Wild Sweetness

January 4, 2021
Butter and Brioche blogger Ho offers 95 delicious dessert recipes inspired by the natural world in her innovative debut. The recipes call for ingredients uncommon to most pantries, and home cooks who stock up on the herbs, dried berries, flower petals, and fruit liqueurs that are infused into the desserts will find some striking variations on classic options. Herbes de Provence is the star of an almond tea loaf, ground sumac is used in a buckle, and ras el hanout features in a s’mores pie. Fans of white chocolate will appreciate its use in an ice cream that incorporates the piney notes of juniper and rosemary along with the tartness of fresh peaches and ginger. Beautifully photographed scenes of misty woods lend atmosphere to recipes that are roughly organized by season: a beetroot mudcake and winter citrus cake ring of chillier months, while sea salt violet cupcakes, and a fig and boysenberry frozen yogurt tart sing of summer. Fans of Ho’s blog will be happy to see its vibe translates well to print, with plenty of affirming aphorisms (“Come in with a good intention, and leave everything else behind”) sprinkled throughout. This tasteful guide to off-the-beaten-path confections enchants.

March 1, 2021
Trained as an artist, Ho found herself attracted to wildness in nature, and this turned her into a devoted consumer of such flavors. But, for her, wildness doesn't mean foraging. Thanks to preserving and drying techniques, herbs and flowers can appear in Ho's cooking all year. Most of her cooking ingredients may be readily found on grocers' shelves. Sweets and desserts are Ho's passion. She makes much of mint, both as leaves and as oil, combining it with chocolate, in particular. Violets and roses bloom in cupcakes, tarts, cookies, and a mousse. Liqueurs infused with herbs and berries flavor ice cream. Black currants and raspberries make clafoutis and tarts. Unusual, even rare fruits such as tayberries (a hybrid of red raspberries and blackberries) flavor frozen desserts. Ho's version of dacquoise combines bitter walnuts with ripe plums. Any fan of Black Forest cake will find Ho's deeply chocolate and dried-cherry cookies to be more than simply attractive. Photographs of nature intersperse those of finished dishes.

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March 5, 2021

Ho, creator and writer of the food blog Butter and Brioche, has written a beautifully photographed and designed cookbook based on seasonal ingredients. She includes a section on what to do before readers begin--determining the best types of chocolate to use for baking, storing a variety of baking ingredients, measuring different types of flour, and more. The highlight of the book is the chapter on smoke, a reference to the darker skies and sometimes-smoky air of winter, featuring recipes such as s'mores pie, scorched cheesecake, and burnt sugar ice cream. Recipes range in difficulty; some are relatively straightforward, while others require extra time in the kitchen. As on her blog, Ho's rich photographs will help guide home bakers through each step. She offers a short explanation of each recipe's personal significance, as well as tips on ingredient sourcing and substitutions. VERDICT Ho's poetic writing will spark the interest of bakers looking to incorporate more fruits and herbs into their treats.--Holly Skir, Broward Cty. Lib., FL

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