11 October 2009

Okashi by Chef Keiko Ishida

I'm so pleased to pick up a copy of 'okashi - sweet treats made with love' by Chef Keiko Ishida at Shermay's Cooking School yesterday.



Was anticipating this recipe book for a few months now as it was slated to be released in Jun. Doesn't matter, it's finally published much to the delight of all her fans, I believe.

Have attended some of her classes at Shermay's Cooking School these few years and she impressed everyone with her refined and elegant sense of style in the desserts she made seemingly so effortlessly.

I love the format of this book, with details that are very helpful to amateurs and home bakers.

There's a section to describe the type of baking equipment she uses, photos included. Photos are definitely useful so that it's easier for us to search for the exact piece of equipment with an idea in mind.

The section on types of baking ingredients she uses is informative as one can be totally clueless about the different ingredients listed in recipe books vs those available in the stores.

In the basic recipes section, besides ingredients and steps, she also explains how the basic recipes can be applied and includes tips on successful bakes.

In new creations (western pastries with a japanese touch) and all-time favourites, I'm excited to see the recipes from those classes I happened to miss. Great!

She even has 2 special sections - recipes which require no eggs, dairy, gelatine or refined sugar as well as recipes for pets. So cool!

For now, I'll spend my sweet Sunday reading from cover to cover before deciding which recipe to start first....

10 comments:

  1. Hi,
    Can you listed the content of the book Please :)
    Thank you in Advance
    Rgrds,
    Grace Tan

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  2. Hi, there are close to 80 recipes so quite tough to list the content. Probably you can drop by Shermay's Cooking School to browse through.

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  3. I just made reservation from Shermays, i really hope i have opportunity to attend chief Keiko's class.

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  4. I went all the way from M'sia to get this book in Shermay!! It was fantastic, I tried the pastry cream, choux pastry, chocolate cake, genoise. It's great and I love the part where she includes recipe for pets as well I am going to make some for my dogs :):)

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  5. I just got this book and I love it! The instructions are clear and the recipes are simple, yet tasteful and elegant. Do post your bakes from this book! :)

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  6. i finally bake my 1st cake from this book ~ chocolate cake.. luv it, we all luv it!

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  7. Hi there, can you please tell me how much the book costs? Thanks

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  8. Hi Nat,
    Can't remember exactly, I think around $30.

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  9. Hi! I was trying to bake the souffle toll sponge. However, with several attempt it was not successful. My cake turn out to be thin and hard. I'm using 30cm x 30cm pan and cake flour. Does this matter with the end result of the cake?

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  10. Hi Rachel,
    Maybe you want to try reducing the temperature or baking time? The recipe is for 28x28cm pan, so if using bigger pan, spreading batter thinner may affect the texture. Another thing to note is the folding of the meringue, which affects the texture very much. Must be swift movements yet gentle.

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