Clarkson Potter Sweet Enough: A Dessert Cookbook

It was a great surprise that there were savoury recipes in a dessert book! The blueberry cornmeal tart was amazing

I really enjoy this book because the recipes are so approachable. Sometimes, it's nice to just have fun baking and not be stressed out. I have so many pages bookmarked it's outrageous but everything that I made so far was delicious and really fun to make. I shared pictures of the (cottage) cheese cake on page 129 and the raspberry ricotta cake on page 118. Both of these cakes were made on a whim and took no time at all. I did find for both of these recipes that I had to add an additional 15-20 minutes to the cook time but other than that, they were easy to put together. I didn't have a picture of the salted pistachio shortbread on page 173 but you have to try it. It's addicting and they got devoured quickly!

First of all, I will buy any cookbook that Alison Roman writes. Her idea that imperfection and cooking can absolutely co-exist has made me love cooking again. Her easy, do-able recipes and forgiving style not only allows for improvisation, but invites it. And you know what? It works! If you, like me, were already a fan of Alison Roman via her first two books, her deservingly viral #thestew, and/or her jammy, umami-packed reductions, then I'm going to bet that you will also love this book. The same easy, casual vibe that accompanied the recipes in her first two books is here too. Casualness in baking is often frowned upon because it is thought, mostly correctly, that measurements must be fairly precise in order for cakes and breads to rise, but in these recipes, Roman tells you when it's okay to be more relaxed and when it's not. The (Cottage) Cheese Cake recipe, for example, suggests browning the butter that goes into it, or not, because it will turn out fine either way and it just depends on whether or not the baker wants to go to the trouble of babysitting browning butter or not. The first recipe I tried was the (Cottage) Cheese Cake with Apricots. I used the suggested ricotta cheese and chose peaches for the fruit. (For the record, I did brown the butter because it has worked so well in other Roman recipes.) The cake turned out deliciously even though the peaches my husband brought home were not anywhere near their prime. Instead of getting mad at my husband and fretting that the cake would be a disaster, I just thought "fine, it will somehow be fine." And it honestly was. And my guests loved it! My second pick was A Better Banana Bread. I've made a bunch of banana breads this year and thought I had already found a great one from Ruth Reichl, but this beat it. A friend who had liked Reichl's so much that she asked for the recipe, agreed that this one beat it. The crispy crust is what did it for me. Then my curiosity won out with the Creamy Cauliflower Galette, one of several non-dessert recipes in the book. Very delicious - with leeks, cheddar and cream as the supporting cast. Definitely a make again for lunch guests with a green salad. Quite yummy and far from the same old, same old. Next, I'm eyeing the Chocolate Sour Cream Pound Cake because of my wildly positive experiences with previous Roman recipes featuring chocolate in which strangers at parties have sought me out to ask where I got the recipe. I had rarely been that person before Roman. If it isn't clear (lol), I really like this book. If you like desserts that are so sweet that your teeth want to fall out, this is not that book. But if you want to make easy, slightly different desserts in a relaxed manner that everybody will love, teeth and all, I have yet to find a better one than this.

This is a wonderful book, and everything I’ve made thus far has been a hit!

I love Alison Romans cookbooks. I have bought the last two and have a long distance cooking date with one of my best friends about once a month and we are currently baking our way through the recipes in the middle of heat waves because we want to try all the cakes! Highly recommend all her cookbooks and this one is no different. The styling of the book is also amazing, so different from the rest, I am sure it will inspire copycats.