All-American Desserts: 400 Star-Spangled, Razzle-Dazzle Recipes for America's Best Loved Desserts

In the last few years, we have been treated to a sweet explosion of books on `American' desserts from special subject books on chocolate and cookies to general books like the present volume covering the entire dessert table. In fact, 2003 has brought us two such volumes, this title by Judith M. Fertig and a very similar title by TV Network pastry personality Wayne Harley Brachman. I will conclude with a comparison of these two books.Ms. Fertig takes her queue on the meaning of `American food' from Julia Child, who said anything cooked in America by Americans with American ingredients is `American'. With all respect to Ms. Julia, this definition is great to roll off the tongue to dismiss a query, but it excludes practically nothing. The title of the book `All American Desserts' suggests a more highly selective criteria for including recipes, but I suspect the title is simply a means to do some flag waving over our apple pies. The book is loaded with classic European dishes such as crème broulee, tiramisu, agua fresca, Swedish Torte, and Biscotti. The simple truth is that the book covers anything that is made and enjoyed in America, and this is a good thing.It is probably also fair to say the book does not cover everything made and enjoyed in America, as that would require a book at least three times the 504 pages devoted to recipes. There is no rhubarb pie for example, but for that we have Brachman's book.Unlike every other `American' baking book I have seen, Ms. Fertig actually tells us how many of the desserts in the book became American, based either on an ingredient native to North America such as cranberries or by an historical connection to a European tradition, as when she traces the effect on desserts of four different migrations from four different parts of the British Isles to the colonies, based on `David Fischer's historical work, `Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America'. For this extra effort to make the book's premise worthwhile, I send Ms. Fertig a great big virtual smooch. The book goes a lot further than this in dealing with the American roots of its recipes. There are sidebars on virtually all the classic American ingredients such as sorghum, Concord grapes, pumpkins, molasses, and rosewater. Also, `America' is broadly interpreted to mean `the New World' when it's convenient, as when Mexican vanilla is presented as an American ingredient.The `Desserts' title is especially appropriate for this book, as both `baking' and `pastry' would not convey the full range of recipes covered in the book. The recipe chapters cover:Fruit Preserves and Desserts, with a glossary explaining the perpetually confusing and overlapping terms such as `crisp', `crumble', `cobbler', `pandowdy' and many others. Classics such as Bananas Foster and Southern Ambrosia are well represented.Cookies, with brownies, chess squares, pecan balls, chocolate chip cookies, whoopie pies, and Germantown lebkuchen, but no snickerdoodles!Cakes, with classic yellow

After cutting back on dessert for health reasons, this book has inspired me to make dessert more often. The desserts I've made from this book turned out great. Of course, you can get classic American recipes from many sources, but after presenting the simple versions, the author often includes a few versions with more "razzle-dazzle." There is a wide variety of desserts represented, so anyone should be able to find something to suit their palate, from light to rich, gelatin to pastry, and anything in between. The historical and descriptive anecdotes about ingredients and desserts are interesting and inspiring. You can tell that the author really enjoys dessert. The reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is that the organization could be better.

Compiled and organized by culinary columnist Judith M. Fertig, All American Desserts is a hearty, sweet-toothed, highly recommended collection of 400 favorite dessert recipes from across America's culinary landscape. In addition to clear ingredients and instructions, tidbits of culinary history behind some of America's favorite treats round out this mouth-watering compilation of recipes from Quilt Country Pumpkin Brownies; Secret Lemon Pie; Strawberry Agua Fresca; and Maryland Fresh Coconut Cake; to Rustic Brioche Galettes with Apricots and Almonds; Plum and Port Mousse; Swedish Sour Cream Dessert Crepes with Golden Raspberries; and White Chocolate Ice Cream.