Pudding and Custard Books

This is a fantastic cookbook with an amazing array of recipes for this one sort of custard. Inventive, fresh and simple. Can't wait to work my way through this entire range of recipes!

I really like this cookbook. It has several different and unique recipes for panna cotta as well as the usual ones. I have never found another cookbook that is devoted only to panna cotta recipes. If you like panna cotta, this cookbook is for you.

Food writer, food scholar, recipe developer, cookbook author, and an acknowledge San Francisco Bay area gourmet, Camilla Saulsbury once again applies her considerable experience and impressive expertise in compiling flavorful, lovely, savory, 'kitchen cook friendly' recipes for one hundred delectable dishes involving Panna Cotta (an elegant Italian custard). Thirty of these culinary delights are shown in their final form with wonderful full-color photography that enable even the most novice chef just what to expect and how they might be served as part of a memorable meal. From Lemon-Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Crushed Raspberry Sauce; Caramel-Coconut Panna Cotta; and Strawberry Daiquiri Panna Cotta; to Winter Spice Panna Cotta with Cabernet-Caramel Sauce; Cauliflower Panna Cotta with White Truffle Oil; and Gorgonzola Panna Cotta with Red Currant Gastrique and Crispy Prosciutto, "Panna Cotta" is a speciality cookbook recommended for anyone wanting to add a gourmet Italian touch to their dining menus.

Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (5/07)

When I visited my family last summer, everybody seemed to be serving panna cotta. Well, to be quite exact, everybody seemed to be serving strawberry panna cotta. While I had to agree that it was one of perfect summer desserts, I truly wished there would be more variety. I even toyed with the idea of trying something different at home, but it just never happened.

Then I came across Camilla V. Saulsbury's "Panna Cotta" and the cover photo was enough to pique my interest. See, the pretty dessert on the cover was not pink. It looked slightly marbled and had interesting dark specks in it. Garnished with mint and peaches it looked so inviting and mysterious. I could not resist delving into the book. The first four pages were a true feast for the eyes. Panna cottas of every hue, some of them even layered! Then came the introduction, where Ms. Saulsbury competently explains the basics and makes you familiar with the history of this deceptively simple, silky wonder and the ingredients as well as techniques used in the creation of various kinds of panna cottas. As fun as I found this first section, the real thrill started with the recipes. Chapter 1 deals with the Top-10 Panna Cotta Favorites. Surprisingly enough, strawberry was not one of them... But there were some that shall certainly become favorites in my kitchen, most notably the exquisite Lavender one. Well, the Cappuccino Layered Panna Cotta was not bad either...

Every one of the following chapters brought more intriguing recipes. They deal - in order of appearance - with Chocolate, Caramel & Spice; Fruit Panna Cotta, Spirited Panna Cotta, Enlightened Panna Cotta and Savory Panna Cotta. While I tried a couple more and I found all of them excellent, I am now waiting for the summer corn to appear on the market. The recipe that intrigued me most was the one using summer corn and crab. While the recipe calls for frozen corn, I just think it would be even better with some fresh corn kernels.

I found this book to be imaginative and down-to-earth. Most recipes don't call for any over-the-top ingredients. The instructions are clear and very easy to follow. While I wish that every recipe would be accompanied by a photo, I certainly appreciate the photo section in the beginning of the book. Having the serving suggestions as well as recipes for the accompaniments to the panna cottas available in the book will certainly make planning meals with those wonderful little creations considerably easier. It was an eye-opener for me to see all of the wonderful savory creations in this book, which could easily serve as the focal point of any meal, especially a summer one.

I would highly recommend "Panna Cotta: Italy's Elegant Custard Made Easy" to all cooking enthusiasts, especially those who are willing to accept the fact that panna cotta does not have to be strawberry flavored.

I love this cookbook. In the first week I tried five recipes, and all of them were perfect. This past weekend I made the Gianduia (chocolate hazelnut) panna cotta for a party of 16, serving it in martini glasses with a drizzle of Frangelico, dollop of whipped cream and chocolate shavings on top. People proclaimed it was the best dessert they had ever had, yet it literally took me about 20 minutes total to prepare (including the garnishes). Turned around and made the cinnamon panna cotta with sticky toffee sauce for my husband, son and his friend who was spending the night. Oh my goodness--what a dessert! The boys, both picky eaters, were literally licking their plates. You will really learn from this book--interesting history notes at the front as well as excellent information about the how-tos of panna cotta (I really appreciated this). And oh, the recipes: unique, easy and delicious that everyone from foodies to picky children will love.

Here are the 7 I've tried and give top marks to:

*Cinnamon Panna Cotta with Sticky Toffee Sauce*
*Gianduia Panna Cotta*
*Lemon Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Crushed Raspberry Sauce*
*Toasted Coconut Panna Cotta*
*Winter Spice Panna Cotta with Cabernet Caramel Sauce*
*Sweet Goat Cheese Panna Cotta with Roasted Plums*
*Ginger & Brown Sugar Panna Cotta with Caramelized Pineapple* (Note: this last one was from the "Light" chapter, lower in fat and calories. INCREDIBLE.)

I love it! I used my Mom's and now have my own copy to share with my 2 little girls as we bake up a storm! This cookbook is very eary to follow with simple, yet tasty recipes. Thank you, Karen Barker, for sharing such wonderful recipes and your personal touch to each of them!

I've been a cookbook fan and user of Karen and her husband having enjoyed cooking from their cookbook, but now to have one devoted to Karen's outstanding talents and love for desserts is neat.

She has a philosophy here that should comfort and inspire: to get us back cooking our own desserts using great recipes. That's how she and previous generations learned, at the side of someone who had a great recipe. Her styling of this collection of desserts is with the home chef in mind. So, ingredients, techniques and equipment are with us in mind, and she tells us her preferences and what she used to make these. Also, she provides info as one proceeds with the recipe on what to expect, adjust, etc.

Most of the recipes are not complex, nor simple, but all delicious and most very unique and creative. But none of them are of that category of being "over the top" that would scare most of us home dessert makers to ignore trying them, except in those unique times when we would torture ourselves and our patience to take days to make a special one. None of that here! Just great desserts!

I've tried several of the following with great results and look forward to more of the same: Lime Meringue Tart; Blackberry Slump with Sweet Potato Dumplings; Bourbon Creme Caramel with Bruleed Bananas; Summer Cherry Berry Pudding; Dark Chocolate Peppermint Pattie Cake; Banana Upside Down Cakes; Pumpkin Cognac Cheesecake Brulee; Ruby Port Ice Cream; Purple Plum Rum Sorbet; Cornmeal Vanilla Bean Shortbreads; Raised Cocoa Waffles a la Mode.

There is much useful sections as well: Baker's Bookshelf; Sources; Equivalent Pan Sizes (this I find extremely useful);

All in all a most delightful and substantial dessert guide for just us home bakers. And great color photos of so many!

`sweet stuff' is subtitled `Karen Barker's American Desserts', that is, probably coincidentally, almost exactly the title of Wayne Harley Brachman's new book published a few months ago. In summary, both books are great treatments of American desserts, covering very much the same territory. Brachman's book is funnier and it may explain some basic techniques a bit more thoroughly. Ms. Barker's book is a bit longer, covers some topics in somewhat greater depth. Karen's recipes are centered in Southern desserts while Wayne's center of gravity is somewhere between Brooklyn, New York and Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. I suggest you get both if you are a big dessert maker. Brachman covers doughnuts and does a better job on teaching piecrusts. Brachman's volume may be better for the novice. Barker's book has more recipes overall.

I recently reviewed Gale Gand's new book `short + sweet' on fast desserts and it is quite a good book for working with kids. Karen has definitely done desserts for grown-up tastes, in spite of the large number of peanut and peanut butter recipes. The presence of rum, bourbon, and Jack Daniels as ingredients is just one indication of how this book is aimed at adult tastes.

The reciped chapters in this book are named:

The Basics: A Baker's Building Blocks
A Pie Primer
Fruit Somethings
Custards & Puddings: Low and Slow is the Way to Go
Let Them Eat Cake
We All Scream for Ice Cream
The Joy of Cookies
Pancakes, Waffles, Fritters, and other Breakfast-Like Desserts

As cheesecake is actually a type of custard pie, you may be puzzled to find it discussed in the chapter on cakes. That aside, I found the Ms. Brown's recipe, techniques, and explanations for how and why a cheesecake can go wrong is quite the best I have seen. It agreed with and went far beyond Alton Brown's `Good Eats' cheesecake episode in achieving a primo cheesecake.

As with Brachman's book, the true subject of this volume is not as centered on historical American recipes as it is on recipes which are currently popular in the United States, whether they originated on these shores or are imports from England, France, or Italy. The book gives you a fair share of Crème Broulee, Panna Cotta, and Sabayon. It balances that with lots of true American classics like apple pie, `Sally Lunn' brioche like bread, Sumps, Crumbles, Cobblers, and Shortcakes.

The most distinctive strength of the book is it's very concentration on reusable techniques and preparations. It can very much be seen as an application of Ming Tsai's `Master Recipe' technique in the book `Simply Ming'. The approach starts in the chapter entitled `The Basics', but it permeates the book. The chapter `Fruit Somethings' in particular has several techniques for compotes, shortcakes, and syrups that may be used together with ice creams, cakes, and other pastries.

Please be careful to note that this book is not a general book on baking and does not cover a lot of baking topics. Conversely, it includes ice creams, sherbets, sorbets, and granitas, which may be a classic province of the pastry chef, but it is not baking. The book contains a great little bibliography with references to important modern works on baking.

My only disappointment was that the author chose to present only `New York' style ice cream, which is a frozen custard. A truer `American' dessert may be the `Philadelphia' style, which includes cream, but no eggs.

Highly recommended if you need only one book on desserts. Not easy, but the results are more than worth the effort.

Award-winning pastry chef Barker admonishes the reader (gently) not to skip the opening primer on techniques, tools and ingredients, and, along with the usual baking do's and don'ts, you will find useful information on the equipment and ingredients used in these American dessert recipes.

Her Basics chapter offers various pastry doughs as well as dessert sauces of all kinds, from classic chocolate to Concord Grape Syrup and Marshmallow Fluff.

All the classics are here, many with a twist (Apple Rhubarb Cardamom Crumb Pie, Goat Cheese Cheesecake in a Hazelnut Crust) and Barker offers homey tips as well as variations and serving suggestions. Notes throughout explain how to choose or handle specific ingredients, and recipes are very clearly organized and written.

Not just for bakers, there are ice creams; custards and puddings; pancakes, waffles and fritters; and numerous fruit desserts, baked and not.

With gorgeous photographs, lots of variety and clear, thorough instructions for success, this is a well-rounded book for beginners as well as experienced cooks.

This is a great, fun little look at the past of American cooking. But, boy, were they not worried about cholesterol and calories like we are now! If you do attempt making any of the recipes found in the book, I would just recommend reducing the amount of sugar and the amount of butter (especially in the 'pudding' recipes). It is great fun to experiment with to see what our ancestors ate.

American Cookery is a book of firsts. First book of "receipts" written by an American, published in America, and containing uniquely American food options. First published recipe for cakey gingerbread, first publication of the word "cookie", first documented use of pearlash as a leavening agent. Printed in 18th century format, with the use of the long s (f) and with original spelling, it provides the reader with a peek into the daily life of the early American housewife. Many recipes call for immense amounts of flour and sugar, sometimes more than 5 lbs., with measures such as "a teacup full" and "a slow oven". Author Simmons helpfully provides instructions about how to decide whether to acquire beef from oxen or dairy cattle, and how to "dress" a turtle. The amount of information contained in this brief little volume is amazing. Worth a careful perusal even if none of the recipes catches your fancy.

My daughter was given this book many years ago. We like many recipes, such as Bess' Sugar Cookies, Lacy Funnel Cakes, Coffee Cake Cookies, and The Fabulous Lemon Bread, which is the best ever! The binder of the book has since then fallen off, and the is kept together with a rubber band. I was happy to find the book here!

My mom gave me this cookbook about 10 years ago. She had loved it and now I do too. It is a hidden treasure! The carrot cake recipe is amazing and so is the kahlua chocolate cheesecake (although I divide it between two pie pans instead of a springform pan). My husband said when I made it that it was better than any he'd had in a restaurant (and we love to cook and eat good food)--so that was a great compliment! I'm sure you'll find a lot of recipes you enjoy in here too!

i have already tried two mousses, white choc which was excellent, and margarita which was great when the temp was over 100 here. we will be having another halloween party here so i plan to try many more so i can make the best for that gathering. the pictures are great to look at so that you will want to try them all. the directions for each recipes are very well written so that you are able to make the pudding or etc. look like the pictures.

I have always judged fine restaurants on their Crème Brule and I have searched high and low for a great Crème Brule recipe after experiencing this heavenly concoction in Europe. I purchased this book because of the Crème Brule recipe and the white chocolate mousse. I have used James McNairs simple Crème Brule recipe and have had raves about it for years.

There are many other tasty desserts in the book and the photography is awesome. I find most cookbook photography to be amateur, but McNair does a tremendous job of layout and design.

In 1796, a young lady named Amelia Simmons published her cookbook. While other cookbooks had been printed, they were just reprints of European works. All had been written by men for men. At the time, no cookbook dealt so well with the unique food ingredients available in America.
So, this was the first cookbook slanted towards female cooks and is the first book to show corn meal as a primary ingredient. Here you will find the first recipes for "Indian Slapjacks: or "Johnny Cake" which became staples during the following centuries.

Amelia also presented the first recipe for pumpkin pie, Indian pudding, rice pudding and gingerbread. Here you can find the words "cookie" and "slaw" which come from the Dutch in America. Many of the recipes show you how to cook classic recipes for dumplins, biscuits and fruit pies.

The most recent printing of this cookbook seems to be by Tresco Publishers and it was reprinted in 2001. This Ohio publisher obtained special permission to reprint a limited facsimile copy (all forty-seven octavo pages) of this American Classic.

The book I found has a facsimile copy of American Cookery from 1796 that is definately showing it was used often, complete with grease stains. Then, there is a translation into a modern printing font that is much easier to read. In the facsimile copy with Early American print fonts in which the letter "s" appeared as "f"... this makes the original harder to read. For example:

"By having an opinion and determination, I would not be underftood to mean an obftinate perfeverance in trifles, which borders on obftinacy - by no means, but only an adherence to thofe rules and mazims which have ftood the teft of ages, and will forever eftablifh the female character, a virtuous character -altho' they conform to the ruling tafte of the age in cookery, drefs, language, manners, &c." ~Preface

The dated language is amusing to read and you can glimpse a picture of America through Amelias eyes. The "spellings" of many words were of course different so they are not typographical errors. There is a glossary that explains terms like bullace (small plum), gallipot (earthen pot) and pannikin (small metal vessel).

This book therefore "contains" the first cookbook published in America by an American author and the translation of the work into modern English. It is a first in cookbook literature and therefore is an historic document you will want to collect if you are a cookbook collector.

Only two First Edition copies are known to exist. One is in the Bitting Collection of the Library of Congress, the other in the Whitney Collection of the New York Public Library. The book I have contains the dog-eared and stained copy from the Bitting Collection and includes a forward by Mary Tolford Wilson.

By reading her cookbook, you can imagine a young colonial woman cooking over a hot cook fire, taking care of her children and using this cookbook to prepare her evening meal. It almost evokes a sense of nostalgia for when things were simpler, or were they?

Diet Bread

One pound sugar, 9 eggs, beat for an hour. Add to 14 ounces flour, spoonful rose water, one spoonful cinnamon or coriander. Bake quick.

An hour? Who would have the time these days. It is amazing! And I thought kneading bread was work.

You will also find recipes for:

Minced Pie
Bread Pudding
Puff Pastry
Roast Mutton
Indian Pudding
Meats
Poultry
Fish

My heart did beat a little faster just because it is so overwhelming how far cookbooks has come since this first American cookbook written by a woman and I was delighted to finally own a copy. This is not really a cookbook you would use as the recipes are not exactly easy to follow and don't always contain exact quantities of ingredients. It is more to amuse!

This cookbook will produce in you a similar excitement that you might feel if you had happened upon this book in a musty library or in an attic.

But then again, I read cookbooks in bed! ;)

~The Rebecca Review

If you LOVE Creme Brulee and want to make it yourself - this is a great cookbook! This book is very small - and fits nicely on my cookbook shelf.

The recipes: From the classic creme brulee to the more exotic recipes including Fruit or Liqueur variations of creme brulee. I've already tried the classic recipe and it is wonderful.

There are some other "unique" creme brulee recipes, but that just opens the door to try new and creative ways of making creme brulee (example: Sweet Corn creme brulee or the Red Bell Pepper Creme Brulee).

The book also includes a section on cooking methods, equipment needed, ingredients, etc to make it easier for the novice.

Overall a great book and a great gift for a Creme Brulee lover! If you buy it as a gift - you may want to include other items to go with it such as the Williams Sonoma Creme Brulee kit complete with the torch and small dishes for serving. I believe you can buy all those separately on Amazon.com as well.

One of my all time favorites for dessert, after a fine dining experience. I have enjoyed Creme Brulee, Flan, custards of all description all over the dining world, and this little gem of a book has captured ALL of the varieties known to the culinary world. I can hardly wait to get my eggs, creams and such together to start experimenting with the many techniques and ingredients that are suggested in this little book. Congratulations Debbie on a masterpiece!

The author was a bit ahead of her time with the popularity of creme brulee being at an all time high in the U.S. (The pub date is 1998.)

I had creme brulee for the first time just a few weeks ago. I had heard of it, but had no idea what it was. I came home, did a internet search, found the book, and also found out it's such an easy dessert to make at home.

I love creme brulee, but I was a bit dissapointed with this book. I was also disspointed by the author, Mrs. Debbie Puente, since I love her other book, Elegantly Easy Liquor Desserts.

First of all, the book is very small in size, making it very unpractical. The layout of the book is difficult as well, being that there are only two chapters; The Basics and the Recipes.

In the Basics Mrs. Puente goes over cooking methods for creme brulee, ingredients, equipment and techniques. This is all listed in the table of contents, which is more like an index.

In the Recipes chapter, Mrs. Puente starts with two traditional creme brulee recipes, one for baked, and one for stirred.

There is then six fruit recipes, which are just variations of her classic creme brulee recipe. She then has twelve liquor variations, but I hardly count them as seperate recipes either, since again, it's just added different type of liquors to the classic recipes. All of the different variations are listed seperatly in the table of contents, making it even more like an index.

The book goes on like that, with apparently no logic to the order of the recipes, making it quite confusing for finding a specific one. Each recipe is listed seperatly in the table of contents, along with any additional recipes needed, i.e. crusts and sauces.

Some recipes included are; Lavedar Creme Brulee, Eggnog Creme Brulee, and Lemon Custard Creme Brulee.

There are also some savory recipes, including Sweet Corn Creme Brulee and Garlic Creme Brulee. There is also a recipe for Ginger Chile Creme Brulee, which is mixed in with the savory recipes, although Mrs. Puente's description of it is sweet, it only makes it more confusing to find it mixed in with the savory recipes.

The book abruptly ends with the last recipe, and lacks an index. I believe it would of been better to have the book seperated into chapters; i.e. the basics, classic creme brulee and variations, sweet recipes, savory recipes, accompiements, and a chapter for misc recipes, like the Chocolate and Blackberry Tart and Crossiant Pudding.

The recipes themselves are good, but the layout of the book makes it difficult to use. There are a few nice photos as well, luckily the ones for the more complicated recipes, like the Stacked Banana Creme Brulee Tostada, are included.

It was a very good book that presents a number of fine examples on Creme Brulee. The photos are great, and the recipes seem easy enough to follow.

I love custards and everything associated with ramekins so I was thrilled to find this book. It even has many full color photographs which make the recipes even more appealing. For the most part it introduces how to use a variety of cooking techniques associated with custard type dishes, however, some of the recipes could use some spicing up. The Breakfast Custard Omelets were practically devoid of seasoning, and the Green Tea Custard was extremely sweet. I did love the creme brulee recipe as is though. With a bit of altering the recipes turned out much better the second time around. I would recommend this book for someone who can step away from following a recipe line for line, because frankly if you don't do that not all of the dishes are that delicious. Besides the recipes needing some tweaking I loved the book's layout, organization, and clarity.

A delicious look at wonderful custards and puddings. Recipes in this book include crème brûlée, tiramisu, bread pudding, flan and more! Not only can you enjoy dessert recipes in here, but also wonderful savory favorites!

Barbara Lauterbach is a professional food writer and cookbook author. She is a respected cooking instructor and can be found hosting classes in her home in New Hampshire or at King Arthur Baking Educational Center in Vermont.

Coupled with appetizing photographs and her knowledge on how to make an excellent custard, Lauterbach has developed a wonderful book. The recipes are delicious, traditional and some very creative meals too! Her passion and knowledge is felt throughout this entire book, and made me crave my all-time favorite dessert: crème brûlée.

With the holidays approaching, pick up a copy of this book and surprise your family and friends with delectable custards from The Spendid Spoonful!

I own and admire all of Barbara's books. As a cooking school teacher she has a friendly approach that makes you feel like she is your best friend inviting you in for a 'splendid spoonful' of something yummy. I am a big, big fan of elegant little servings of rich pots de creme, and her passion fruit recipe is well written, very easy to follow, and soothingly delicious. This is a great dinner-party desert book with recipes that will 'wow' the gang.

This book has amazing recipes in it. The majority are sweet, but some are savory. Recipes include; crabmeat custard, curried corn custard, french toast creme brulee, raisin-eggnog bread pudding, lemongrass-ginger creme brulee, and green tea custard. I'm looking foward to trying so many of them. There are also beautiful photos in this book. I just wish there had been an hardcover edition.

I've owned this little book for several years and highly recommend it. Like most cookbooks I tweak the ingredients and while I won't try every recipe, the ones I do use are very good. The Malted Milk Chocolate Pudding has become legendary in my family. Once you own this book, you'll laugh at all the little boxes of "pudding" in the grocery store. Buy it!

This is a very good "little" book. Both savory and sweet puddings & custards are covered as well as flans and a few mousse recipes. Complimenting sauce recipes are also included. Fresh fruit is required in many of the recipes which could mean a special trip to the store but it's worth it. The Savory Corn Pudding is excellent served as a side to sauted chicken breast. I recommend this book for anyone looking for something different in the way of a side dish or a light dessert.