Review: The Dollop Book of Frosting

It's past time for my next book review!

The Dollop Book of Frosting: Sweet and Savory Icings, Spreads, Meringues, and Ganaches for Dessert and Beyond
by Heather "Cupcakes" Saffer

Four stars

OK, to start with, I'm going to automatically like anyone whose nickname is "Cupcakes." They are my favorite food, no exaggeration. I'm not a big fan of cake, but I never met a cupcake I didn't like. The author of this incredibly creative book was the winner of Food Network's Cupcake Wars, which I did not watch because I don't have cable. Sorry!

I ordered this book from my local library based on the title alone. Everyone knows that the best part of any cupcake (or cake) is the frosting- everyone except my best friend (I eat the frosting, she eats the cake! It's a match made in heaven.) I was pretty excited to see that the library had purchased a book filled solely (I thought) with frosting recipes. You may think that such a book wouldn't have much to offer, but I knew better! And I definitely wasn't disappointed by this book.

The Dollop Book of Frosting offers much more than everyday, run-of-the-mill frosting recipes. We start with basics like chocolate, vanilla, and peanut butter (everyone should be able to make basic frosting- it's so simple and tastes much better than the stuff from the can!) and progress to more inventive dessert toppers, like s'mores, margarita, and "coffee toffee ganache." As if that wasn't enough, Saffer also presents us with savory options- Brie frosting! Tahini currant frosting! Cashew sriracha frosting! Even better, each frosting recipe is paired with a "receptacle" recipe, for lack of a better word. These aren't limited to cupcakes, though. We get waffles, pancakes, crackers, cookies, wafers, trifles, sundaes...the list goes on and on. Yet despite the insanely wide array of combinations and flavors, the book never feels overwhelming or over-complicated. It's actually rather small: a bit shorter than your average kitchen tome, and just over 150 pages. I also appreciate the fact that the recipes are short. Very few take up more than a single page! Top that all off with gorgeous, vibrantly colored photography- the frosting on the cake.

I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone who likes to bake and wants to add some new recipes to their repertoire. I personally think it's very handy to keep recipes for different toppings- if you've got a base that you love, it can be fun to change it up with something new! I'm so glad I read this book, and will be looking into purchasing it.

To learn more or to purchase this book, click here.

Review: The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Vegetable Cookbook

Working at the library, I come across a lot of cookbooks (and I would probably come across a lot of cookbooks even if I didn't work there, to be honest.) With the start of this new blog, I've decided to start posting reviews of those books that I read! Full disclosure, I'm not making any money off of this (as of this writing, my readership is non-existent) but if I knew how to get sponsored reviews, I would totally do it.

The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Vegetable Cookbook
by Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell

Five stars

I love the Beekman Boys. If you don't know who they are, check out their bio here. And I really recommend watching their old TV show, following their facebook page, and checking out their online store as well! Josh and Brent gave up their careers in order to start a farm in Sharon Springs, New York. They grow or raise just about everything they eat, make goat's milk soap and other products to sell in their store, and cook gorgeous food- and share the recipes with us! This is their third cookbook, and I think it was my favorite so far. It's full of beautiful photographs and delicious recipes featuring veggies at their finest; recipes are divided into four chapters, one for each season.

The Beekman recipes are accessible and easy to follow. Don't be intimidated by the stunning photography- sometimes the better a cookbook looks, the more we think that it's meant for real "foodies" and not the average home cook. There are no complicated techniques in this book, and as an added bonus, I don't think any of the recipes take up more than a full page. Simple doesn't mean bad in this case- the vegetables are given a chance to shine, not covered up in "cream of" anything, or hidden away in carb-loaded, artificially flavored casseroles.

I think that this cookbook works best for cooks and families that are already used to having lots of fresh vegetables around the house- those who frequent farmer's markets, or farmers themselves! If you have your own vegetable garden, I think that you will adore this book. Just about everything you can grow is featured in here. I can't wait to get cooking!

To learn more or to purchase this book, click here.