Sweet

Desserts from London's Ottolenghi [A Baking Book]

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
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.
"Enter a magical world where homemade desserts and baking traditions meet the Ottolenghi style of generosity, celebration and exotic flavours." --Bonnie Stern, The National Post

Praise for previous books:

 • "This is simply wonderful cooking...modern, smart, and thoughtful. I love it." --Nigel Slater
 • "With his 2012 cookbook Jerusalem, London restaurateur Yotam Ottolenghi [has] created a sensation by sharing his unexpected and highly personal take on Mediterranean cooking." --Food & Wine
 • "Jerusalem is the top-selling cookbook in the country, subverting the conventional wisdom that you need to have a TV show to have a bestselling cookbook. The book...has become something of a phenomenon." --Publisher's Weekly
 • "Plenty...is among the most generous and luxurious nonmeat cookbooks ever produced, one that instantly reminds us that you don't need meat to produce over-the-top food." --Mark Bittman, New York Times
 • "Yotam Ottolenghi's second cookbook has recipes for dishes largely absent from the American kitchen--a fact that almost never crosses your mind when you flip through it hungry. Everything sounds mouthwatering and looks--and is--doable." --Wall Street Journal

Praise for Sweet:
 • “With Jerusalem and all the books that followed, Yotam Ottolenghi changed everything about what we cook and crave. Now, with Sweet, he and Helen Goh shake up dessert. In signature style, the recipes are generous, warm, inviting, and copiously sparked with inspiration. Yes, bake those brownies with tahini and halva. Add star anise to blackberry cakes. Revel in the exciting new flavours Sweet brings us. It’s what I’ll be doing.” --Dorie Greenspan, James Beard Award-winning author
 • “After winning us over with his savory offerings, Yotam Ottolenghi, with Helen Goh, comes to the sweet side with an international array of gorgeous cookies, cakes, candies, custards… I want to make everything in this luscious book!” --David Lebovitz, author of My Paris Kitchen and L’Appart
 • “Yotam Ottolenghi’s additions to classic recipes make so much sense, you’ll wonder why you’ve never stirred tahini into brownies or orange flower water into amaretti – or why you’ve never even made your own amaretti! This is my kind of baking book; you’ll want to make everything.” --Elisabeth Prueitt, co-founder of Tartine Manufactory and author of Tartine All Day
© Pal Hansen

Yotam Ottolenghi is a seven-time New York Times best-selling cookbook author who contributes to the New York Times Food section and has a weekly column in The Guardian. His Ottolenghi Simple was selected as a best book of the year by NPR and the New York TimesJerusalem, written with Sami Tamimi, was awarded Cookbook of the Year by the International Association of Culinary Professionals and named Best International Cookbook by the James Beard Foundation. He lives in London, where he co-owns an eponymous group of restaurants and the fine-dining destinations Nopi and Rovi.

View titles by Yotam Ottolenghi
Helen Goh was born in Malaysia and migrated with her family to Australia at the age of ten. Co-author of Sweet, she has worked closely with Yotam for over ten years, drawing widely on Asian, Western, and Middle Eastern influences in her cooking. Helen’s recipes appear in the Sydney Morning Herald, Guardian and Observer. View titles by Helen Goh

About

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

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.

Reviews

"Enter a magical world where homemade desserts and baking traditions meet the Ottolenghi style of generosity, celebration and exotic flavours." --Bonnie Stern, The National Post

Praise for previous books:

 • "This is simply wonderful cooking...modern, smart, and thoughtful. I love it." --Nigel Slater
 • "With his 2012 cookbook Jerusalem, London restaurateur Yotam Ottolenghi [has] created a sensation by sharing his unexpected and highly personal take on Mediterranean cooking." --Food & Wine
 • "Jerusalem is the top-selling cookbook in the country, subverting the conventional wisdom that you need to have a TV show to have a bestselling cookbook. The book...has become something of a phenomenon." --Publisher's Weekly
 • "Plenty...is among the most generous and luxurious nonmeat cookbooks ever produced, one that instantly reminds us that you don't need meat to produce over-the-top food." --Mark Bittman, New York Times
 • "Yotam Ottolenghi's second cookbook has recipes for dishes largely absent from the American kitchen--a fact that almost never crosses your mind when you flip through it hungry. Everything sounds mouthwatering and looks--and is--doable." --Wall Street Journal

Praise for Sweet:
 • “With Jerusalem and all the books that followed, Yotam Ottolenghi changed everything about what we cook and crave. Now, with Sweet, he and Helen Goh shake up dessert. In signature style, the recipes are generous, warm, inviting, and copiously sparked with inspiration. Yes, bake those brownies with tahini and halva. Add star anise to blackberry cakes. Revel in the exciting new flavours Sweet brings us. It’s what I’ll be doing.” --Dorie Greenspan, James Beard Award-winning author
 • “After winning us over with his savory offerings, Yotam Ottolenghi, with Helen Goh, comes to the sweet side with an international array of gorgeous cookies, cakes, candies, custards… I want to make everything in this luscious book!” --David Lebovitz, author of My Paris Kitchen and L’Appart
 • “Yotam Ottolenghi’s additions to classic recipes make so much sense, you’ll wonder why you’ve never stirred tahini into brownies or orange flower water into amaretti – or why you’ve never even made your own amaretti! This is my kind of baking book; you’ll want to make everything.” --Elisabeth Prueitt, co-founder of Tartine Manufactory and author of Tartine All Day

Author

© Pal Hansen

Yotam Ottolenghi is a seven-time New York Times best-selling cookbook author who contributes to the New York Times Food section and has a weekly column in The Guardian. His Ottolenghi Simple was selected as a best book of the year by NPR and the New York TimesJerusalem, written with Sami Tamimi, was awarded Cookbook of the Year by the International Association of Culinary Professionals and named Best International Cookbook by the James Beard Foundation. He lives in London, where he co-owns an eponymous group of restaurants and the fine-dining destinations Nopi and Rovi.

View titles by Yotam Ottolenghi
Helen Goh was born in Malaysia and migrated with her family to Australia at the age of ten. Co-author of Sweet, she has worked closely with Yotam for over ten years, drawing widely on Asian, Western, and Middle Eastern influences in her cooking. Helen’s recipes appear in the Sydney Morning Herald, Guardian and Observer. View titles by Helen Goh