Fans of Baked: New Frontiers in Baking will probably want to add Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented to their cookbook library. The book is the second from Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, the owners of Baked, a popular bakery located in Brooklyn, NY, and includes 75 new recipes with their takes on classic American desserts.
The recipes cover a wide range of recipes, which are divided into several chapters: Breakfast, Tarts & Pies, Cookies & Bars, Cakes, and Confections & Pastry. There is something for everyone, whether you’re looking for something nostalgic, modern or classic. Grasshopper Bars, a chocolate mint bar cookie, are a combination of fudgy brownies and a very retro grasshopper cocktail. Nutella Scones, sure to be a hit with fans of the creamy chocolate hazelnut spread, don’t have that retro flair but still pack a lot of flavor. Black and White Cookies are a must-have for many cookie lovers and this version holds true to the classic flavors, while updating the cookie with a little extra richness. Many of these recipes involve multiple components (towering layer cakes, multi-flavor cookies, etc.) but those components all add up to create bakery quality baked goods. The introduction to the book offers a crash course in the ingredients and equipment you’ll want to have in your kitchen to make these recipes a success, and the lighthearted approach that the authors take when writing this introduction makes all of the infomation very accessible. It also carries throughout the book, making the recipes an enjoyable read.
This book will definitely make you want to bake, so your only decision is choosing which recipe to start with. The primary downside to this book is that there aren’t as many photos as readers might like and that is bound to be a little disappointing because the photos that are included are fantastic shots of beautiful desserts – but that just serves to make you want more in this case. Use the photos that are there as inspiration to create, or recreate, these Brooklyn favorites in your own kitchen.
What do you think?