Customer Reviews

The Gluten-free Gourmet Makes Dessert: More Than 200 Wheat-free Recipes for Cakes, Cookies, Pies and Other Sweets

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Those of us following a gluten-free diet often feel something akin to claustrophobia when it comes to food. Every day we're faced with so many goodies that we can't have. It's a great comfort to have a resource like this one at home when you walk past the bakery section of your local grocery store. Just knowing you *can* go home and bake something sweet and tasty
opens up your world a little.

And these recipes do work; some are complex, many are very simple, which means the book answers a range of cook's skills.

While it is true that the recipes are based on mixes made from a wide range of sometimes exotic flours -- usually available through an American health food store -- it's not fair to condemn any of Bette's books for this. You're just not likely to find most gluten-free flours for cheap in your grocery store, at least not this early in the millennium.

My 11-year-old daughter has adopted this book as her kitchen companion. She turned out a wonderful cake on her first try. For those of you with children stuck with a gluten-free diet for life, there is no more essential skill to pass on to them than cooking -- and no better passion than a love of cooking -- that will support them through a lifetime on a specialized diet. This book makes a great starting place for cooking with kids, as well as being a suitable cookbook for adults of all skill levels.

I have celiac disease, which is essentially an allergy to wheat protein, and I've been GF for 5 years now. (Why does that sound like I'm at an AA meeting?) Bette Hagman's books are the first couple of books that I got, and I still use them every day. "Dessert" is one of the best for the extra information it includes.

While all of the books have the GF mixes, this book has a great table of the protein, fat, carb, and fiber content of many of our "funny flours" (p26-7). It's fantastic for figuring out what flours to try substituting with if you're trying to increase the protein or fiber content of a recipe. It also has an example of how to take an ordinary cake recipe and make it GF, and suggestions for how much xanthum to use (p30-1). There's also a great troubleshooting chapter that starts on page 33.

The "cakes from mixes" chapter is less than exciting. It's where you take a GF cake mix and then add so much stuff to it that you could've started from scratch.

Steer clear of the brownie recipe on page 138. It was rock hard on the edges and underbaked in the middle, and it didn't have nearly enough chocolate in it. I just use a regular recipe and, with the help of the guidelines on page 33, make good cocoa brownies.

Favorite recipes:

Pumpkin cake p64
Banana cake p61 (These are both like really good breads.)
Toll House cookies p157
Chocolate Mousse cake p282 (One of the better flourless choc cakes I've had)

TK Kenyon
Author of Rabid: A Novel and Callous: A Novel

I was recently given this book by my celiac mother-in-law, and I am so grateful. My sister and I are both celiacs, and desserts like cake and cookies have been missing from our lives for years. (I mean, REAL cakes and cookies that taste like their gluten-laiden counterparts.) From the very first recipe we tried- frosted macadamia nut bars (p.145) to my 25th birthday treat- whoopie pies (p.118), my entire family has devoured the outcomes. Including those who can eat wheat. This book explains evey detail about gluten-free flours, right down to thier protein contents, and how and why they work. This is an absolute must for anyone who wants to enter back into the realm of heavenly desserts, or anyone catering to their beloved celiac. Just be prepared to stock your shelves with a bunch of new flours, and you'll be on your way!

After recently discovering I am allergic to wheat/gluten I have been trying the alternatives pre-made at Whole Foods, my local Health food store. That adds up. I have always enjoyed baking and missed that as well. Bette's books satisfy me in both areas. I can now bake again for myself and after the initial investment of the flours, turn out treats for much less than the pre-made items. Waffles, bread, cookies..yum! I have successfully substituted soy milk for any dairy in her recipes since that is an allergy too. If you are gluten free and debating the purchase of this book - I say go for it!

I recently made one of Bette's cakes from The Gluten-free gourmet makes dessert. It was so good that my wife (who is NOT a celiac) and I finished the whole cake in one sitting! Not all of the recipes will be to everyone's liking and some of the recipe proportions need tinkering. However, considering what's out there for celiac's to use this book is a life saver. The pumpkin cake is great and the danish is incredible. A must read for any celiac.

For those following a gluten-free diet, Bette Hagman wins "best of show", hands down. The recipes are easy to follow, and once the gluten-free mixes are made, easy to make. I finally have a reason to bake again!

Those of us following a gluten-free diet often feel something akin to claustrophobia when it comes to food. Every day we're faced with so many goodies that we can't have. It's a great comfort to have a resource like this one at home when you walk past the bakery section of your local grocery store. Just knowing you *can* go home and bake something sweet and tasty opens up your world a little.

And these recipes do work; some are complex, many are very simple, which means the book answers a range of cook's skills.

While it is true that the recipes are based on mixes made from a wide range of sometimes exotic flours -- usually available through an American health food store -- it's not fair to condemn any of Bette's books for this. You're just not likely to find most gluten-free flours for cheap in your grocery store, at least not this early in the millennium.

My 11-year-old daughter has adopted this book as her kitchen companion. She turned out a wonderful cake on her first try. For those of you with children stuck with a gluten-free diet for life, there is no more essential skill to pass on to them than cooking -- and no better passion than a love of cooking -- that will support them through a lifetime on a specialized diet. This book makes a great starting place for cooking with kids, as well as being a suitable cookbook for adults of all skill levels.

I bought this, having already purchased her "Comfort Foods" book, and was surprised by all the extra useful information. It is not only a great source for desserts, but offers tips that are useful for all gluten free cooking. Also, it includes indexes of all other dessert recipes in her other books. I would recommend all of Bette Hagman's books to anyone on a gluten free diet, and this one especially to those with kids who need GF treats.

I have this book for a month now and tried only 3 recipes. They were all great, by the way! HOWEVER, IF you are new to cooking Gluten Free such as myself this book is a little overwhelming. If you are an experienced GF cook than you will love it. My toddler is celiac and I suspect my husband and baby are too. So we decided the whole family will be gluten free. I needed cook books and Hangman were recommended to me by another celiac mom. I like the books very much but there are several things I wish were different:

-Updated! They were written at least 7-8 years ago. Several recipes call for things that substitute what we have today such as GF oatmeal. I'm not a pro so I don't know how to change the recipe using the GF oatmeal.
-Easy to go through the recipes. You kind of have to read like a book or you may be a little lost. In my opinion, I wish it was easier to go through it and find recipes.
-No pictures :( ! So it's hard to think of the end product or desire to cook it.
-Most of the food is for adults not for kids. My son is also autistic so cooking is a challenge.
-All recipes ask for several ingredients I never used before. It frustrates me that I need to go shopping before cooking something out of the book. I guess I can't expect to be easy to be GF.

I mostly wanted a simple and easy book to cook for my little kids. I like this book and I know I will cook a lot of her recipes specially as my children gets older and less fussy.

Overall, the only 3 recipes I tried took me a long time since I'm brand new to GF cooking but my family enjoyed them very much!

Bette Hagman has published several GF cookbooks. Her earliest is somewhat out-of-date since so much has been learned about gluten-free diets since it came out. The two that get used at my house are this one (The GF Gourmet Makes Dessert) and her bread book. The recipes are clear and easy to follow; the results are excellent. You won't be disappointed.