Bakers and pastry chefs have always had an arsenal of flavors at their disposal: vanilla, fruit and citrus, coffee, chocolate, caramel, cheese and nuts. These flavors are staples on dessert menus and in recipes, and for good reason—they play to the palate by being sweet, salty, sour, and/or bitter. They dictate flavor preferences and emphasize seasonal ingredients and moods. And above all, they are delicious, both alone and combined. In Flavorful: 150 Irresistible Desserts in All-Time Favorite Flavors (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015), food writer and Pastry at Home co-founder Tish Boyle catalogues these flavors recipe by recipe, highlighting their different ranges and directions. Desserts like Berry Filled Layer Cake, irresistible Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta, a rustic Apple Crostata with Whole Wheat Rosemary Crust, and Caramel Pecan Brownies are a few of the more than 150 recipes, organized into chapters by flavor. With Flavorful, Boyle—whose previous books include The Cake Book, The Good Cookie, Diner Desserts, and Chocolate Passion—has put together the perfect combination of all-star flavors and classic recipes. Available here.
