Sugar Rush by Johnny Iuzzini with Wes Martin

A review of Sugar Rush by Johnny Iuzzini with Wes Martin.  Post may contain affiliate links. 

Sugar Rush: Master Tips, Techniques, and Recipes for Sweet Bakingis a big, beautiful book.  It’s absolutely gorgeous and with holiday shopping just around the corner it would make a perfect gift for you or someone you really, really like!  Seriously, if you have any sort of foodie on your holiday list, look no further.

The book opens with an introduction by Dorie Greenspan (I know!), which that right there should tell you how wonderful this book is!  That is followed by a getting started section that covers ingredients, equipment, tools, and bakeware.

The rest of the book is divided into nine sections:  Custards and Creamy Desserts; Eggs and Meringue; Caramel; Cakes, Cupcakes, Brownies, and Muffins; Cookies, Tea Cakes and Biscuits; Tarts, Cobblers and Crisps; Yeast Doughs; Glazes, Frosting, Fillings and Sauces; and Building a Balanced Dessert.

Each section opens with the general basic info about the desserts in that section.  I marked so many things to try:

Custards and Creamy Desserts:  Vanilla Cream Sauce, Ginger Spice Ice Cream, Coffee Cardamom Pastry Cream, Toasted Almond-Cinnamon Panna Cotta.

Eggs and Meringue:  French Meringue, Swiss Meringue, Italian Meringue (who knew there where this many meringues!), Crunchy Meringue Cookies, Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse, Banana-Rum Mouse, Espresso Marshmallows, and Browned Butter Crepes.

Caramel:  Dry Caramel vs. Wet Caramel (again, had no idea there types of caramel), Candied Hazelnuts, Caramel Pudding, Earl Grey Creme Caramel.

Cakes, Cupcakes, Brownies, and Muffins:  Crumb Cake, Chocolate Cupcakes, Olive Oil Sponge Cake, Flourless Chocolate Meringue Cake, and Spicy Malted Chocolate Chipotle Brownies.

Cookies, Tea Cakes and Biscuits:  Killer Chocolate Chip Cookies, Chocolate Snowballs, Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits.

Tarts, Cobblers, and Crisps - Sweet Tart Dough, Citrus Tart Dough, Chocolate Tart Dough, Caramel-Walnut Tart, Smoky Chocolate Ginger Ganache Tart, and Gooey Chocolate-Caramel Tart.

Yeast Doughs:  Brioche, Pecan-Caramel Sticky Buns, and Fresh Yeast Donuts.

Glazes, Frostings, Fillings and Sauces:  Shiny Chocolate Glaze, Buttercream with 7 variations, and Candied Citrus Peel.

Building a Balanced Dessert:  combining several of the desserts into one amazing dessert, for example:  The Vanilla-Banana Caramel Cake using Vanilla Sponge Cake, Banana-Rum Mousse, Caramelized Bananas, and Candied Hazelnuts!

I can not say enough good things about this book.  It is like a textbook for baking, with gorgeous step-by-step photos.  There are mother recipes that you can learn and master and then move on to the more compacted recipes.  Dorie Greenspan says it best in the intro when she states that she wishes she had had this book back when she was learning to bake.  The thing is it’s perfect for people who are just learning to bake, people who bake occasionally and want to step up their game, and those that bake regularly and want to learn new tips and tricks from a master pastry chef.

I was so impressed with the photos in the book that I was able to obtain some of them from the publisher to share with you.  Look below at all this gorgeousness!!

Disclaimer - Amazon links are affiliate links, thank you for clicking through and supporting this blog.  I received a complimentary copy of this book for review, but all opinions of it's absolute awesomeness are all my own!