Desserts from the Famous Loveless Cafe [Hardcover]

Alisa Huntsman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 6, 2011

Delicious Southern sweets and treats from a Nashville favorite.

Renowned for its Southern charm and superb comfort food, the Loveless Cafe in Nashville,Tennessee, serves some of the best desserts below the Mason-Dixon line. Aficionados of country cooking travel from near and far to sample the restaurant’s extraordinary sweets.

In Desserts from the Famous Loveless Cafe, pastry chef Alisa Huntsman takes the most beloved Southern ingredients and flavors—from sorghum to buttermilk, persimmons to pecans—and masterfully combines them to create desserts with a modern appeal. Big Momma’s Blackberry Jam Cake, Honey Chess Pie, Bourbon Peach Shortcake, Blueberry Skillet Cobbler, Coconut Chews, and Lady Lemon Bars are just a handful of the more than 100 irresistible recipes included in this ultimate guide to Southern desserts. Easy to make and even easier to eat, all of the favorite Loveless dessert recipes are included. With a foreword by bestselling author Lee Smith, essays extolling the virtues of the Southern palate, and full-color photos showing the delicious confections, this book will help anyone who can’t travel to Nashville or wait two hours for a table at this popular restaurant enjoy a taste of the Loveless at home.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Alisa Huntsman is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and the pastry chef at the Loveless Cafe. Since she arrived at the restaurant in 2005, Alisa has created a dessert menu that now rivals the Loveless’s famous biscuits in popularity. An avid gardener, beekeeper, and baker, Alisa lives in Nashville with her husband and two daughters. She is also the author of Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 232 pages
• Publisher: Artisan (September 6, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579654347
• ISBN-13: 978-1579654344
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.8 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #72,149 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Baking > Pies
  • #90 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Baking > Cakes

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 57 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Southern Desserts! September 3, 2011

By E.M.

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Sometimes a cookbook comes along that is so fantastic, you want to tell everyone you know. Desserts from the Loveless Cafe is just one of those books! I just received the book today, but have already made the Muddy Fudge Pie and Coconut Chews, both are outstanding. My family is from Tennessee and I grew up with Chocolate Pie that could never quite be replicated since no one bothered with a recipe, but the Muddy Fudge Pie is as close as it has ever come. Many of the recipes in this book are classic Southern desserts, such as Red Velvet Cake, Hummingbird Cake, and Coconut Cake. But many of the recipes are old favorites with new twists, such as Pastel Angel Food Cake (colored pastel with natural blackberry or cherry juice), and Banana Split Cheesecake. There are cakes I have never heard of also, such as the cafe's Lemon Tunnel-of-Love Tea Cake, a lemon bundt cake made with a swirl of cream cheese in the middle.

I hate to admit that I judge books by their cover, but I love cookbooks with beautiful photos of recipes, and this cookbook does not disappoint. The majority of recipes have a photo accompanying it, and the layout of the book is gorgeous. It is broken down into sections by: Blue Ribbon Pies, Country Cakes, Crisps/Cobblers/Shortcakes, Coffee/Tea/Cheesecakes, Cookies/Bar/Cupcakes, and Puddings. Many of these recipes are short and concise, easy enough for beginning bakers.This book has something for everyone, from classic pies to cookie bars and Tipsy Cake. There is also a small section with multiple photographs displaying the steps to create a lattice pie crust. As far as I can tell, you don't need any fancy pans or equipment, though several of the recipes call for the ingredients to be mixed in a food processor. This is a fantastic book for anyone looking for recipes of classic, southern desserts with minimal fuss!

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Takes Me Back to My Childhood September 9, 2011

By k8inut

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This cookbook takes me back to my childhood. I like that it's full of homey, Southern desserts that use ingredients that you already have in your house. The Southern-style coconut cake (with seven-minute frosting) is delicious. I was thrilled to see that recipe in there because it's similar to the one that my grandmother would make for my birthday each year when I was little. There are recipes for desserts like red velvet cake, pineapple upside-down cake, sweet potato pie, sour cream pound cake, etc. There were also some unexpected recipes for things like chocolate mashed potato cake, which is so much better than the name implies. The pumpkin chocolate chip tea cake is also yummy (although I did trade some of the oil for extra pumpkin because we like our pumpkin cake extra pumpkin-y).

Some notes - there are baking tips scattered throughout the book for things like making your own self-rising flour and making a perfect cheesecake. This book does make use of some (not many, but a few)ready-made ingredients. It calls for things like store-bought puff pastry and store-bought individual pie shells, which I love because I don't have the time to make my own puff pastry before make the apple turnovers. There measurements in this book are by volume. They say that the "scoop and sweep" method for measuring flour is fine, so if that isn't the sort of precision you're looking for, then this may not be the cookbook for you. However, if you want delicious, easy, Southern desserts, then this book is a must-have.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars from The Loveless Cafe comes a whole lotta love October 30, 2011

By RobinHD

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I've made 2 recipes and both have been a huge hit at work, rave reviews for sure. Fellow workers asking for the recipes and others jumping onto Amazon to order their own copies of the book. I love the fact these recipes have easy to find ingredients, especilly since I live in Australia, we're down under not down south (of the USA that is). The recipes and directions are asy to follow but the results are delicious, I've made much more complex cakes without even half the flavour. I aslo like the little bit of history and regional information in the book as it helps put me in the zone, plus the little baking educational sections are fabulous too. This is my first ever review so you can tell I love the book so much as to spend my time reviewing it. In short...there's no love lost for the Loveless book...