Sweet by Alexina Anatole

Last Updated on February 28, 2026

A book for those who love a good dessert

In one of her most famous songs, Nina Simone sings ‘I want a little sugar in my bowl/ I want a little sweetness down in my soul’. Alexina Anatole’s recipe book, Sweet, will provide you with all this and more.

The second in a series of recipe books by 2021 MasterChef finalist Alexina Anatole, Sweet (Square Peg) is like visiting a patisserie and having difficulty deciding what to taste first. The difference, of course, is that here you have to bake the goodies yourself. A selection of over 80 recipes divided into 10 chapters on sweet ingredients from brown sugar to bananas, strawberries, pears and peaches and onwards to vanilla, coconut and dates, the book presented me with a double challenge. Firstly, I don’t have a sweet tooth and secondly, perhaps because of the first impediment, I rarely bake or make desserts. Desserts in my household are usually fresh fruit with Greek yoghurt or if we have guests, a pavlova. Yet, once I got started, there were so many tempting ideas in Sweet that I ended up spending most of the day in the kitchen. Fortunately, I was having guests for dinner.

Sweet is a book about desserts that are not too sweet. Rather they balance contrast (interest) and comfort so, for example, raspberries are served with sour cream and a sprinkling of sugar that caramelises under the grill. I tried this recipe first as it is an assembly job that is done in minutes.  It might sound like a paradox but Sweet is perfect for those trying to reduce their sugar intake while still enjoying a tasty, sophisticated dessert. A matcha tiramisu is a perfect example of balancing sweet with bitter flavours and as soon as strawberries are in season this is the recipe I will be reaching for.

The day’s cooking started with breakfast. The chapter entitled Sweetness in a Savoury World might have been written with readers like me in mind with the addition of a few more savoury items. Here I found a recipe she learned from @bobakcooks called Iranian fried eggs with dates, known as takhme-morgh va Khorma Easy-peasy to make, I asked my son who is temporarily back in residence, whether I could prepare his breakfast. He is a creature of morning habits and always fries two eggs before leaving for work. All I needed to do was tweak this a bit. The recipe involves melting butter until foaming, popping in a couple of pitted and halved Medjool dates, letting them caramelise a bit and then cracking in the eggs. The sounds of delight were clear to hear. So that is a win. Definitely on the list for making over and over again if my husband would stop eating the dates every time he passes by the large box I bought. I love recipes like this that one can use regularly and that take a standard dish – fried eggs – to another level.

Next, I made another savoury-ish recipe from the chapter on dates and dried fruits –  date, fennel seed and lemon scones. I adore dates as well as all things fennel. I decided to serve these scones as a nibble with a glass of bubbly when my guests arrived. Although I followed Anatole’s recipe which calls for serving the scones with labneh and honey, I might next time take them in a more savoury direction and replace the honey with a really good extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of za’atar. I know this book is called Sweet, but I would also leave out the sugar strewn on the top of the scones before baking. As I said, I lack that sweet tooth but you may not, so get your demerara ready if you prefer. I must report that my guests polished off the platter of scones I set out and it was a welcome change from the usual bowls of olives and taralli I usually serve as nibbles.

Now I felt on a roll. In the haze of a sugar rush, I decided to make two desserts to finish off our dinner. After the first, the guests were so full and when I pointed out I needed them to also taste the second one, there were a few groans. As so often happens with sweet and delicious baked goods, there was hardly a crumb left.

First up was a riff on an apple and blackberry crumble – apples and blackberries with brown sugar breadcrumbs. As Anatole says in her intro to the recipe, does anyone really need another crumble recipe? This one is different as it involves a buttered breadcrumb topping made with sourdough. The specific type of sourdough is not mentioned and there are so many to choose from. I happened to have a spelt loaf in the kitchen and so used that. The sugary, buttery, fried breadcrumbs were so fabulous that I was tempted to serve them alone. However, onto the prepared fruit they went and came out of the oven a bit crispy and a textural surprise. A couple of us thought the taste was reminiscent of rice crispies – the flavour – while others all liked the change from the usual crumble. I served it with a rich Greek yoghurt.

The second dessert was declared ‘absolutely delicious’ and it really was. From the chapter on vanilla, I baked the simple citrus, olive oil + vanilla loaf. The word ‘simple’ belies how complex the flavour was. Made with blood oranges, the cake is perfect for this time of year when blood oranges are in the shops – they have a very short season so do not delay if you would like to try this. The recipe is easy to follow – but read it through all the way first. I didn’t and ended up making a rookie mistake involving adding too much juice at the wrong time.

The final result looked impressive, was moist, not too sweet and yes, it gets a place on my remake list. I wondered how lovely it might be with a little bit of alcohol added to the mix while a guest suggested orange blossom water to take it in a different direction. I love a recipe that one can tweak like that. To be very decadent, at Christmas, I might serve this with a bowl of Cointreau cream that is sold at that time of year. Even more so as my son declared that he much preferred this cake to the famous orange and almond cake I have been baking every Christmas for as long as he can remember. I think it just got pushed off its perch.

SWEET by Alexina Anatole (Square peg) is published on 13th February 2025 with an RRP of £27. Available from Amazon (#aff) and other good booksellers

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