Customer Reviews

Retro Desserts: Totally Hip, Updated Classic Desserts from the '40s, '50s, '60s, and '70s

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I was excited to try to make a better tasting version of Oreos, Hostess cupcakes, black and white cookies, etc. The oreos came out great, there is certainly a mistake in the amount of liquid needed for the batter for the black and white cookies, and the cupcakes came out totally flat and stuck to the pan! After double checking amounts and technique, redoing the whole thing they are still a mess! I would return this in a minute if it was that easy! A lot of cuteness, but very difficult and inaccurate recipes.

When I saw this book, I had to have it. It is beautifully photographed and the text is witty. The problem is, like some other reviewers have mentioned, the recipes don't work. I promised the gang at work I'd bring in delicious Black and White cookies and the results were a waste of time and money. I have tried four different recipes and had trouble with each. I've never attended culinary school, but I'm a pretty experienced home baker. After the recipes failed, I could figure out the problem and make adjustments, but I don't feel it's my responsibility to do that after purchasing a hardback cookbook. Get this book if you want to set it on your coffee table, but don't take it into the kitchen!!!

The desserts described in this rather entertaining book are certainly mouth-watering. Although scattered with cute commentary (often very funny!) and interesting bits of information about times gone by, I find the recipes not to be very workable. My biggest pet peave is the 'Black and Whites', our beloved huge New York cookies,soft,lemony and satisfying. The recipe sounds great...but it doesn't work out! The batter spreads too much, so the cookies are very thin and fragile, with no body and the fondant frosting turns out a mess. A chef's book?

I bought this book because i have seen the chef several times on the food channel plus i did read the reader reviews. i tried the blackout cake (twice) and both times the cake overflowed into my oven! not fun. i read the recipe over and over again, checking measurements, pan size, oven temperature etc. i can almost be certain that i followed it to the T. I wonder if he means 2 8-in cake pans? i am just frustrated. is it an imprint? or is it something i did? anyone have any tips, please let me know. i am a little weary of trying any other recipes out of this book as of now. hope others have better luck.

I really wanted to love this book. The idea is great, the photos are fantastic, the writing is funny -- but so far, every recipe I have tried has stunk. Some of them didn't work, some of them worked but the result just wasn't that great. I'm glad I have it on my shelf to look at and be inspired by, but I'm not going to cook from it anymore.

This book seems like a good idea. So far, I have tried to make the Lemon Pudding Cake, the Grasshopper Pie, and the Strawberry Shortcake. I had to throw the mess out EVERY TIME and start from scratch with my own modified version. This book is horrible!

The recipes are just wrong and sometimes poorly written instructions.

If I could meet the author, I would demand my money back and then punch him in the face for wasting hours of my time and nearly embarrassing me at my own dinner parties.

I was going to donate this book to a charity, but why proliferate the bad recipes and frustrate someone else. I think I will just burn the thing.

I tried making the Black and White Cookies. I followed the directions, TO THE LETTER. The batter for the six cookies on each cookie sheet melted together into a single mess! I double checked the recipe, and I did not make any mistakes. There must be something missing, either ingredient-wise or in the instructions. Very frustrating, because what little I was able to taste was pretty good, even though it was impossible properly cook them (there was no way to turn the single mass this became over at the half way point).

Maybe like you I love to check out different cookbooks. This one seemed to be original in that it presented recipes that you may have not seen, or ones that you grew up with. Seeing nostaglic recipes always brings back memories. While I found this book a good read, the recipes aren't the best for the particular dish.

In the books favor it does a great deal to set the theme of "Retro" recipes. Their are funny little blurbs in the text that relate you to the time in which the recipes were written. Pictures are taken that definately bring you back to your Mom's or Grandmother's cookbook. Actually the pictures are one of the best parts of this book, the pictures are quite good, and leave your mouth watering.

Complaints that I have about the recipes steam from using cornstarch in banana pudding, while it works, flour is used more traditionally, and seems to give a better flavor than cornstarch. The recipe for Banana's Foster suggests bourbon, Banana's Foster is never made with Bourbon. I also have yet to see an old recipe for Chow Mein Hay Stacks that uses coconut.

While I think the book was beautifully made. The pictures are delightful, and will take you back in time. The book has many little blurbs that are fascinating to read. The recipes aren't the best thought out, and honestly do not always seem to be the ideal representations of the dish that is represented.

This dessert book takes us back to a time before people were afraid to eat. Before low carb, high protein, no sugar,etc. was the rage. I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, and I can tell you that happy people tend to live longer than unhappy people, and making these desserts will keep people HAPPY! Has anyone noticed that Julia Child has lived much longer than Jim Fixx? Most of the well known great chefs are living a long, long time. The Chocolate Blackout Cake in this book is THE BEST, as well as the other 8 recipes I have tried. Order this book, use it, and enjoy. You will not be disappointed.

I have recently received this book and I am very happy with it. The directions are very clear and there are many photos, but you know what I like most of this book? That you find there recipes that you do not find in other baking books! Caramel-coated apples, after dinner mints, and the homemade version of the famous Oreo chocolate cookie! Fantastic. It's true that I have changed the recipe a little bit: I have used 1/4 CUP MORE COCOA for the cookie (I found the original too chewy! And do not forget to keep them in an airtight container or it will become soft due to the amount of sugar added). But I was looking for this recipe since long ago. Now I have it. And the Blackout cake is delicious. If you want something different, buy this book, you will not be dissapointed!