250 Treasured Country Desserts

Description

These are cakes that children request for their birthdays, the whoopee pies and tray bakes that are the first thing to go at cake sales, the shortcake that celebrates strawberry season, and the pies and cobblers that accompany the apple harvest. When a friend who is sick with the flu needs cheering, a dense, not too sweet ginger bread lifts the spirits. Rough week at work? Creamy, raisiny rice pudding soothes jangled nerves. And when a child is going through an I hate cake phase, surprise her with a frozen chocolate mint ice cream cake. With 40 cookie creations, 42 pretty pies, 36 fruity crisps and cobblers, and puddings, meringues, squares, slumps, bombs, and buckles galore, the possibilities for sweet satisfaction are endless. Bakers will also find just right recipes for the crusts, frostings, toppings, and accompaniments that add so much to dessert classics. Little known food anecdotes and historical tidbits drawn from three centuries of cookery books round out this addictive dessert collection. It's just the thing for every baker.

Andrea Chesman is the author of The Fat Kitchen as well as many other cookbooks that focus on traditional techniques and fresh-from-the-garden cooking. Her previous books include The Pickled Pantry, Serving Up the Harvest, 101 One-Dish Dinners, and The Backyard Homestead Book of Kitchen Know-How. She teaches and gives cooking demonstrations and classes across the United States. She lives in Ripton, Vermont. Sculptor and culinary arts instructor Fran Raboff is the co-author of Recipes from a Kitchen Garden, Virtuous Desserts, and How to Beat Those Cordon Bleus.