Reviewed by annieb123 on
The Brownie Diaries is a food therapy ode of love to brownies and chocolate-cakey things by Leah Hyslop. Due out 12th April 2022 from Bloomsbury, it's 176 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats, it makes it so easy to find info with the search function if needed.
This is such a fun and upbeat book, crammed with delicious brownie recipes. I've always been a fan of sweets and there are enough varied recipes here to keep the most dedicated brownie fan going for ages. The introduction does a much better than average job of introducing tools and ingredients for brownies and explaining what they do in context in the recipe to make the finished products not too cakey or too gooey or otherwise less-than-perfect.
The following chapters contain the recipes, grouped thematically: brownies for everyday, comfort, celebration (fancy!), and not-quite-traditional-brownie things.
Recipes contain a description and introduction, bullet lists of ingredients (measurements are given in metric units), followed by step-by-step instructions. All the recipes are photographed and illustrations are attractively styled and appetizing. Nearly all ingredients will be readily available at the local grocery store. Tutorial photos are accompanied by clear understandable captions which really help.The book is mostly slanted toward bakers in the UK and ingredient terms are in UK English (caster sugar, sultanas, golden syrup), but substitutions and conversions won't be a problem for readers elsewhere.
Five stars. Sensible. Beautifully written. High production quality throughout.I want to try all these recipes.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 10 April, 2022: Finished reading
- 10 April, 2022: Reviewed