Cookbook superstar Yotam Ottolenghi’s first calling was as a , so in some ways it’s surprising that the author of Jerusalem and four other books has waited this long to release a dessert book. But working with his longtime recipe collaborator Helen Goh, he has produced a magical, flavorful collection that stands apart from every other recent baking book. There are certainly some nods to traditional favorites (soft gingerbread tiles with rum butter glaze, for instance), but it’s the inspired playfulness the pair displays that really captures our attention: beet, ginger, and sour cream cake; fig, orange, and mascarpone cheesecake; apricot and thyme galettes with polenta pastry; rice pudding with roasted rhubarb and tarragon. We think all this is reason to celebrate the chef’s return to his original calling, and we know you will too.

Color photographs throughout. Hardcover.