How to Cook That: Crazy Sweet Creations (Dessert Recipe Book, Baking Cookbook)

I really like that Ann specifically listed out each step of the recipes with lots of detail in both metric and imperial (as you would expect of a good cookbook!) but she has always several pages that list common baking mistakes as well as a color and texture chart of when you use too much/not enough sugar or water or fat, etc. VERY handy for newbies.This book also has, hands down, the nicest photography of any cookbook I have ever seen. The images are all high resolution, brightly lit, with crystal clear detail. My daughter wanted macarons for her birthday and I think I am going to give those a try!Excellent book and a great value.EDIT: I would like to address some of the things I see from other reviewers.To the one who says the book is full of just ice cream and chocolate, she must have only skimmed a few pages only seeing the sections "fun easy desserts" where it is about modifying ice cream and milkshakes and the ice cream section later in the book which literally explains how to make your own ice creams. Its not "jUsT iCe CrEaM" read further on and let me know about the chocolate dome and the gelatina spiders and flowers. For cakes she has a two page spread with very informative pictures explaining what can go wrong with cakes which is incredibly helpful. The cake section is about 20 pages and they all look great.To the one that says it is intimidating, I think Ann breaks the steps down for the more complicated desserts rather simply and logically. If you can read and have a 10 second attention span you can easily follow her step by step directions. Start at the easy stuff and work your way in once you get some experience and confidence. The VAST majority of the recipes are only one page, with a select few having 2 or more but that is because it involves techniques that need to be explained clearly with specific times and temperatures and descriptions of what it is going to look and feel like when it is done and for you to move onto the next step.

Beautifully done book. The food science part of this book is incredible. I love that she put metric measurements as well!

It's very high quality and has a huge range of recipes, from very simple desserts anyone could make to hugely elaborate pastries for experts and the adventurous. I love how much detail there is, how every recipe includes multiple forms of measurement so you don't need a kitchen scale, the information about video tutorials, and the snippets explaining different aspects of the science behind different parts of a recipe. I'm a new baker and I really can't wait to get started with this.

This cookbook is jam-packed!!! I am a bit frustrated with some of the reviews saying there aren't many offerings, because while the table of contents looks a little thin, each recipe is really 2-6 recipes. For example, her "spiral chocolate caramel domes" includes recipes for light chocolate cake, vanilla syrup, caramel creme brulee, salted butter caramel, chocolate mousse, chocolate mirror glaze, and instructions for a chocolate spiral. There are so many building blocks in this cookbook that you can use in whatever way you want. You can absolutely use individual components of any of her recipes if you're short on time or just want something simpler. Of course there are full-page spreads with lots of good food science, as well as lots of little blurbs scattered throughout. I also think the recipes are very representative of the content on her channel.I think this is a great cookbook as an intermediate-level baker and am glad for some of the more advanced/fancy recipes, because I'm looking to grow my skills. Her instructions are so detailed and she provides such a wealth of that awesome food science information that I think it's accessible for any level baker. I should also say that there is a video tutorial online available for every single recipe in this cookbook, so there is no reason to be intimidated! She has lots of offerings for beginners to advanced bakers, making this a great addition to anyone's collection, but I suppose if you're against learning and never want to expand your baking skills, this may not be the cookbook for you.