In this dessert recipe book, Chef Lisa Joy Taylor takes you and your taste buds on a mouthwatering dessert tour of the United States! Each of the 50 states are featured with two recipes that are representative of that state for one reason or another (100 recipes) including a great variety of cakes, pies, tarts, cookies, bars, sorbet, ice cream and more! In addition to ingredients lists and cooking instructions for each recipe, readers will also discover an interesting tidbit about the history of the recipe or its’ main ingredient and sometimes both! Here are a couple examples:
Missouri Black Walnut-Caramel Tart – Producing nearly 50 percent of the world’s Black Walnuts, Missouri is the world’s largest black walnut producer. Black walnuts have a stronger flavor than English walnuts and have thus become a popular ingredient in Missouri’s baked goods.
Maryland – Maryland Smith Island Cake – With ten layers of cake and ten layers of rich frosting, Smith Island Cake is not only the state dessert of Maryland, but an irresistible, mouthwatering confection that harkens back to the English torte, from which it is believed to have originated. Smith Island Cake is usually iced with chocolate frosting but variations are made with banana, orange and coconut frosting.
My Review
We love desserts in this house. My husband is the baker and he loves learning to make new things. He loves to find twists on some of his favorites too like his Key Lime Pie. This is an awesome collection of desserts that has something for everyone no matter what your tastes! From low key to fruity to chocolate to cake to pies you will find something you will fall in love with and want to make over and over. The recipes are easy to understand and follow so even the most inexperienced baker can make a great dessert for any occasion. This is a must have for every kitchen cookbook shelf.
About the Author
For as long as she remembers, Lisa Joy Taylor has loved to cook and has especially loved desserts. Her introduction to cooking and baking started early on as a little girl when she, her two sisters and her mom used to spend Sunday afternoons together baking. Not surprisingly, her mom was known among her friends and family for her delicious desserts! Little did she know it at the time that the fun of being together with her family combined with the incredible smells in the kitchen and the taste of the desserts being created set the stage for her to pursue her passion for food and baking. Her background as chef/baker has been both informal, learning from her mom and experimenting and on her own, as well as formally through various classes and trainings. According to Lisa: “I love to share delicious food with others: to see a smile come over their face when they taste something incredibly yummy for the first time, or to hear” mmmmm” as a fork slides out of someone’s mouth – this is magic! I also just love the warm fuzzy feelings I get around cooking and eating food.” Today she lives in Northern California with her two daughters, one son, husband, two dogs, and a very active kitchen. She continues to research, experiment and refine recipes as well as create new ones too!
She can be reached at [email protected]
Purchase the book HERE