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BAKING by Melissa Forti | Dolci, Tartes and magical cakes – Melissa Forti's first baking book is now available. It contains 100 of her best and most popular recipes: cakes, tarts, brownies, cantuccini, parrozzo, tiramisu, cookies, and more. These recipes are also available in her own tea room in Sarzana, a charming establishment with a baroque vintage aesthetic and meticulous attention to detail. The recipes combine everything that Italian baking has to offer, with a modern twist and influences from Forti's adopted homes of Los Angeles and London. Look forward to a wonderful, special, and truly unique baking book, or as Tim Mälzer himself puts it in the foreword: "You can't bake more Italy into a slice of cake than this."»

The book „BAKING by Melissa Forti“ – a first look

After a first glance, the book appears clear and well-structured. Even just browsing through the individual recipes, each with its corresponding picture on the right-hand double page, makes you want to try them out. Divided into various categories and chapters ("Collection of Recipes from My Homeland Italy," "Selection of Recipes from Around the World," "Compilation of Recipes from My Personal Collection"), along with an index at the back, it's easy to find what you're looking for. The recipes are clearly laid out and, below each recipe title, are divided into three columns: On the far left, you'll find information about the recipe, including the number of servings it yields; in the middle, the necessary ingredients; and on the right, the detailed but easy-to-understand preparation steps. Contrary to my initial fears, the instructions for most recipes are manageable even for non-professionals.

The book "BAKING" by Melissa Forti

What's also wonderful is the accompanying photograph for each of the 100 recipes. The pictures, the layout of the text, and the overall design all clearly demonstrate that you're holding a truly "Italian" work in your hands. Even more than that, reading the book made me feel a bit like I must be in Forti's Italian tea room – that's how authentic and genuine it feels when you delve into the selection of recipes. On top of that, the book is bound in a racing-green hardcover, featuring a portrait of the elegant Melissa Forti on the cover – wonderfully Italian, in front of a table laden with various cakes. After just a quick flip through, I was seized by the urge to bake and decided to roll up my sleeves and get started.

Semolina and ricotta cake from page 56

Recreating a recipe

Having too many choices can be a burden. That's how it was for me when selecting a recipe to bake, specifically to familiarize myself with the recipe instructions. I ultimately decided on a "Torta Di Semolino E Ricotta" – a semolina and ricotta cake consisting of 1 liter of whole milk, 250 grams of semolina, the zest of one organic lemon and one organic orange, 2 tablespoons of butter, 600 grams of ricotta, 6 eggs, 1 teaspoon of vanilla paste, 200 grams of granulated sugar, and a pinch of salt. The preparation steps in my example recipe were divided into four simple, easy-to-understand steps, one of which was simply preheating the oven (180 degrees Celsius) and greasing the pan.

I followed all the steps: mixing the milk with the semolina, adding the lemon zest, and skimming it off after it had thickened. Then I combined everything with the butter, the sieved ricotta, eggs, vanilla, sugar, salt, and lemon zest. After stirring for three minutes and pouring the mixture into the baking dish, it went into the oven. My mixture was quite liquid and very smooth, and my electric mixer did a great job. I extended the baking time (which the recipe called for "about" 45 minutes) by almost seven minutes due to a lack of color and a consistency that was too runny. Finally, I took my Forti-style masterpiece out of the oven.

The 100 great recipes are clearly laid out.

After cooling, it looked quite good, came out of the greased pan easily, and looked good even after cutting. Unfortunately, the semolina separated, resulting in two layers – clearly visible in the photo – and the top of the cake tasted like a very moist cheesecake, while the bottom tasted like a very dense, but still good, semolina cake. After consulting various baking experts, I was told that I might have chosen the wrong ricotta, or that 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) wasn't right for my dough in my oven, and that the seven minutes of baking on top were the death knell for the evenness of my batter. Be that as it may, it tasted good, and the important thing was the clarity of the recipe, which was perfectly understandable.

I also read through other recipes afterwards, mentally going through them step by step, and found each one easy to understand and perfectly feasible. As a helpful tip, I personally recommend preparing everything in advance. In my case, for example, that means having the ricotta already sieved, the sugar, butter, etc., weighed out, so that all you really have to do is mix everything together.

Finally, the register lists all the sweets, cakes and tarts.

More recipes for a complete overview

To help you decide if you might like the book, or if it's perhaps the ideal gift for baking enthusiasts and/or lovers of Italy, here are some of the recipes that made me want to try more just from reading through them: "Ugly but delicious hazelnut meringues," "Sour cream cake with blueberries," "Pistachio and raspberry cheesecake," "Honey and persichetto liqueur cake," "Coconut pralines," "Lavender and honey torte," "Italian carrot cake," "French vanilla cakes," "Vegan cake," "Winter cookies," "Cinnamon cake," and so on and so forth... As you can see, there's quite a variety on offer.

Personal opinion and conclusion

A fantastic book that's a joy to read from beginning to end – truly. The introduction, Tim Mälzer's foreword, the acknowledgments, as well as the recipes themselves, the layout, and the helpful tips for each recipe make it a pleasure to read. Every recipe is unique; no recipes are duplicated or give the impression that only a few ingredients are swapped out. As I mentioned, I browsed through every single recipe and am already looking forward to trying the next one. (...Maybe I'll even dare to try the semolina and ricotta cake again...). I highly recommend buying this book, especially if you enjoy baking and are looking for an ideal mix of easy and more elaborate recipes. It's well worth the investment.

Bibliographic data:
Book presentation by: Dolci, tarts and magical cakes – BAKING by Melissa Forti
Publishing house: Prestel
Sample text and Buy book for €32
Key facts: Hardcover book with cardboard binding, 224 pages, 18.5 x 24.5 cm
Contents: 100 recipes, 220 color illustrations
ISBN: 978-3-7913-8382-8