Bake the Book: 'Sugar Baby'

Gesine Bullock-Prado, Vermont-based confectioner, sister of Sandra Bullock, and author of Sugar Baby, wants you to know that she's written something that's not another baking book. Sugar Baby sets itself apart from a slew of baking books in that it is about cooking with sugar, the magical transformation that happens when sugar is heated.

Sugar work, as Bullock-Prado calls it, encompasses everything from rock candy and caramels to taffy, fudge, buttercream, mousses, brittles, and gummies, making Sugar Baby a thrilling survey of all sorts of confectionary treats. And since it's all about what happens in the various stages of sugar meets heat, it's divided into chapters by temperatures and stages—soft-ball, firm-ball, and hard-crack. By bringing together all of the stages of sugar work, Bullock-Prado has assembled a cookbook that highlights the malleable nature of sugar, pushing it way beyond simple sweetener.

For the next two weeks we're going to be making our way through the various stages of sugar cookery with the help of Sugar Baby. We'll begin with the simple dissolve stage by freezing up a batch of Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding Pops, experimenting with soft-ball for a Perfect Passion Fruit Parfait, and breaking out the candy thermometer to whip up a batch of Chinese Ginger-Lime Milk Candy.

Win 'Sugar Baby'

Thanks to the generous folks over at Stewart, Tabori & Chang, we are giving away five (5) copies of Sugar Baby over the next two weeks.

All you have to do is tell us about your favorite candy, sweet, confection, or lolly in the comments section below.

The standard Serious Eats contest rules apply.

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