A Whisper of Cardamom: 80 Sweetly Spiced Recipes To Fall in Love With

This dessert cookbook stands out from the crowd. Grounded in the history of the spice trade and global cooking traditions, this book by food writer Ford (The Nutmeg Trail) presents a sweeping overview of the uses and interplay of various spices, interspersed with recipes that illuminate and highlight particular flavors and combinations. In a welcome twist, the recipes also include alternative spice combinations, which increase the flexibility and usefulness of the book. Spices that may be unfamiliar to some readers, such as mastic and mahleb, are allowed to shine in the recipes, while Ford also provides alternative options that use spices more easily found in U.S. grocery stores. Recipes are loosely organized around particular flavor profiles, such as floral, warming, and sour, and include cakes, puddings, meringues, beverages, and cookies, as well as jams, candied fruit, and other options.