Sweet and Vicious: Baking with Attitude [Hardcover]

INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards -- 2014 Finalist

An irreverent cookbook filled with inventive recipes for baking that deliver a punch. Libbie Summers is not your run-of-the-mill cook. Growing up, she was the kind of child who dunked her potato chips into chocolate syrup to see if it might taste good (it does). That insatiable curiosity-and sweet tooth-is what fuels this book.Sweet and Viciousis all about exploring new taste sensations in the realm of baking. It is a no-holds-barred approach to baking outside the box with crazy-brilliant combinations. Savory and spicy flavors come into play often, such as in Habanero Carrot Cake, Fig and Pig Pie, and Mojito Cookies. Other times, the innovation comes in the form of a cooking method or serving presentation borrowed from another side of the kitchen, as with Meatball Muffins or Grilled Apricot Polenta Cake. There is also a healthy dose of humor sprinkled around, with recipes such as Gingerbread Working Girls, Preggers Pink Pickle Pie, and Salvation Cinnamon Rolls.

Essential to her philosophy is that sweets are supposed to be over-the-top, and that there is no point in firing up the oven if you are not making something so good it hurts.Sweet and Viciousbrings a sense of adventure into the kitchen and some fun into desserts. Isn't that the whole point of dessert, after all? Learn to expect the unexpectedfromSweet and Vicious. There is a fantastical element to the book that adds another dimension. What birthday reveler wouldn't be charmed by the mile-high cotton candy that garnishes the Fairground Attraction Cake?The fact that the recipes are extremely user-friendly and well-written adds to Summers' credibility...Clearly, she knows how to have fun, but she's also not afraid to get a little bawdy, with recipes like Looking for Mr. Goodbar Cake, Stoned Tart, and Retired Gingerbread Working Girls. -Philadelphia Inquirer

“Summers calls it baking with lĂ*