BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts Hardcover – Illustrated, August 15, 2017

This book is a great read. Yes. A cookbook that you must read. It has so much history, behind our favorite recipes.

I was SOLD when I saw all the previews of what the book had to offer. All of these famous/popular store bought candy and desserts, but a HOMEMADE version! Goodbye preservatives, goodbye artificial crap that comes from buying those delicious snacks. Now- you CONTROL what kind of ingredients go into this highly popular snacks! Glancing through the pages, I was not expecting to see that she would go as far as including a highly detailed information about the history and origin of all these “iconic” desserts. It’s not just a book of recipes, but a legit book to read about random interesting things about all of our favorite brand candies & desserts! The book is thick & filled with lots of information and lots of recipes. I do wish that there were more pictures, but its still not all that bad with the photos that are included. Such a cool cook book, probably going to end up getting my sister one if the recipes turn out legit and delicious! I suppose the rating can go down if the recipes dont work out well.. Hoping that it wont disappoint me. I am SUPER excited that try them!9/12 I’ve made the homemade OREOS, the flavors were not even close to the flavor of an oreo, but it was still DELICIOUS. Like a high-end version of an oreo to me! (As seen in photo)I’ve also made the Mcdonald’s Apple Pie, & that was delicious as well! I used her recipe for pie crust for these apple pies, & they were phenomenal! Flaky, crispy, apple pies! Yummy! (As seen in photo)8/30/18- First time making and baking the upsidedown pineapplecake! First time tasting an upside down pineapple cake! Omgosh- it was heaven! Stella- you are awesome!

Now that I am retired, I have more time to try to refine and improve my baking. This book should be on every Baker’s bookshelf I think. Wonderfully positive energy in the writing, and good detailed descriptions of many wonderful desserts.

Great book with lot of good basic dessert recipes! I enjoy baking and wanted a book that showed how to make things from scratch, and this one fits that bill.

I bought this book after a friend baked goodies and recommended it. I've since been working out of this book for a year now. I've tried about a dozen or so recipes and it is by far the funnest and best baking book I've ever come across. T is the only cooking anything that I havw bought and sent to 4 people, and recimmended to anyone who will listen.The entry pages with insightful information about measurements, and history is very insightful and useful. She gives details, and weights, helping you to understand the history of a dish, and how to properly obtain the right ingredient amount. No more guessing! My favorite recipe so far is the oatmeal cookies. The marshmallow is tough without careful attention, but it just teaches you to fully read all the recipe before pursuing it! Image is of the oatmeal pie without the marshmallow- absolute divinity

Stella knows her stuff and is super-helpful on social media but some of these recipes made me question my sanity. First, there are some amazing ones in here -- cinnamon rolls and red wine velvet cake come to mind -- and I've made maybe 9 or 10 recipes so far. Her copycat recipes are supposedly terrific but I haven't gotten deep into those yet. There are some considerations for beginner bakers, though.First, there's the specialized equipment and ingredients -- custom cheesecake pan, 3" tall cake pans, oat flour, potato flour (for yellow cake!), rum extract, vanilla beans, organic powdered sugar, orange blossom water, malt extract, golden syrup, and all sorts of chocolate percentages. Not to say these are unreasonable but definitely research your recipe before you make it to make sure you have everything or to find substitutes.Second, there's the alchemy for some of these. There's a good bit of candy making and precise temperatures so if you don't have an instant thermometer AND a clip-on, get them. I've made the fudge frosting for the yellow cake twice now and still not sure I'm getting it right. That leads to the third.I wish there were more step-by-step pictures, especially for the less familiar recipes. How soft is "extra soft" peaks for the angel food cake? What should the fudge frosting look like at different stages (this isn't fudge-flavored frosting, this is FUDGE mixed with butter, so you're making candy, basically)? Obviously that one's bugging me.To summarize, there are some truly delectable recipes in here that are next-level and amazingly delicious. Then there are some in here that make you wonder whether it's really worth it -- and I don't mean the copycat recipes like Oreos or Pop Tarts -- I think the people who review "why would you do those if you can buy them" just don't get it. What I mean is buying a bag of potato flour to add one tablespoon to yellow cake and wondering if it's really *that* different; or getting three types of premium chocolate to make cookies (otherwise you're not *really* following the recipe). I don't expect Stella to compromise her recipes but I think beginner bakers might want to be ready for this.I'll tell you what though, after making a few of these recipes, you'll feel like you just graduated from boot camp. I mean, this is next-level stuff but still very accessible to home bakers. You will get to know techniques and flavors that you're baking buddies don't.I'll also add that Stella is a great storyteller. I love the history of the different recipes and products. She really brings together the provenance of these bakes in a way that's both entertaining and informative and makes you feel like you're a part of history.All in all, get this book. It's like no other and will definitely up your game. Just have a straitjacket standing by just in case.