Wild Sweetness: Recipes Inspired by Nature

by Thalia Ho

Overview

From the creator of the award-winning food blog, Butter and Brioche, comes a unique and beautifully designed full-color cookbook that brings wild flavors to desserts as told through the seasons. 

In Wild Sweetness, Thalia Ho captures the essence of the wild, and re-imagines it on the plate. She guides us through a tale of six distinct seasons and the flavors inspired by them: of bright, herbaceous new life in spring, to the aromatic florals that follow, of bursting summer berries, over-ripe fruit, warmth and spice in fall, then ending with winter and its smolder.

In more than 95 recipes, Thalia opens our eyes and taste buds to a celebration of what the wild has to offer—a world of sweet escapism, using flavor to heighten our experience of food. Enthralling, unique, and inspired recipes you’ll want to cook over and over again. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062958426
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/23/2021
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	66,822
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 9.90(h) x 1.10(d)

Table of Contents

Introduction 11

Before you begin 12

Ingredients 13

Equipment 15

Evergreen 20

Amaretti

Juniper and white chocolate ice cream

Lemon curd streusel cake

Fennel pollen pistachio cake

Lemon thyme bars

Cantucci

Basil sugar pound cakes

Herbs de provence loaf

Lemon meringue cheesecake

Basil chocolate sandwich cookies

After dinner mint pavé

Dense fernet cake

Crème de menthe ice cream

Mint merveilleux

Flora 52

Petal granola

Lavender scones

Triple bean vanilla ice cream

Elderflower sabayon

Rhubarb and pink peppercorn tart

Violet mousse

Sea salt violet cupcakes

Mendiants

Frosted chamomile tea cake

White rose cake

Rose walnut chocolate chip cookies

Orange blossom crème caramel

Chamomile shortbread

Rose macaroon cake

Bramble 88

Ganache thumbprints

Blackcurrant opera cake

Almond paste cakes

Chocolate cassis ice cream

Blueberry almond scones

Raspberry blondies

Boysenberry frozen yogurt

Clafoutis

Currants and cream

Frangipane tart

Cocoa brownies

Marquise

Tayberry granita

Strawberry sumac buckle

Orchard 122

Late summer cake

Pêche de vigne sorbet

Plum and hazelnut financiers

Red fruit crumble

Dacquoise

Dark chocolate cremeux

Black forest cookies

Fig clove fregolotta

Mulled wine ice cream

Drunken fig brownies

Art cherry semifreddo

Bostock

Oat biscuits with apricot, rosemary, and white chocolate

White peach and ginger cake

Woodland 156

Truffles

Beetroot mud cake

Pecan scones

Sugared sesame banana bread

Malt and buckwheat ice cream

Cinnamon buns

Brown sugar cheesecake

Buckwheat chocolate chunk cookies

Rye bark

Brutti ma buoni

Double crumb halvah cake

Bay leaf blondies

Parsnip cake with tahini frosting

Fallen chocolate cake

Smoke 188

Smoked fleur de sel brownies

Tiramisu

Walnut snowballs

Burnt sugar ice cream

Espresso marble cake

S'mores pie

Rye chocolate sablés

Black tahini brittle ice cream

Bitter nib shortbread

Scorched cheesecake

Coffee parfait

Molasses gingersnap cookies

Teurgoule

Winter citrus cake

Basics 222

Almond paste

Brioche

Chantilly crème

Crème fraîche

Streusel

Crystallized nuts

Frangipane

Dreamy lemon curd

Herbs de provence

Pastry crust

Rose ras el hanout

Vanilla bean gray salt

Index 230

Acknowledgments 237

Editorial Reviews

01/04/2021

Butter and Brioche blogger Ho offers 95 delicious dessert recipes inspired by the natural world in her innovative debut. The recipes call for ingredients uncommon to most pantries, and home cooks who stock up on the herbs, dried berries, flower petals, and fruit liqueurs that are infused into the desserts will find some striking variations on classic options. Herbes de Provence is the star of an almond tea loaf, ground sumac is used in a buckle, and ras el hanout features in a s’mores pie. Fans of white chocolate will appreciate its use in an ice cream that incorporates the piney notes of juniper and rosemary along with the tartness of fresh peaches and ginger. Beautifully photographed scenes of misty woods lend atmosphere to recipes that are roughly organized by season: a beetroot mudcake and winter citrus cake ring of chillier months, while sea salt violet cupcakes, and a fig and boysenberry frozen yogurt tart sing of summer. Fans of Ho’s blog will be happy to see its vibe translates well to print, with plenty of affirming aphorisms (“Come in with a good intention, and leave everything else behind”) sprinkled throughout. This tasteful guide to off-the-beaten-path confections enchants. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

An elegant recipe collection for the changing seasons.  — New York Times

Fans of Ho’s blog will be happy to see its vibe translates well to print, with plenty of affirming aphorisms sprinkled throughout. This tasteful guide to off-the-beaten-path confections enchants.  — Publishers Weekly

Trained as an artist, [Thalia] Ho found herself attracted to wildness in nature, and this turned her into a devoted consumer of such flavors. But, for her, wildness doesn’t mean foraging. Thanks to preserving and drying techniques, herbs and flowers can appear in Ho’s cooking all year. Sweets and desserts are Ho’s passion...Any fan of Black Forest cake will find Ho’s deeply chocolate and dried-cherry cookies to be more than simply attractive.  — Booklist

...a beautifully photographed and designed cookbook based on seasonal ingredients. Ho’s poetic writing will spark the interest of bakers looking to incorporate more fruits and herbs into their treats. — Library Journal

Wild Sweetness is unlike any seasonal cookbook I’ve read before. Its pages are drenched with evocative text and wistful visuals....There are so many delectable dessert recipes in this book, all with enchanting flavor combinations. Wild Sweetness offers nourishment beyond food.  — Food52

In Wild Sweetness, Thalia Ho celebrates the delights of nature in her distinctive, ethereal style...Her tempting recipes, with inventive twists on desserts we know and love, will inspire bakers and chefs alike! — Valrhona USA

From the Publisher

Wild Sweetness is unlike any seasonal cookbook I’ve read before. Its pages are drenched with evocative text and wistful visuals....There are so many delectable dessert recipes in this book, all with enchanting flavor combinations. Wild Sweetness offers nourishment beyond food. 

Food52

In Wild Sweetness, Thalia Ho celebrates the delights of nature in her distinctive, ethereal style...Her tempting recipes, with inventive twists on desserts we know and love, will inspire bakers and chefs alike!

Valrhona USA

An elegant recipe collection for the changing seasons. 

New York Times

Trained as an artist, [Thalia] Ho found herself attracted to wildness in nature, and this turned her into a devoted consumer of such flavors. But, for her, wildness doesn’t mean foraging. Thanks to preserving and drying techniques, herbs and flowers can appear in Ho’s cooking all year. Sweets and desserts are Ho’s passion...Any fan of Black Forest cake will find Ho’s deeply chocolate and dried-cherry cookies to be more than simply attractive. 

Booklist

Trained as an artist, [Thalia] Ho found herself attracted to wildness in nature, and this turned her into a devoted consumer of such flavors. But, for her, wildness doesn’t mean foraging. Thanks to preserving and drying techniques, herbs and flowers can appear in Ho’s cooking all year. Sweets and desserts are Ho’s passion...Any fan of Black Forest cake will find Ho’s deeply chocolate and dried-cherry cookies to be more than simply attractive. 

Booklist

03/05/2021

Ho, creator and writer of the food blog Butter and Brioche, has written a beautifully photographed and designed cookbook based on seasonal ingredients. She includes a section on what to do before readers begin—determining the best types of chocolate to use for baking, storing a variety of baking ingredients, measuring different types of flour, and more. The highlight of the book is the chapter on smoke, a reference to the darker skies and sometimes-smoky air of winter, featuring recipes such as s'mores pie, scorched cheesecake, and burnt sugar ice cream. Recipes range in difficulty; some are relatively straightforward, while others require extra time in the kitchen. As on her blog, Ho's rich photographs will help guide home bakers through each step. She offers a short explanation of each recipe's personal significance, as well as tips on ingredient sourcing and substitutions. VERDICT Ho's poetic writing will spark the interest of bakers looking to incorporate more fruits and herbs into their treats.—Holly Skir, Broward Cty. Lib., FL

Library Journal