Here’s the “Little Tarts” book you’ve all been looking for! Shop for it here on Amazon (affiliate link).
I’ve had a irresistible urge to start baking again. I took a break during January through April, but now I feel like I have the itch. I was curious as to why and even asked my husband “it’s going to be really hot this year, so why do I want to slave away over the stove?” Then it dawned on me that we tend to socialize more in spring and summer. I want to share sweet treats with my loved ones, because it’s worth seeing the smiles on their face. More so, if it actually involved my blood, sweat, and tears on a hot day!
I’ve found many, many new spring cookbooks that involve baking all kinds of goodies that I want to share! I’ve included one photo from inside each cookbook, because they look so yummy! I know I get the most out of looking at the photos in cookbooks just to see what kind of recipes they have. There are quite a few!
(Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you)
How to Cook That: Crazy Sweet Creations
By Ann Reardon (June 15, 2021)
Ann Reardon has created an award-winning video series called How to Cook That that millions of people around the world watch. Some of those recipes are now making it into her new cookbook: How to Cook That: Crazy Sweet Creations.
The recipes are extravagant and sophisticated. Reardon has successfully made these recipes effortless, so you too can create each dish.
She breaks down all the techniques for conquering these glamorous desserts, and also teaches some basic techniques. It’s a very scientific cookbook where she shows what cake looks like if it has too much egg, sugar, oil, and more. We are actively learning the true basics of baking. That is why this cookbook is great for beginners and experts alike.
Luckily her “How to Cook That” YouTube channel is readily available to visually guide us through many of these delightful treats!
All-American Cakes, Pies, Cookies & Treats: 60 Simple & Traditional Sweets
By Roy Fares (June 1, 2021)
Sometimes it is best to just stick with the American classics. With the All-American Cakes, Pies, Cookies & Treats: 60 Simple & Traditional Sweets cookbook you will find some of your favorites that you grew up with and more.
There are recipes from peanut butter cookies to apple pancakes that will cover all times of the day. To my surprise, there are some recipes in here that I hadn’t thought of as American or didn’t even know about. Things like Geneva cookies and salted caramel chocolate tarts – both sound delicious!
Some American desserts tend to be too sweet or not sweet enough – I guess we don’t like to fall in the middle. Roy Fares has done a fantastic job sifting through each recipe and making adjustments so they do fall somewhere in the middle of the sweet scale.
I love the photography in this cookbook, as it seems to illustrate many signature cities in the United States!
This cookbook also comes out before 4th of July! Make sure to pick it up so we can celebrate our nation’s history with baking!
Peggy Porschen: A Year in Cake: Seasonal recipes and dreamy style secrets from the prettiest bakery in the world
By Peggy Porschen (June 8, 2021)
Truly the pictures speak for themselves in the Peggy Porschen: A Year in Cake: Seasonal Recipes and Dreamy Style Secrets from the Prettiest Bakery in the World cookbook. Everything looks sophisticated and whimsical.
If you are unfamiliar with Peggy Porschen, here’s a bit about her. Her cookies and cakes have made appearances at many A-list events such as Kate Moss’s wedding, parties for Madonna, and for Gwyneth Paltrow. Peggy Porschen is also featured in Condé Nast Brides and Wedding, Vogue, OK!, and more magazines. She is a huge deal!
This cookbook is organized into seasons, emphasizing the holidays that are around each. Examples are “Autumn and Halloween,” “Spring and Easter,” “Winter and Christmas.” Valentine’s Day has it’s own chapter and I greatly appreciate it!
The author shares her secrets and techniques to get some of these amazing bakes to turn out perfectly. Her decorating tips are definitely something to note. Everything she makes is very adorable, beautiful, and will make your jaw drop!
Bake It Vegan: Simple, Delicious Plant-Based Cakes, Cookies, Brownies, Chocolates and More
Even though this is the only vegan baking cookbook, you won’t need to look any further. The Bake It Vegan: Simple, Delicious Plant-Based Cakes, Cookies, Brownies, Chocolates and More cookbook is stunning and covers all the beautiful desserts you will ever need.
There are over sixty recipes in this cookbook that cover cakes, cookies, chocolate, breakfast bakes, and raw treats. There are some very unique recipes in here, such as a blueberry plum crumble, raspberry white chocolate coffee cake (yum!), and sweet potato brownies!
I wish I could say these recipes are incredibly easy, but they do require a bit of baking knowledge. Many of these require quite a few ingredients, especially if they are nut or gluten-free, so you’ll need to have many ingredients on hand if you are baking these vegan treats.
One thing I do appreciate about this cookbook is that all the recipes are listed in the table of contents. Along with the recipes are indications of any allergies. I was surprised to see that a little over half of the cookbook is gluten-free friendly. There are only a few nut-free recipes, so it is heavily reliant on nuts.
These recipes are a healthy alternative to some of our traditional sweets using less processed sugar.
The photos are a delight and really show off each recipe. Each is truly sophisticated and perfectly decorated. I was surprised to see so many colors for each of these recipes.
Jam Bake: Inspired Recipes for Creating and Baking with Preserves
By Camilla Wynne (June 1, 2021)
Have you ever bought jam just for toast and left it in your fridge for months, forgetting it has other uses? I have. I do it all the time. This is partially why I am scared to start making my own jam. It’ll be out of sight, out of mind, then it will go to waste.
With the Jam Bake: Inspired Recipes for Creating and Baking with Preserves cookbook we can learn all the ways of using your preserves by making delicious treats!
If you or any of your loved ones make their own preserves, definitely consider looking through this cookbook. It contains more than eighty incredible recipes for baking with the jams you make. You can also use jams and preserves you find at the store, she has even included a guide for you. This cookbook has made the transition very easy!
It is divided up into single flavor, duets (two flavor combinations), and then multitudes for more than one flavor – including mulled wine. Also, this cookbook indicates, with symbols, if it is an easy or difficult recipe to undertake.
There are recipes for making your own preserves and making your own bakes using preserves. Typically we only see one or the other, never both! This is a very unique cookbook!
French Pastry Made Simple: Foolproof Recipes for Éclairs, Tarts, Macarons and More
By Molly Wilkinson (June 8, 2021)
We all love French pastries, but I think most of us are intimidated by them! Making even eclairs at home seems like a huge task. With French Pastry Made Simple: Foolproof Recipes for Éclairs, Tarts, Macarons and More cookbook things will be easy breezy.
There are about fifty recipes in this cookbook that are all very classic French bakes. We have a beautiful galette, lemon tart, mille-feuille, and more that you’ll be able to serve up to friends and family.
These recipes do still take time, but just less time than the traditional amount! Imagine making puff pastry dough in half an hour… it seems unimaginable, but with this cookbook you can do it!
Molly Wilkinson teaches pastry and cooking workshops in France. So she is able to explain most of these techniques with ease as if she is with us in person. There is a lot of detail in this book. She loves to cover the basics before diving into anything elaborate.
She walks us through many of the techniques required for French baking, and breaks down many of the essential ingredients you’d need in your pantry. . That way we can understand the whys and when we use certain techniques and ingredients.
This is a lovely cookbook filled with gorgeous photography!
The Crafted Cookie: A Beginner’s Guide to Baking & Decorating Cookies for Every Occasion
By Anne Yorks (May 25, 2021)
I adore cookies, but I only have my one go-to recipe that my best friend graciously gave me. With his cookies, they don’t need any decorating. My cookie decorating skills could use some serious practice. That’s why The Crafted Cookie: A Beginner’s Guide to Baking & Decorating Cookies for Every Occasion cookbook is so essential. We can hone in on our cutting, coloring, and decorating skills.
There are fifty different themes in this cookbook that can either be used all year around or seasonally. Some examples are Elf Face Cookies, Hurray for the USA Cookie, and Up Up Up and Away Cookies. Think of all the parties you can host with these highly decorated treats!
Anne Yorks is the founder of The Flour Box, one of the top online resources for cookie decorating supplies and tutorials. Check out her website to see all she has to offer at The Flour Box.
She makes cookie decorating supremely easy with a step-by-step guide in her cookbook. Everything is written out and visually shown with pictures to display each technique throughout. You’ll be amazed at how beautiful your cookies will turn out after doing a few bakes with this cookbook!
Frosted: Take Your Baked Goods to the Next Level with Decadent Buttercreams, Meringues, Ganaches and More
Bernice Baran (June 8, 2021)
There’s something so refined about how the cover of the Frosted: Take Your Baked Goods to the Next Level with Decadent Buttercreams, Meringues, Ganaches and More cookbook looks! The desserts just look fit for a queen at high tea!
Bernice Baran shares sixty delightful recipes in her cookbook. We also learn how to frost each treat too! There are many kinds of frosting, so she right off the bat has a whole chapter on frosting. There’s quite a few that I’ve not heard of, like Ermine buttercream and Diplomat cream. I might try to remember some of the elaborate desserts from the Great British Bake Off Show.
There are recipes for sheet cakes, brownies, cookies, and so much more. I love how we have been given a (mostly) basic recipe, but we can definitely get creative after baking through this cookbook. We can take a lot of those techniques shown and create some of our own dessert flavor combinations.
This cookbook is fantastic for baking novices and masters alike! Explore the many ways of baking and frosting some of our favorite desserts.
Little Tarts: 1 X Pastry Recipe + 60 X Fillings
By Meike Schaling (May 4, 2021)
I’ve never made a tart in my life, but I have enjoyed plenty from bakeries! I love baking cheesecakes, pies, and other sweet treats, so I’m unsure why tarts have slipped from my radar. I really want to check out the Little Tarts: 1 X Pastry Recipe + 60 X Fillings cookbook.
I love the premise of this cookbook: There is one tart base recipe with sixty different filling recipes to enhance your tart.
These little morsels are perfect for gatherings with loved ones because they’re little individual desserts. You can mix and match some of these tart recipes at your next gathering! Now you can show up with an amazing tart.
The photos are very stylish and alluring – I find myself drooling over it. Honestly, I am ready to put everything down and try to make the recipe above!
In this cookbook we learn about all the different kinds of cream you can use and the toppings. There are over fifteen kinds of ganaches in this cookbook – I didn’t realize there was more than maybe 4. There is also a very detailed illustration on how to assemble each tart!
These pastries might be little, but they have a huge impact! You can decorate these in some of the most delicate ways, especially for gatherings. People will be impressed even if the tart base is identical for each tart. It’s what’s inside that counts, right?
New-School Sweets: Old-School Pastries with an Insanely Delicious Twist
By Vinesh Johny and Andres Lara (June 1, 2021)
I am excited for the New-School Sweets: Old-School Pastries with an Insanely Delicious Twist cookbook! Johny and Lara have taken some classic desserts from around the world and given them a twist.
This cookbook has over 70 recipes that are exceptional. Here’s a list of a few I found: tropical carrot cake, tres leches mousse cake, rice pudding baba tart, and cinnamon roll creme brulee. All I can say is, “Wow!”
The photography is a bit hit or miss for me, but the dishes makes up for it for the range of difficulty. You can grow with this cookbook by starting out with some of the easy dishes and moving on to some more complex recipes. It is great for anyone!
New-School Sweets: Old-School Pastries with an Insanely Delicious Twist cookbook is full of wonder. Bringing these classics together into a melting pot is exactly what we need right now. This is why food history is so phenomenal because we can see how each culture influences each other’s food!
That was a lot of cookbooks! I had to showcase them all, because if you are like they are some of my favorites to look through. I think I like to torture myself with desserts that I can’t eat!
What is your favorite dessert of all time and why? I always hone in on a creme brulee or custard oriented dessert with berries to cut the heaviness, but I am starting to love chocolate more and more!
~Kaiti
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