We are always on a search for good cookbooks to read. Strolling around the bookstore, internet or simply asking friends for their recommendations. 

This time around, Jesslyn is willing to help and share a compilation of her favorite cookbooks. She is confident that her 5 top books are deeply informative, beautifully written and would of utmost help to everyone. It would be her pleasure if any or all of these recommendations could catch your interest to step into your own baking journey.

Let’s have a look at her favorite cookbooks! 

Sweet Treats

Ever since Jesslyn was just a naive little girl, she has been smitten with pastry and cake. This realization of her grew even fonder over time, especially when she read a cookbook by William Sonoma titled “Sweet Treats”. This recipe book takes a place close to her heart, due to the fact that it is the reason why she took on the baking world. Through perusing the book, she found herself completely immersed into the vast world of patisserie and falling in love with it deeper each time she goes through a page.

She thinks that this book is full of great delicious recipes that are simple enough for children to make. Not only does it provide easy-to-follow instructions but also allows children to embrace their creative ideas. 

Sweet Treats has helped Jesslyn learn and made a few treats of her own. One of which is thumbprint cookies that were instantly loved by everyone. For an ultimate quick and easy recipe, she claims that this book is suitable for every young baker to enjoy and have fun. 

I’m Just Here For Dessert

Discovering your own aesthetic cake style or design is crucial, yet difficult to do. However, “I’m Just Here For Dessert” could help you figure it out. Jesslyn loves being surprised every time she turns the page of this book. The essays and photography that the book offers are simply stunning. She finds “I’m Just Here for Dessert '' is well-written and beautifully designed, in a way that it could please any aesthetic seeker's eyes anywhere, making the process of baking more enjoyable. 

According to Jesslyn, the recipes are crystal clear, very instructive, and easy to follow, especially for those who seek the principle of aesthetic and creative dessert designs, this cookbook has a practical approach to it. With a touch of pink, the book itself brings the sense of feminine creations where it mainly focuses on the side of creative fun flavor, working with colors, methods, equipment, setting the scene, and everything that corresponds with what is perceived as visually appealing. Jess claims it serves a lot of amazing recipes, tips, and techniques in a way that one couldn’t be more in the mood for sweets after reading this book. 

Maggie Austin Cake

Jesslyn had the honor of meeting Winifred Kriste Cake (@winifredcake), a cake designer and decorator from Singapore. All thanks to her, Jesslyn was introduced to one of the best cake designers in the world, Maggie Austin. Through her book, Jess learned how to master techniques and use them in new creative ways. She admires just how much thought and research Maggie Austin has done in each and every single one of her masterpieces.

She sincerely appreciates the way Maggie Austin constructed this book. As for her, the instructions are very explicit and detailed. Her method of teaching is top-notch, especially her gumpaste skill. Jess also learned how to utilize tools, supplies, and techniques to its fullest extent from her book.

Maggie Austin Cake takes the creation and decoration of wedding cake to a whole new level. There hasn’t been an instance where Jess wasn’t blown away by Austin’s magic hands’ creations, with the amount of soul, love and story Austin ingrains into each design being the best part of it. Everything is beautifully put together.

Japanese Patisserie

The entirety of Easter-Western cuisine, starting from basic information, sumptuous designs and photographs, all the way to inspirations of its beautiful and delicious blend, is captured in one book named Japanese Patisserie, written by James Campbell. For those seeking a thrilling Japanese food journey, Jess highly recommends this cookbook as your starting point.

Jess’ perspective on Japan is that they always seek perfection and this book is the absolute proof of it. It gives a portrayal of how the Japanese value both taste and appearance of their dishes by passionately pouring sharp attention and sense of aesthetics into each recipe. More precisely, its sense of perfection revolves in its attention to every detail. Jess admires the way this book brings out the taste of Japan by presenting incredible recipes, tips, and techniques for just about everything from ingredients to styling in a meticulous way. 

To Jesslyn, what makes this book even more appealing is the fact that most of the recipes consist of unique combinations of flavors. For instance, the mixture of fermented bean paste, commonly called miso, along with caramel and chocolate creates a luscious salty-bittersweet-miso tart. A new and unique way to enjoy a salty, tangy, and savory miso. 

Room for Dessert

Upon reading Room For Dessert by Will Goldfarb, Jess realized that it wasn’t merely a set of recipes; it is an educational experience. It not only has amazing recipes but also a full-astonishing bibliography of Will Goldfarb. His story, struggles and ups and downs are delivered in an approachable way so the readers could learn from his own mistakes and know how to prevent them from happening or even manage to get up after the fall. To Jess, this book is stunningly inspirational. It teaches her to utilize anything to its fullest extent and encourages her to always think outside of the box. One great example is when Goldfarb describes how mangosteen skin could be turned into an alcohol, showing that no organic waste should end in a landfill. He reminds people to practice creative reuse in their daily lives, empowers one to know how to use different components as well as how to master the elements of good cooking. He shows no limits in everything he does. 

Although the dishes are seemingly difficult to make and the ingredients are hard to find, Jess claims that the recipes are well-explained and very straightforward--helping people to understand it easily. The simplicity yet sophisticated nature of this delightful cookbook and Goldfarb’s uniquely creative way of thinking made Jess admire this book even more.

Jess agrees that these five favorite cookbooks of hers contributed greatly to the reason for her jumping into the baking world. She values every knowledge, skills, techniques, and efforts shared by the authors in each book that carved a path on her own journey. To her, those five books are clearly troves which will forever be cherished and treasured.