The cookbook that makes you go “Awww”

Who knew baking could be so cute? But every time one of my co-workers sees this cookbook on my desk, they say, “Awww.” Then, they flip through the pictures and say, “Yum!” And then they fling it away and say that it’s making them hungry, LOL.

So, basically, this is book full of recipes of adorable, miniature desserts. The idea behind mini-desserts is that you can eat a smaller portion because it’s healthier, because you don’t want any more than just a little somethin’, or because you want to sample lots of mini-desserts. These are all good thoughts in my book! And on top of that, the presentations of these charming sweets, thanks to lots of wonderful photos, is inspiring enough to make me want to whip up a few of everything in the book.

Petite Sweets contains chapters on Basics; Little Cakes; Petite Pies and Tarts; Fruit and Berry Desserts; Mousses and Chilled Desserts; Creams, Custards, and Frozen Desserts; and Pastries and Sweets. I think you’ll agree that that pretty much covers the sugary territory. Most of the recipes are fairly simple—in some cases a little more basic than I might have chosen, but the author, Beatrice Ojakangas, offers useful advice on how to adapt other favorite recipes for miniature versions. And some of her shortcuts are just plain clever, such as using a whole vanilla wafer as the base of a miniature cheesecake.

A lot of the recipes call for specialized mini baking dishes, but there are helpful substitutions like to use mini muffin tins with foil cupcake liners for those of us who don’t yet own 24 miniature baking ramekins. And who are you kidding? You know you’ll be prowling Williams-Sonoma waiting for a variety of mini pans and dishes to go on sale. How can you resist, when the results are so darn cute and scrumptious? Soon you too will be turning Coconut Rum Butter Cakes out of the mini Bundt cake pans. And you’ll be filling up that old shot glass collection with Chocolate Espresso Mousse. And you’ll be collecting vintage parfait glasses to hold your Vanilla Banana Cream Pies.

Have I not tempted you yet? Can you resist the Miniature Bread Puddings, the Whoopie Pies, the Angel Cakes with Lemon Sauce, the Mini Chocolate Soufflés, the Strawberry Bruschetta, the Fresh Ginger Carrot Cakelets, the Greek-Style Honey-Nut Pastries, the Blueberry Cobblerettes, the Crispy Cream Puffs, the Mango Mousse, the Chocolate Truffle Tarts…? As you can see, the list goes on and on. Resistance is futile. Get to baking! ( )

In Petite Sweets Ojakanga shows us how to make miniature versions of some of the most decadent and sinful desserts and sweets around. From planning the dessert menu and equipment basics to tips on ingredients it’s all covered with large full color photos.

Cooking and baking have always been hit or miss with me. I love to do it but even if I follow the recipe exactly I don’t always get the best results. Some of my more memorable dishes have been my Lemon Meringue Soup when trying to make my favorite pie and most recently when following my grandma’s light and fluffy gordita recipe I ended up with what my husband called “biscuits with meat”. LOL My son even nicknamed me “burner girl” because he was always scraping the burnt parts off his favorite grilled cheese sandwiches.

Petite Sweets has plenty of easy to follow recipes and for my review I tried the Mini Cream Puffs. There were just a few basic ingredients and I filled mine with vanilla pudding so in no time flat I had a tiny version of one of my favorite treats with almost no mess to clean up afterwards. My cream puffs were light, fluffy, golden brown and perfectly flaky and I actually surprised myself at how good they tasted.

One major plus is that since I’ve been dieting I’ve cut all sweets and goodies out of my diet. With Petite Sweets I was able to satisfy my sweet tooth without all the guilt that I would have had with the full size version.

In each of the categories below there are many more great recipes that have caught my eye and next up for me will be the Fresh Lime Pies made in mini muffin tins which will be just big enough to satisfy my craving while still being good.

Petite Sweets Categories
* Little Cakes
* Petite Pies and Tarts
* Fruit and Berry Desserts
* Mouses and Chilled Desserts
* Creams, Custards and Frozen Desserts
* Pastries and Sweets

Any of the sweet treats found in the book would be the hit of your party and your friends will all think you’re a master pastry chef. I highly recommend Petite Sweets for bakers of any skill level because as my family knows I’m not the best cook and my Mini Cream Puffs were a little bit of heaven. ( )