Bittersweet: The Five Tastes of Dessert and Beyond
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Organized around the five tastes rather than technique or occasion, this is a book for home bakers and dessert makers who want to think more adventurously about flavor. Thalia Ho, creator of the blog Butter and Brioche and author of Wild Sweetness, applies the classic framework of bitter, sweet, sour, salt, and umami to a form that typically fixates on sweetness alone.
The approach can mean introducing an unusual ingredient (a burnt sage streusel cake), allowing a background flavor to step forward (a roasted butternut squash pie redolent of mace), or reframing the expected entirely (deep-fried ice cream). None of this requires advanced technique; the book is well within reach of an adventurous home baker.
Highlights include:
- Buttermilk pancakes with red wine butter
- Raspberry vinegar tart
- Duck fat caramel ice cream
- Black olive madeleines
- Porcini crepe cake
Fresh and technically accessible, and inventive enough to be inspiring to those who develop recipes professionally.
Hardcover. Color photographs throughout.
Published on February 10, 2026
