You Made That Dessert?: Create Fabulous Treats, Even If You Can Barely Boil Water

by Beth Lipton

100+ simple-yet-sophisticated desserts for the un domestic diva There comes a certain point in a women's life when she realizes that store-bought cakes and cookies for special occasions just aren't going to cut it anymore. But she has neither the time nor the experience to create the desserts she sees on the Food Network, and has an aversion to the “semi-homemade” craze. You Made That Dessert? is for this woman. This book shows the savvy, modern woman how to make fabulous, beautiful desserts for any occasion without running all over town for exotic ingredients; without a kitchen full of expensive tools; and, most importantly, without feeling overwhelmed. With more than 100 recipes, accompanied by 50 full-color photos and Beth Lipton's lively prose, You Made That Dessert? also explains basic baking principles and techniques. The recipes are easy, and mostly quick, but without sacrificing quality. Family and friends will ask, “You made that?” as they savor desserts including Molten Dark Chocolate Cakes, Fudgy Toblerone Brownies, Spicy Pumpkin Custard, and Cherry Clafouti.

Genres: Cookbooks

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Beth Lipton is food director of Health magazine. Her responsibilities include planning and creating content across multiple platforms as well as recipe development.

Along with her work at Health magazine, Beth works as a health coach.

Before Health, Beth was the food director for All You magazine, where she received a 2014 Henry Luce Award for Special Interests for her Home Economics series. Prior to All You, she was the founding food editor for Quick & Simple magazine at Hearst. Previously she worked at People.com, Expedia Travels, CNET News.com, and Yahoo Internet Life.

Beth received a Bachelor of Arts in print journalism from the University of Southern California. She went on to earn an associate's degree in pastry chef training from The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College in Philadelphia. In 2014, she completed the chef training program at the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City, including a culinary internship at Michelin-starred restaurant Annisa.

Beth lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter and when she isn't cooking, she loves to run and read.

Reviews

[Bunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I shouldn't give it 5 stars, because I haven't actually made any of the recipes in here to verify they taste as good as they look and sound.

But based solely on instruction alone, I am in love. Each recipe gives you not only the ingredients needed, but what tools you need, such as stand mixer, flexible spatula. The recipe itself informs you what techniques you'll be using, and why you're using them. This could not be a better fit for someone as kitchen-deficient as me.

The recipes look so good. As I was typing up the ones I wanted to save for later (until I finally buy the book), I was mentally thinking, "If I go to the store RIGHT NOW and buy this stuff (and a stand mixer...), I can make this and this and this and this..."

This book could make you fat. I'm just saying.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

never really was a confident baker but after trying a few receipes from this book i have become more adventurous and am starting to love to bake. i always have loved to cook and this book has given me that same feeling from baking.