyone who has an interest in baking beyond cake mix and toll house. The recipes are sophisticated but not difficult. Some of the recipes are time consuming, but it was worth it to take the time and do things the old fashion way. Plus the raspberry pie was TO DIE FOR!
Rating:
Summary: This is my Desert Island dessert book
Review: If I could only own one cookbook on baking and pastries, this would be it. As a former pastry chef, I'm excited and amazed by all the information in this cookbook, as well as by the delicious and well-written recipes. Not only is it a great cook book, it's a great idea book as well. In the middle of the book she's included a wonderful section on matching flavors together (apples marry well with calvados, caramel, pecans, etc.) that's ideal for those who want to add their own ideas to the recipes. There's so much great knowledge to soak up in these pages that I find myself carrying the book between the kitchen and my night-stand table for late-night reading. In an age where the big trend in publishing seems to be "bibles" on a myriad of subjects, this is the one I'll recommend to anyone who asks me for a definitive cookbook on desserts.
Rating:
Summary: Explains the secrets of good baking
Review: In The Sweet Kitchen isn't just another home cook's dessert collection, but a thick 704-page reference which explains the secrets of good baking, from the components which go into the dishes to techniques of producing perfect results. While there are plenty of recipes, it's the guide to ingredients and techniques which sets In The Sweet Kitchen apart from competitors.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent baking resource
Review: Regan Daley's book has two parts: a resource guide for dessert bakers and a section of recipes. I've read the first part and it looks like a useful summary of hardware, ingredients, substitutions, etc. I haven't used it as a reference yet, so my review is heavily biased toward the second section. This I find very impressive. There are many cookbooks out there that provide recipes for simple, homey desserts and many that cover elaborate presentation dishes. Daley's recipes fit very nicely in between these two extremes. The recipes tend to take classic concepts -- spice cake, fruit tart, etc. -- and apply them to original desserts that are excellent marriages of flavors that are not forced or ackward. The recipes are well tested; I have not had a failure with one yet. I highly recommend this book for enthusiastic home bakers.
Rating:
Summary: Baker's Alert: Get this book!
Review: Remember way back when "The Cake Bible" came out? We hobby bakers (and not just a few professionals) read it cover to cover: information city! Rose rocked us with more baking how-to and why than we'd have thought possible. Oh,yeah, recipes, too, even the scary ones in the back. With "In the Sweet Kitchen," Daley broadens and updates Rose's work, going beyond cakes with a full spectrum of baking information. Written in a fun, accessible style, she gives you the facts on myriad tools, techniques, ingredients, and more. If she doesn't discuss it, you probably don't need it. If you are an IMPULSE BAKER (the sudden urge to bake, with whatever's on hand), you must have this book! I'd pay full price for two extensive tables of essential information: ingredient substitutions, and flavor pairings. No molasses in the house? No problem: use dark corn syrup. If you love to bake, you get my drift. An essential addition to our baking library! You'll be reading it in bed.
Rating:
Summary: Baker's Alert: Get this book!
Review: Remember way back when "The Cake Bible" came out? We hobby bakers (and not just a few professionals) read it cover to cover: information city! Rose rocked us with more baking how-to and why than we'd have thought possible. Oh,yeah, recipes, too, even the scary ones in the back. With "In the Sweet Kitchen," Daley broadens and updates Rose's work, going beyond cakes with a full spectrum of baking information. Written in a fun, accessible style, she gives you the facts on myriad tools, techniques, ingredients, and more. If she doesn't discuss it, you probably don't need it. If you are an IMPULSE BAKER (the sudden urge to bake, with whatever's on hand), you must have this book! I'd pay full price for two extensive tables of essential information: ingredient substitutions, and flavor pairings. No molasses in the house? No problem: use dark corn syrup. If you love to bake, you get my drift. An essential addition to our baking library! You'll be reading it in bed.
Rating:
Summary: Oh, how sweet the kitchen!
Review: The book is a marvel for explaining what to expect from baking experimentation! What types of flours will substitute for all-purpose, and in what proportion? If I want to create a peanut butter version of a recipe, how do I go about replacing the existing oil/fats with peanut butter? These are some of the questions this book has facilitated the answers to in my kitchen. This would be a great gift for anyone remotely interesting in baking or creating sweets. 5 stars because of excellent design/layout/photos; writing is concise and edited well, recipes are catchy, vibrant, yet tasty; explanations are thorough; and the extended bibliography of the book is a wonder! It is really interesting to come to the amazon.com website and read the reviews of these books from the bibliography and see what impact they had on Daley's writing of "In the Sweet Kitchen." Some things I have found missing from the book: (Not detrimental to the book, therefore, 5-stars)
divinity recipe
substitute for cream cheese
Rating:
Summary: Oh, how sweet the kitchen!
Review: The book is a marvel for explaining what to expect from baking experimentation! What types of flours will substitute for all-purpose, and in what proportion? If I want to create a peanut butter version of a recipe, how do I go about replacing the existing oil/fats with peanut butter? These are some of the questions this book has facilitated the answers to in my kitchen. This would be a great gift for anyone remotely interesting in baking or creating sweets. 5 stars because of excellent design/layout/photos; writing is concise and edited well, recipes are catchy, vibrant, yet tasty; explanations are thorough; and the extended bibliography of the book is a wonder! It is really interesting to come to the amazon.com website and read the reviews of these books from the bibliography and see what impact they had on Daley's writing of "In the Sweet Kitchen." Some things I have found missing from the book: (Not detrimental to the book, therefore, 5-stars)
divinity recipe
substitute for cream cheese
Rating:
Summary: This book is indispensible....
Review: These recipes are good enough to use as a foundation for a catering business, they are truly that good and that well tested. Every recipe is foolproof. And every recipe is truly delicious. Owning lots of cookbooks and with a ready made house full of 4 kids critics, this book has become indispensible. Thank you Regan Daley for putting forth the effort necessary to making this book stand out in its very crowded field.
Rating:
Summary: Best baking book on Amazon
Review: This book explains every baking ingredient, types of sugars, fats, starches, eggs, flour, etc. Difference between flour variations, why sugar is important and what roles each ingredient performs along with their history. All other baking books give you a couple basic techniques then a ton of recipes, but this one goes a step beyond, with 368 pages packed with useful information before the recipes even start. Very smooth reading too - hard to put it down. Should be a mandatory purchase if you bake at home. You'll go from a standard baker to a spectacular one, armed with knowledge of why and how ingredients work rather than just blindly following recipes.
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