Food writer and cooking teacher Bloom is the author of seven other cookbooks, including All About Chocolate and Cookies For Dummies. Her big new book, obviously a labor of love, presents more than 250 recipes, along with a thorough introduction to baking techniques, equipment, and ingredients. Organized by main ingredient (e.g., fruits, chocolate, liqueurs, and spirits), the recipes offer a wide array of treats, with carefully written and thorough instructions. Although the recipe head notes are somewhat repetitious, and it would have been helpful to have a listing of the desserts by category (e.g., pies, cakes), this is an essential purchase for baking collections. (Library Journal, March 15, 2007)

Bloom, the author of eight cookbooks whose work has appeared in Bon Appetit, Gourmet and Food + Wine, adopts an unusual approach in this exhaustive and tantalizing look at baking. Instead of categorizing recipes by food type, she organizes them by primary ingredient—a useful approach for the baker with a craving or surplus of one ingredient. Sections include fruits and vegetables; nuts and seeds; chocolate; dairy products; spices and herbs; and coffee, tea, liqueurs and spirits. The recipes themselves are uniquely formatted in a table layout that lists the ingredients across from their steps to help with organization. Bloom includes a list of equipment needed for the dish along with instructions on storage, streamlining, altering the recipe and recovering from mishaps. The collection covers the gamut with 225 recipes, including such delectable gems as Pear and Walnut Layer Cake with Maple–Cream Cheese Icing; Coconut Biscotti; and Cranberry Nut Tea Loaf. Other highlights range from Chocolate Chip Cookies and Macadamia Nut Blondies to Malted Milk Chocolate Cheesecake and Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Bloom also provides valuable instruction in sections on essential ingredients, equipment and supplies, and techniques. 32 full-color photos. (Apr.) (Publishers Weekly, January 8, 2007)