Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts

I’ve always felt that you can’t go wrong with an Alice Medrich cookbook because her recipes are consistently good and always seem to offer a good variety to choose from when you’re in the mood to do a little baking but don’t know exactly what you want to bake. These same things are true about her newest book, Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts, only these recipes are intended to be even simpler (and thus, more tempting) to put together.

The book is based on the concept that there are many times when you need a dessert for a certain occasion, or are looking for something sweet to eat yourself, but you just don’t have the time, ingredients or counter space to go through a complicated recipe. There are new recipes, older Medrich recipes that have been streamlined to save time and plenty of suggestions for dressing up simple things to add a little more flavor and flair. There is a range of recipes to accommodate varying time commitment levels – skill levels – which makes the book versatile. For instance, you’ll find a few indulgent souffle that are much easier to make than most but still requires a little bit of prep, alongside decedent ice cream sundae sauces that can be made and stored weeks in advance. The recipes include puddings, pies, tarts, cakes and cookies, as well as ice cream- and fruit-based desserts.

The best thing about this cookbook is that you can count on the fact that the recipes are excellent. This is because they are all intended to be delicious desserts that are also easy – rather than recipes that are easy to throw together and tastes like you didn’t put any thought into it (which many easy/quick cookbooks are guilty of). Medrich’s recipes are always very detailed and easy to follow along with, and the tips that she provides in the introduction of the book can help you stock your quick dessert kitchen or streamline your current kitchen to the essentials. There are beautiful photos, but the titles and the descriptions of the recipes alone – along with the promise that they can all be ready to eat soon – is enough to keep you coming back for more.