Category: Cookbooks

Add a special touch to any occasion with this award-winning collection of over 125 mini dessert recipes that are sure to wow any group.

No one knows the art of making sweet miniatures better than acclaimed baking expert Flo Braker. And when it comes to charm and elegance, Sweet Miniatures has all the right ingredients for creating the perfect bite-sized morsel to suit any occasion. Welcome the coming of spring with a tempting bouquet of gorgeous Lemon Sunflowers, exquisite Chocolate Tulips, and a delicate sprig of White Blossom Circles. Chewy Panforte di Siena, crispy Florentine Squares, and tangy Shreveshire Tarts whisk family and friends away on an exotic, mouthwatering journey. Jam-paced with more than 125 delicious treats and luscious full-color photos, this IACP Award–winning cookbook explains, step-by-step, the methods, tricks, and techniques for ensuring a perfect batch of little pastries, cookies, cakes, or candies every time. Plus, you’ll find lots of great do-ahead, planning, and storage information that make miniature baking convenient all year round.

From cheerful Chocolate Hedgehogs to a set of Midas Cups for adding that golden touch to a festive soiree, Sweet Miniatures has all the right ingredients for creating the perfect bite-size morsel to suit any occasion.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In Sweet Miniatures Flo Braker proves that it is a small world after all. But don’t think of this IACP Award-winning cookbook as tiny. Rather, it’s a comprehensive introduction to creating fabulous and impressive miniature desserts. Braker, a contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle and author of the much-loved Simple Art of Perfect Baking, offers step-by-step recipe directions, a complete list of baking needs, and helpful recommendations based on her own bakery and catering experience. Careful consideration is given to the basic art and science of baking, including sage advice on how to stock a kitchen with the necessary tools and ingredients. Novice and advanced bakers alike will find educational tips such as how to temper chocolate, how to use a pastry bag with tips and a coronet, and how to make simple yet elegant decorations. Braker’s focus here, however, is the miniature presentation, and she brings together more than 125 recipes of sought-after minicakes, pastries, cookies, candies, and tarts. Popular favorites include Individual Lemon Meringue Tarts as well as traditional European favorites such as Shortbread Cameos, Viennese Triangles, Krumkake, Pistachio Petit Fours, Neapolitan Wedges, and the holiday favorite, Lebkuchen. Full-color illustrations complement the recipes. Braker even suggests storage ideas to protect the most fragile pastries and to maintain their even more delicate flavor. With such an inclusive, smart, and instructional book Flo Braker lends credibility to the phrase “bite-size.” And it’s a mouthful. –Teresa Simanton

From Publishers Weekly

You’ve seen them at tea parties and fancy bakeries–tiny cakes, cookies, and pastries that offer a tantalizing choice of colors, tastes and textures. Braker ( The Simple Art of Perfect Baking ) launched her cooking career creating these tidbits, and her enthusiasm for them is infectious. She makes an artful craft sound easy, and points out that providing family or guests with several such dessert selections is bound to surpass the unveiling of a single kind of cake or pie. Her directions are invaluable and explicit; her many time-saving or do-ahead steps will maximize time spent in the kitchen. The recipes are precise, but also allow for experimentation. Experience with handling pastry dough or chocolate will give some readers a slight edge, but even newcomers will be able to tackle much of what’s here, baking their way up to the trickiest, airiest echelons. Ingredients are likely to be accessible, but readers will have to invest in miniature tart pans–a purchase well worth it for anyone quickly dazzled by Shreveshire tarts, chocolate galaxy peticakes or pistachio petits fours. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

With these delightful recipes for one, waste and leftovers are done.

If you’re a solo cook, and tired of that all-too-familiar thud of a half-finished pot of mac and cheese hitting the bottom of your trash can, The Cooking for One Cookbook is ready to expand your solo recipe repertoire. The Cooking for One Cookbook presents 100 contemporary, tasty, and perfectly portioned recipes-for-one that will leave your appetite satisfied and your kitchen waste-free.

Less wasted food equals less wasted money, and The Cooking for One Cookbook’s appropriate portions and delicious, diverse meals will make you feel like a professional chef! Cook your way to a happier, healthier, tastier life.

The Cooking for One Cookbook includes:

• One stop shopping—Delicious recipes including Apple Crumb French Toast and Cuban Pitas use readily available supermarket ingredients that reflect up-to-date dietary preferences fit for a range of palates.
• The practical gourmet—Become a skillful chef with easy-to-follow pantry and grocery tips designed to make cooking for one and shopping for one a breeze.
• Dietary goals—Stay on track with suggested menu planning that assists with time-saving and eliminates the “What do I cook now?!” stress.

The Cooking for One Cookbook is a practical, relatable, and modern resource for the at-home solo cook.

Find more recipes like this on my companion blog, “Good Food, Good Meat, Good God, Let’s Eat!”