Review: 250 Treasured Country Desserts

I hesitated when offered this book to review. I had a big pile of unread books already. Yet, the baker in me won out, and I’m glad. Those who know me realize that regular food is boring to me. I love making desserts only. Of course, I have to deal with regular food too, but for now, let’s talk dessert!

I’ve never made a black walnut cake before, but 250 Treasured Country Desserts by Andrea Chesman and Fran Raboff gave me the perfect excuse. The cake recipe wasn’t difficult, though the burnt sugar icing was somewhat more complicated. I had decided to make this cake at the very last minute to take with me for a get together, so I was happy there were no snags.

The black walnut cake turned out to be very moist and flavorful and plenty tall. (I put it in a slightly larger pan than the recipe called for, but there was no problem.) I especially like this dessert for the fall. The rich, nutty flavor and brown color scream autumn. Plus, my father-in-law said it was one of the best cakes he’s ever eaten!

One of the things I liked about the recipe is that the ingredients are fairly common. The only thing I had to buy were the black walnuts. I dislike cookbooks with hard-to-find ingredients, so 250 Treasured Country Desserts scored with me right off. That’s not to say the recipes are too simple. The cookbook has a vast selection of fun recipes, all presented in an easy-to-read layout with a bit of a country flair (though not tacky).

A disadvantage of this cookbook is that there are no photos of the desserts. However, 250 Treasured Country Desserts still accomplishes a big feat. The cookbook is loaded with desserts most people want to make: oatmeal cookies, snickerdoodles, chocolate cream pie, ambrosia, apple brown betty and cherry crunch. But don’t get bored. There are some more unusual desserts included as well: Russian tea cakes, dulce de leche rice pudding, persimmon pudding, strawberries Romanoff, rhubarb compote and Lady Baltimore cake.

Baker’s tips are spread out throughout the cookbook, and a list of food holidays is included as well. Did you know that today is National Vanilla Cupcake Day?

If you love to bake desserts, you’ll likely enjoy having this cookbook in your kitchen. It would also make a fun gift paired with an apron or oven mitts.

(Cover image via Storey Publishing Cake image via Peggy Rowland)