The Italian Baker: 100 International Baking Recipes with a Modern Twist

by Melissa Forti, Danny Bernardini (Photographer)

Melissa Forti is The Italian Baker. In her tea room in an idyllic medieval town near Tuscany, she bakes beautiful cakes that combine Italian traditions with her own modern twists. This book is a collection of tarts, cakes, loaves, biscuits, and coffee-time treats born out of Melissa's signature style of baking. Every recipe is a treat, taking in popular Italian ingredients like olive oil, mascarpone, almonds, and fresh fruit. Melissa gives perennial favorites like carrot cake, brownies, chocolate cake, and cheesecake a fresh, Italian makeover. Every cake and cookie tells a story, reflecting Melissa's travels, her passion for good food, and the love of her Italian heritage.

Genres: Cookbooks

224 pages, Hardcover

Published October 4, 2016

Reviews

[Sandra Noel]

Decadent. Delicious. Easy. All great words to describe this delightful cookbook! The recipes are very easy to follow, and the results are exceptional!

I started with Torta Caprese, a flourless chocolate cake that I've heard of for years, but never actually made. I was surprised at how easy it was to make, and absolutely blown away by the results. I made this for a church potluck, and let me just say there weren't even crumbs left!! It is rich, moist, dark and absolutely, mind-blowingly amazing!! This is definitely my new favorite dessert ever!

Palle d'Inverno (Winter Snowball Cookies) are another recipe that is easy to make and delicious to eat, and the Meringhe Brutte ma Buone alle Nocciole (Ugly-But-Good Hazelnut Meringues) are so easy to make that my 14-year-old daughter whipped them up. They dance on the tongue with the lovely crispy outside, soft inside with chunks of roasted hazelnuts--buonissimo!

Bottom line? Run, don't walk (or let your fingers do the walking online!) to your nearest bookstore and grab a copy of this top-notch cookbook and you'll be whipping up these delights for yourself in no time. Trust me, you'll thank me later!

I received a copy of this book from Hardie Grant Publishing through Chronicle Books for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Lisa]

This book was just OK. I really did not care for it nor did I feel like there was anything I would like or could make. I will say that the book was pretty. The set up of the book and pages was just ODD. The text was up and down instead of across. To my way of thinking this would be more of a coffee table book than anything else, the pictures are very pretty. Unless you are a professional and really know what you are doing. This is not for the novice baker.

[Anska]

Baking books and I often don't get along too well. Don't get me wrong, I love baking and I love reading recipes. However most recipe books seem to me but an endless repetition of things I have already seen, read, tasted one time too often. Melissa Forti's book comes as a welcome exception, her cakes and biscuits not only look good but also are a treat for one's taste buds. Additionally, the book itself is a treat for the eyes.

[Silke]

Great looking cakes and cookies. However some ingredients are quite exotic.