Description:
The simplest fruit desserts are always the best. Proving the point with exemplary brevity is How to Make Simple Fruit Desserts. In fewer than 100 pages, it presents illustrated, step-by-step instructions for preparing crisps, cobblers, shortcakes, compotes, fools, baked apples, and poached fruit, among other deliciously old-fashioned fare, plus tips and other information that all cooks can use. Stating its intention to explore only the most quickly made fruit specialties, the book then presents an illustrated compendium of preparation techniques and tips ("core apples that have first been quartered" is one), useful dish definitions, and master recipes with variations. Don't know a buckle from a crumble from a grunt? In a chapter devoted to these delights, lines are clearly drawn (a buckle is fruit mixed with yellow cake batter and baked; a crumble is topped with oats; grunts are topped with biscuit dough and then baked under cover), and basic formulas with variations revealed. Readers will also enjoy learning how to make Grilled Bananas with Caramel Sauce and Nuts, summer puddings, and Lemon Sabayon, among other tempting fruit desserts. Special techniques are illustrated throughout and useful advice abounds (for example, pat out shortcake dough, which is easily overworked, rather than rolling it out). A true primer, the book is part of the Cook's Illustrated Library, a modest yet consistently authoritative series from the editors of Cook's Illustrated magazine. Like the magazine, the books are dedicated to presenting tried-and-perfected recipes and cooking techniques in a concise, approachable way. --Arthur Boehm
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