Clarkson Potter Momofuku Milk Bar: A Cookbook

I was really dissapointed because some of the ingredients/ recipes you really need to be an American citizen to acquire them. Not really compatable with English stores.

I bought this book even though I read the reviews beforehand on the difficulty of most of the recipes. However, I live really far from any Milk Bar so for me to be able to spend a day baking to replicate an amazing, mouthwatering dessert, is pretty priceless (I love to bake! And would love to try the “crack pie”). Again, another cookbook I love to have in my collection, might make 3 recipes out of the entire book, as they are all very indulgent and time consuming recipes!!

I’ve been on a baking rampage since I got this book. I read it cover-to-cover & I’ve made 8 recipes so far. I normally don’t bother reviewing stuff (I know, I know..) but the negative reviews of this book are so ridiculous. People negatively reviewed because the recipes are too complicated & require special ingredients that cost money? What do you expect?! I’m sure happy Christina didn’t “dumb down” her recipes for this book. If you want a cheap easy recipe, go on Pinterest or buy a box of Betty Crocker… I want to be able to make the authentic desserts from Milk Bar, even if it means I have to buy a $12 roll of acetate and some fancy cake flour. If that’s how they do it at Milk bar, that’s what I want to attempt at home.I love how there are lots of textures in all of Christina’s recipes & great depth of flavor, not just sweet. I love how unusual and unique the recipes are – no boring snickerdoodles or devil’s food cake. I made the birthday cake & cereal milk ice cream for Father’s Day & what a hit! The cake seemed a little intimidating with 4 different components (the cake, the cake soak, the frosting, the cake crumb) but making it was very simple and not time-consuming as I envisioned. The cake is inspired by the funfetti cake mix but funfetti has nothing on this cake! This is my favorite cake I’ve ever had. No words describe how amazing it is & how impressive you’ll look showing up with a cake like this. It wasn’t even difficult to assemble. The cereal milk ice cream was very unusual but very delicious.Although the finished recipes have a lot of components, every recipe is explained so clearly that they’re practically fool-proof. To those negatively reviewing because your cookies didn’t come out: I seriously doubt you followed instructions. I’ve made 2 different batches of cookies (blueberry and cream cookies & confetti cookies) & both turned out AMAZING. Did you follow her instructions & use King Arthur bread flour? Mix the fats for 10 minutes until it wasn’t streaky? Refrigerate for at least an hour and go straight into the oven? I had zero issues following the clearly-explained methods. Every recipe I’ve made so far has turned out amazingly well & I look forward to working through the entire book.UPDATE:I’ve since made every single cake (some multiple times) and every ice cream recipe in this book. Any gathering or excuse I can find to make one of these cakes, I make one. Every single person rants and raves about how it’s the best cake they’ve ever had. I have a lot of books on ice cream, but Christina’s recipes are my absolute favorite. She uses gelatin instead of eggs, so you get a pure flavor of whatever the ice cream is (the graham ice cream is the best!).Again, to anyone thinking the recipes are too complicated or time-consuming: they’re not! If she says cream the ingredients for 3 minutes, then set a timer for THREE minutes! I’m no professional baker but I can follow instructions, and every single recipe I’ve made (over half the recipes in this book!) have turned out PHENOMENAL. Just follow Christina’s very simple instructions & you’re set! You don’t have to make everything in the same day. Sure, the cakes have 4-5 components to them, but that’s what makes them the greatest cakes you’ll ever taste. The two frostings most of the cakes have means more complex flavor & then the crumb adds a nice textural component.You can not only make some of the components in advance, but you can make the entire cake up to 2 weeks in advance! That’s what I love! You have to freeze the cake for a minimum of 5 hours to be able to remove the acetate, and you can keep it in the freezer up to 2 weeks! Normally, I would never freeze a fully assembled cake, but these turn out perfectly fresh – you can’t even tell it’s been frozen.I’m also obsessed with the assembly of these cakes! You bake it in a sheet pan & cut the 3 layers out with a cake ring. You use acetate to create the perfect layers – so easy with Christina’s clear instructions but SO striking!!This is 10000% my favorite cookbook EVER. I will definitely shed a tear when I’ve baked everything & I’m craving new recipes.

Too advanced for the home baker. Requires obscure hard to find ingredients. Requires expensive equipment. Recipes require two or more sub-recipes. I made the cornflake-chocolate-chip-marshmallow cookies and they just melt into sad puddles after being in the oven for just a half of the time called for. I will say if you do buy the book and make said cookies and pair them with Ben and Jerry’s Netflix and Chill’d ice cream - they where made for each other.Anyway, I Returned it.

One of the best dessert cookbook I’ve ever bought. The only one that comes close for original and creative recipes is Elizabeth Faulkner’s book. While a lot of the recipes require several smaller recipes most are straight forward and the instructions very thorough so anyone with moderate baking experience can prepare them with a bit of time.