Unforgettable Desserts [Hardcover]

Dede Wilson (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 28, 2009

Baking expert and public television cooking show host Dede Wilson helps you create show-stopping desserts that will make a lasting impression

If you're looking for a little wow factor to liven up the end of a meal, this is the book for you! Dede Wilson gives you a collection of desserts that are exotic, extravagant, and absolutely unforgettable-and you don't have to be a pastry chef to make them.

Many of the recipes are deceptively simple, such as the gorgeous Matcha Tea Leaf Shortbread and the amazing Hot Chocolate Truffle Bombs, made with just three ingredients. Others are more adventurous, such as the Chocolate-Glazed Marzipan Cake with Cognac-Soaked Apricots. Filled with surprises for the eye as well as the palate, the desserts you make from this book will be sure to keep guests talking long after the party is over. An ideal resource for holidays, birthdays, or any special occasion, Unforgettable Desserts

• Features 150 recipes for unforgettable cookies and bars, cakes, pies, tarts, custards, mousses, frozen desserts, candies, confections, and more
• Offers precise, easy-to-follow instructions and valuable tips
• Contains over thirty stunning color photographs of finished desserts
• Includes recipes for all skill levels
• Is written by the host of public television's Seasonings with Dede Wilson and the author of Wedding Cakes You Can Make

If you're looking to take your baking to the next level, Dede Wilson gives you desserts that take the cake-and the cookie, the pie, the pudding, and much more!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Baking expert and public television cooking show host Dede Wilson helps you create show-stopping desserts that will make a lasting impression

If you're looking for a little wow factor to liven up the end of a meal, this is the book for you! Dede Wilson gives you a collection of desserts that are exotic, extravagant, and absolutely unforgettable-and you don't have to be a pastry chef to make them.

Many of the recipes are deceptively simple, such as the gorgeous Matcha Tea Leaf Shortbread and the amazing Hot Chocolate Truffle Bombs, made with just three ingredients. Others are more adventurous, such as the Chocolate-Glazed Marzipan Cake with Cognac-Soaked Apricots. Filled with surprises for the eye as well as the palate, the desserts you make from this book will be sure to keep guests talking long after the party is over. An ideal resource for holidays, birthdays, or any special occasion, Unforgettable Desserts

• Features 150 recipes for unforgettable cookies and bars, cakes, pies, tarts, custards, mousses, frozen desserts, candies, confections, and more
• Offers precise, easy-to-follow instructions and valuable tips
• Contains over thirty stunning color photographs of finished desserts
• Includes recipes for all skill levels
• Is written by the host of public television's Seasonings with Dede Wilson and the author of Wedding Cakes You Can Make

If you're looking to take your baking to the next level, Dede Wilson gives you desserts that take the cake-and the cookie, the pie, the pudding, and much more!

Recipe Excerpts from Unforgettable Desserts

Amazon-exclusive: Glazed Fresh Strawberry Tart with Champagne Sabayon

Brown Sugar-Buttermilk Snack Cake with Blackberries and Caramel-Walnut Drizzle

Concord Grape Gelée Panna Cotta Parfait

From the Inside Flap

Dessert is always a pleasure, but sometimes you want to up the ante a little, to make your guests utter a blissful sigh and lick their spoons. Packed with intriguing recipes and invaluable advice, Unforgettable Desserts helps you do just that. Baking expert and cooking show host Dede Wilson has created a collection of desserts that range from simple and elegant to exotic and extravagant. They are all absolutely unforgettable—and you don't have to be a pastry chef to make them. In Dede's hands, even the simplest, homiest treats like brownies and rice pudding become showstoppers. Dazzle your friends and family with treats such as:

Breakfast, Brunch, and Snack Cakes Celebrate morning—or snack time—with Lemon-Ginger Scones, Butter and Cream Sugar Crunch Cake, and Gianduja Banana Baby Cakes with Hazelnut Streusel.

Cookies and Bars Imagine serving elegant Matcha Tea Leaf Shortbreads, Almond-Apricot Brownies with Tart Cherry Ganache, and Pistachio Butterballs.

Fruit Desserts A little embellishment elevates fresh fruit into something truly special, whether it's Summer Berry Vacherin with Crème Fra?che or the ultimate Strawberry Biscuit Shortcakes.

Cakes From straightforward to spectacular, cakes that taste as incredible as they look: Ricotta Cheesecake with Clementine-Cranberry Marmalade, Chocolate Mango Cloud Cake, and Toasted Coconut Cake with Lime Curd and Mount Gay Rum.

Pies and Tarts Rustic or refined, from reimagined American classics to new takes on traditional European desserts: Red and Purple Plum Tart with Marzipan Crumble, Espresso Black-Bottomed Pie in a Chocolate Chip Cookie Crust, and Deep-Dish Sour Cream– Apple Pie with Lemon-Cardamom Streusel.

Custards, GelÉEs, Mousses, and Puddings Smooth, spoonable delights like a ring mold filled with Champagne-Cassis Mousse, Warm Chocolate Velvet, and even The Giant Cream Puff.

Frozen Desserts and Sauces Swoon-worthy

treats made from store-bought ice cream or from scratch—no ice cream machine needed! Try Browned Butter Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches with Pan-Roasted Blueberry Ice Cream or Espresso-Stracciatella Semifreddo with Kahlúa-Caramel Sauce.

Candies, Confections, Truffles, and Tidbits A little something to surprise and delight: Chocolate Raspberry Bliss Bites, Hot Chocolate Truffle Bombs, and Fleur de Sel Caramels.

Separate chapters give valuable information on equipment and ingredients, and provide basic recipes for pie doughs, cake layers, and cream fillings. Throughout the book, Dede offers expert advice on everything from choosing the right chocolate to keeping cookies crisp to making her recipes your own.

Luscious and instructive, Unforgettable Desserts gives you everything you need to make the last part of the meal the most memorable part.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 1 edition (September 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470186496
• ISBN-13: 978-0470186497
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 0.9 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #931,137 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dede Wilson is a popular food writer and television personality with her own public television show, Seasonings with Dede Wilson, in wide distribution throughout the U.S. and Canada. An additional show, The Holiday Table, began airing in Fall 2006 and will run through 2009; the 90-minute Holiday Pledge Special that she produced for PBS in 2005 was re-broadcast throughout the holiday season in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Wilson has been a spokesperson for KitchenAid, making frequent live and televised appearances around the country for KitchenAid products. She is also a prolific cookbook author and a contributing editor for Bon Appetit magazine. Wilson has appeared on all the major TV networks, and has been invited frequently to appear on shows including Today, The View, and Live with Regis and Kelly. She has also appeared on QVC to sell her cookbooks, has been featured on Bon Appetit podcasts, and makes personal appearances at Bon Appetit events around the country. Currently she hosts a monthly Bon Appetit segment on the CBS's Early Show.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Unforgettable Cakes, Pies, Cookies, Candies and More December 14, 2009

By S. D. Fischer VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

I have cut out quite a few of Dede Wilson's recipes in Bon Appetit magazines so I had hopes for this book. She did not disappoint (except for the lack of photos for each dessert).

Dede provides clear & detailed instructions for "More than 140 Memorable Dessert Recipes for All Year Round." She offers tips throughout the book to help the reader achieve the best results.

The recipes range in difficulty. While a beginning baker should be able to make many of these delights, others seem rather challenging and involve quite a few steps. For instance, the Chocolate-Glazed Marzipan Cake with Cognac-Soaked Apricots involves baking two cakes, coating them in syrup, spreading the apricot spread, applying a marzipan circle, frosting with buttercream, topping it ganache, and then making apricot roses to use as decoration with marzipan roses, leaves and tendrils. This is an example of one of the recipes which really should have been accompanied by a photograph (but was not).

The first chapter, the Basics, includes "building block" recipes which are used throughout the book such as:
* Butter piecrust
* Sugar tart crust
* Blitz pastry crust
* Dark and moist chocolate cake
* Dark chocolate ganache
* Italian meringue buttercream (and vanilla variation)
* Pastry cream (and liqueur variation)
* Lemon cream
* Whipped cream
* Marzipan

The next chapter covers Ingredients, Equipment, and Techniques. Many of the ingredients are likely to be found in the average cook's home kitchen but I have to admit I am missing several (such as cacoa nibs, rose water, and gianduja as well as edible gold luster powder and 22-karat gold leaf). The author unfortunately does not always suggest a source from which to purchase specialty ingredients but there are three pages of resources at the back of the book. The necessary equipment is also likely to be in most home kitchens with a few exceptions (such as a blade-style coffee grinder used to grind poppy seeds as well as a pastry bag and certain tips).

The third chapter, entitled Breakfast, Brunch, and Snack Cakes, includes recipes for:
* Lemon-ginger scones
* Brown sugar-buttermilk snack cake
* Butter and cream sugar crunch cake
* Marble streusel pound cake with pecans, lemon, and orange
* Almond mounds of joy cake
* Poppy seed-honey-apricot pastries
* Passion fruit-citrus pound cake with tropical fruit
* Gianduja banana baby cakes with hazelnut streusel
* Browned butter-almond brunch cake with blueberry sauce
* Fresh red currant scones with currant cream
* French crullers with rose-amaretto glaze

The next chapter, Cookies and Bars, includes recipes for:
* Dark brown sugar-chocolate chunk bars with chocolate-molasses glaze
* Matcha tea leaf shortbreads
* Extreme milk chocolate brownies
* Cacao nib and caramelized almond biscotti
* Florentine bars with candied orange and cherries
* Classic shortbread
* Cranberry gingerbread cookies
* Mallowmores
* Giant meringue pillows with almonds
* Giant ginger chews
* Pistachio macaroons
* Almond macaroons with raspberry-rose filling
* Nutella linzer cookies
* Butterscotch-pecan brownies with boozy raisins
* Almond-apricot brownies with tart cherry ganache
* Pistachio butterballs
* Chocolate chunkochino cookies

The fifth chapter, Fruit Desserts, includes the following recipes:
* Ginger shortcakes with caramelized nectarines and sour cream
* Spiced plum pavlovas
* Mango, banana, and pineapple chocolate crisp
* Summer berry vacherin with crème fraiche
* Mango fool with blackberry-lime crush
* Thousand leaves with blackberry pastry cream
* Strawberry biscuit shortcakes
* Banana-walnut baklava with honey-cinnamon syrup
* Honey-glazed banana fritters with sesame seeds
* Red wine-poached cherries with chocolate-flecked shortcakes
* Six-fruit gazpacho with crystallized mint

The next chapter, Cakes, includes recipes for:
* Chocolate-glazed marzipan cake with cognac-soaked apricots
* Toasted coconut cake with lime cream and mount gay rum
* Rum raisin-chocolate roulade with whipped chocolate ganache
* Fruits and flowers flan
* Ricotta cheesecake with Clementine-cranberry marmalade
* Clementine-chocolate-almond torte
* Chocolate ganache cake with Armagnac-soaked prunes
* 24-karat manjari lemon truffle heart
* Walnut praline torte with espresso buttercream
* Pomegranate-chocolate mousse cake
* Chocolate mango cloud cake
* Cassata with chocolate, cherries, oranges, and almonds
* Chocolate mousse meringue cake with blueberries and cream
* Voluptuous chocolate-covered strawberry ganache cake
* Angelic chocolate-espresso mousse cake with chocolate-dipped strawberries
* Black cocoa blackout cake
* Crème fraiche cheesecake with rhubarb compote

The seventh chapter, Pies and Tarts, includes the following recipes:
* Latticed brown butter-vanilla bean pear pie
* Cheesecake tart with...tropical topping, classic strawberry topping or lemon-blueberry topping
* Berries pie
* Red and purple plum tart with marzipan crumble
* Cranberry-apricot linzer torte
* Pecan-coconut tart with chocolate crust
* Espresso black-bottomed pie in a chocolate chip cookie crust
* Lemon meringue tart
* Bittersweet chocolate-caramel tart with espresso cream and chocolate tangle
* Deep-dish sour cream-apple pie with lemon-cardamom streusel
* Caramelized banana cream tart in pecan crust
* Apple, pear, and quince pie with cheddar crust
* Fresh coconut custard cream pie
* Amaretto-almond crunch pumpkin pie
* Pear frangipane tart with red wine sauce
* Blueberry crème fraiche tart with poppy seed crust
* Double-decker "key" lime pie (two ways)
* White peach and raspberry "blossom" tartlets with pistachio and essensia
* Melon ribbon tartlets
* Glazed strawberry tart with champagne sabayon

The next chapter, Custards, Gelees, Mousses, and Puddings, includes recipes for:
* Peekaboo hazelnut-espresso crème brulee
* Creamy Arborio rice pudding with lemon cream, raspberry sorbet and chocolate
* Spiced pear-white chocolate tiramisu trifle
* Giant cream puff
* Champagne-cassis mousse with raspberries
* Warm chocolate velvet
* Pomegranate panna cotta with pomegranate-chocolate sauce
* Mocha-cointreau zebra éclairs
* Concord grape gelee panna cotta parfait
* Bajan crème brulee

The ninth chapter, Frozen Desserts and Sauces, includes recipes for:
* Browned butter-oatmeal cookie sandwiches with pan-roasted blueberry ice cream
* Frozen milk chocolate-peanut butter pie
* Peach melba profiteroles
* Frozen peanut butter-honey cheesecake with warm chocolate-honey sauce
* Raspberry-peach parfait cake with peach schnapps compote
* Espresso-stracciatella semifreddo with Kahlua-caramel sauce
* Frozen caramel soufflé with bittersweet chocolate whisky sauce
* Frozen apricot parfait with amaretto-poached apricots
* Frozen chocolate-mint parfait with crystallized mint
* Poached nectarines with rose granite' and frozen sabayon
* Boozy raisin-pecan butterscotch sauce

The final chapter, Candies, Confections, Truffles, and Tidbits, includes the following recipes:
* Chocolate raspberry bliss bites
* Hot chocolate truffle bombs
* Chocolate-covered caramelized macadamias
* Matcha chocolate-covered almonds
* Fleur de sel caramels
* Mango pate de fruit
* Ganache squares with blueberry pate de fruit
* Marcona almond-cacao nib praline bark

You may have noticed from the recipe titles that quite a few of these desserts require alcohol. I counted 30 recipes which call for alcohol (wine for poaching cherries, nectarines or pears; Grand Marnier for sauce; Kahlua for chocolate mousse; etc.).

I would have liked to have seen many more photos, especially for less common desserts. I know what a brownie is supposed to look like, but not more exotic treats such as Angelic Chocolate-Espresso Mousse Cake with Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries (with an angel meringue crust). It would be helpful to see what the finished cake should look like. I counted only 28 photos for more than 100 desserts.

12 of 18 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars unforgettable desserts December 16, 2009

By sweetpastry89

Format:Hardcover

I'm a pastry chef meaning I'm always looking for ideas. I've been noticed to sit in the book store staring at the dessert books, writing in my notebook the recipes. When I find a book that has several recipes that I would like to try out, I usually purchase the book, but not until I get home onto Amazon. I liked a few of these recipes. I only had 2 cons.
1) I am a huge picture person for my cookbooks
2) I wish they were in weights not cups, the new thing is to buy a scale and be more accurate.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent general dessert book May 16, 2013

By Lisa G.

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book has a range of desserts from simple to intimidating to make, and including a little of every dessert type (cakes, cookies, frozen desserts, pies, puddings, etc.). The first two chapters on "Basics" and "Equipment, Ingredients, and Techniques" were helpful for me as a beginning baker for general baking knowledge. Several recipes contain either chocolate or fruit, or both. There are recipes for many types of fruits, including apples, blackberries, blueberries, clementine oranges, cherries, mangoes, pears, strawberries, and mixed fruits: something for every season.

So far, I have made: 1) the brown sugar-buttermilk snack cake with blackberries and caramel-walnut drizzle (easy to make, a great coffee cake for my co-workers); 2) browned butter-almond brunch cake with blueberry sauce (easy; I liked the almond flavor and texture); 3) almond-apricot brownies with tart cherry ganache (decadently rich, complex, wow!); 4) latticed browned butter-vanilla bean pear pie (excellent, and smells amazing); 5) deep-dish sour cream apple pie with lemon-cardamom streusel (the cardamom adds an interesting flavor); and 6) blueberry creme fraiche tart with poppy seed crust (great blend of berries & tangy creme fraiche, and looks impressive).

I agree with the other reviewers in that I wish there were more illustrations -- especially for the recipes that I am unfamiliar with, and the more complex recipes. "A picture is worth a thousand words" may not be accurate, but they are helpful.