Sweet and Natural Baking: Sugar-free, Flavorful Recipes from Mani's Bakery [Paperback]

Mani Niall (Author), Mark McLane (Photographer)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Mani Niall has become famous for the beautiful yet indulgent desserts sold at his Los Angeles bakery. In Sweet & Natural Baking, Niall explains how to make naturally sweetened treats using only whole grain flours. (Some are also low fat, but that's not a particular objective in this book.) Carefully detailed instructions should guide you to perfect results for baked desserts, including cookies, muffins, scones, pies and cakes. There are useful descriptions of ingredients to help anyone unfamiliar with using whole grains and sweeteners such as concentrated fruit juice and maple syrup in baking. Mouth-watering photos show why Danny DeVito, Roseanne, and rock groups have made Mani "baker to the stars."

Product Description

Mani Niall's delicious and healthful delicacies will satisfy everyone's craving for goodies, from health-conscious bakers to dessert hedonists. The owner of the celebrated Mani's Bakery in Southern California, Niall has spent years perfecting his technique of baking with no refined sugar--without compromising on flavor. His Sweet and Natural Baking offers 65 recipes for such delights as creamy cheesecake, chewy brownies, magnificent muffins, tangy tarts, and even rich truffles, all made using familiar baking methods. Nothing lifts the spirits like a homemade treat -- and if it's made with wholesome ingredients, it tastes all the sweeter.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 132 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (August 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811810496
• ISBN-13: 978-0811810494
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #282,135 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must own if you love baking but don't want the sugar., July 21, 2000

By	Mrs. Piggle Wiggle (Roswell, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sweet and Natural Baking: Sugar-free, Flavorful Recipes from Mani's Bakery (Paperback)

I love to bake. I am not vegan/vegetarian or looking to lower my cholesterol. However, you can be any of those things and still use this book. I have a hyperactive 4 year old on the Feingold Diet. Even tho they don't suggest you eliminate sugar, I feel my son is less high strung when his sugar intake is low. However, he loves yummy baked things. This is where Mani's book comes in. The chocolate chip pecan cookies are really great! I have a jar full..actually not full anymore...downstairs right now. Mani lists substitutions for dairy free, egg free etc... so anyone could use this book. Just keep or add in what you like, and keep out what you don't. Personally, I love dairy and eggs but wanted to do without the sugar. I like that you have options with this book. So many other sugar-free baking books are vegan. The great thing about Mani's book is that anyone can use it and everything in it is fabulous!

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent! Sugarfree desserts for everyone!, October 5, 2001

By	S. Young (Bountiful, Utah USA) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sweet and Natural Baking: Sugar-free, Flavorful Recipes from Mani's Bakery (Paperback)

This is such a great book, the whole thing is pleasing and wonderful to look at. And the majority of the recipes I've tried you'll die over! Even ones that don't require any sweetner in them at all. Such as the Banana-Nut Pancakes. Moist, tender and wonderful!

My brother and I are very sensitive to even organic sugar and fruit juice is the only thing we've found that doesn't affect us so this book is a treasure!

However, note that Fruit-Sweet is this chef's favorite sweetner. BUT he does tell you how to make your own concentrated sweetner with frozen juice concentrate. VERY NICE! Be warned, I thought I'd be daring and try pineapple juice and made the peanut butter cookies. Don't do it! White Grape Juice and White Grape & Peach Juice are the ones I've found that you can use for any recipe.

Everything in here takes a little time. But if you want something sweet and can't get anything at the nearby grocery or organic store then invest a little and enjoy this book, it's well worth every penny.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some excellent recipes, July 8, 2003

By	James F. Stoicheff (Santa Barbara, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Sweet and Natural Baking: Sugar-free, Flavorful Recipes from Mani's Bakery (Paperback)

This is my favorite cookbook, not because every recipe in it is to my liking, but because some of the recipes are superb. The Cranberry-Walnut Scones and Chunky Carrot Cake recipes (the latter of which is truly vegan) alone are worth the price of the book. I get raves for them all the time. And not everyone likes Southern-style Cornmeal Waffles, but I adore them.

Most of the recipes call for a fruit-juice concentrate sweetener. When I lived in the Northwest, I used the excellent one from Mystic Lake Dairy that's available in stores there. Fortunately, the author provides very easy instructions for making your own (involving only apple juice and either a microwave or a saucepan and stove).