Farmers' Market Desserts - Jennie Schacht

Summary: This guide, full of gorgeous color photography, will walk you through your local farmers' market in search of the most delicious fruits, freshest dairy products, and seasonal, regional specialties. . . to  create the ultimate desserts. Don't know how to choose the best peach in the pile? Worried that strawberries aren't yet in season? Can't tell the difference between a pluot and a plum? Farmers' Market Desserts supplies the recipes, facts, and tips that will build your skills and knowledge at the market and in your kitchen.

A Plum Tarte Tartin captures the musky, juicy end of August like nothing else. Orange Cupcakes with White Chocolate-Orange Buttercream are the perfect, hand-held party sweet for your holiday fete. Put locally grown dried cherries to use in a batch of Cherry-Chocolate Chunk Cookies. Farmers' Market Desserts will thrill you with simple, fresh flavors, all the while guiding you to shop and eat sustainably. Summary from book jacket. Image from Chronicle.com.

My Review: I grabbed a copy of this book out of a clearance bin at Borders when it was taking its last breaths on earth. Talk about a total score. I don't typically gravitate toward dessert-only cookbooks, but the fact that it was focused on fresh fruit and had a variety of recipes for all seasons make me curious. After closer inspection I found dozens of tips on how to pick out the freshest produce as well as storage recommendations and FYI sections about little known products (like quark).

I tried out (and adored) the Ginger-Pear Skillet Cake and the Meyer Lemon-Goat Cheese Soufflé Cakes which I've posted on my recipe blog. (Just follow the links.) There are literally recipes for every season and like the summary says, it shows you how to shop and eat more seasonally. The author also incorporates a handful of vegetables and foods that aren't typically found in sweets into her desserts. Cornmeal Cake with Fresh Corn and Berries? Yes, please.

I appreciate that, although this is a dessert cookbook, the author has a light hand with the refined sugar and relies more on the sweetness from the fruit. This book is proof that you don't have to dive off the deep end of indulgence to enjoy dessert.

My Rating: 5 stars

Sum It Up: A fresh, delicious collection of dessert recipes for all seasons.

Chronicle Books is giving away two copies of this cookbook! Visit the review post for Farmers' Market Desserts on Perry's Plate for details! (Jumping through hoops not required.)