Bakeless Sweets Review

Bakeless Sweets

Provided by Abram's Books

www.abramsbooks.com

Reviewed by Jordan Sward

Especially in this heat wave, the last thing you want to do is turn on the oven for hours and go through the hassle of mixing, baking, and cooling just to make dessert. Bakeless Sweets provides the perfect solution! It's a dessert cookbook chock full of delicious no bake dessert recipes, so you won't have to turn on your oven. The minute I started flipping through this book, I just knew these would become my new favorite go-to summer dessert recipes. From a variety of homemade puddings, to cool icebox cakes and pies, to whipped cream desserts, these bakeless recipes are easy to follow and great to share with friends.
 

The photos in this book are enough to make me want to eat the pages. Although cool, creamy desserts are my favorite during summer, I can see myself making these bakeless sweets all year round. For one, most of them are so pretty, they'd look great on a holiday table or served at a birthday party. Secondly, not having to fuss with the oven is a perk I'd want to take advantage of no matter what time of year!
 

Faith Durand, executive editor of The Kitchn, wrote this book to show readers how easy it is to make silky panna cotta, jello using fruit juice, and puddings from scratch at home. The book doesn't use any instant pudding or Jell-O, yet the recipes are super simple. One of my all-time favorite desserts is banana pudding, and the recipe for The Ultimate Banana Pudding Parfait in the book might be one of the best. It uses homemade banana and vanilla pudding! I never knew making this recipe without any boxed ingredients could be so easy, and it makes it so much more delicious! I absolutely love the freshness of flavors and how impressive it is to say that I made it completely from scratch. What's even better, many of the pudding desserts can be made ahead of time since they keep so well in the refrigerator. Some of them hold up for several days, which is convenient if you're taking them to a party.
 

One of my favorite sections of the book is the icebox cake section. Three words: Oreo. Icebox. Pie. And that's just the beginning. What better way to cool off in the summer than with a cold, refreshing icebox cake or pie? Whether you're a fan of fruit desserts or chocolate ones, the variety is enough to satisfy any sweet tooth. As for the other sections, there are a number of sweets from around the world that go beyond the traditional Western cookies and cakes.
 

Most of the recipes in Bakeless Sweets are naturally gluten-free and low sugar. There are 125 recipes to choose from, including Rich Chocolate Custard, Double Cream Coconut Pudding, Peach and Buttermilk Panna Cotta, Triple Chocolate Cream Icebox Cake, and more. After having my eyes opened to all these bakeless possibilities, I may never turn on my oven for dessert again!
 

Enter to win Bakeless Sweets from 7/29/2013 - 8/11/2013.