Review - Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes by David Lebovitz

When I tried a couple of David Lebovitz’s recipes earlier this year for the first time, I became an instant fan.
   After making and absolutely loving his Red Wine-Raspberry Sorbet recipe, which appeared in Bon Appetit magazine, I felt compelled to buy the renowned pastry chef’s latest cookbook: Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes.
   While I’ve only had time to try one other recipe from this book, No-Machine Banana Ice Cream (to die for), I will no doubt be trying more.
   This cookbook is full of just the kind of recipes you’d expect from a chef who took his baking training and France and Belgium and now lives in Paris: Desserts that are culinary classics, but have a lovely twist to them.
   As a fellow food blogger once said: “All of David’s desserts are magical.”
   David writes that the book was 30 years in the making: It’s a culmination of years of baking professionally and at home.
   The recipes range in difficulty. Some look easy to make, while others are harder mostly due to many ingredients and steps of preparation.
   I would recommend this cookbook for people who currently bake and are looking for some interesting recipes to try.
   They will certainly find them Ready for Dessert: There are more than 170 recipes for cakes, pies, tarts, crisps, cobblers, custards, soufflés, puddings, ice cream, sherbets, sorbets, cookies, candies, dessert sauces and fruit preserves.
   The book has baking basics, such as chocolate chip cookies, brownies and gingersnaps, to recipes with names such as Chocolate Pave, Marjolaine, Gateau Victoire, Cherry Gateau Basque, Sesame-Orange Almond Tuiles, Chocolate-Port Truffles and Frozen Caramel Mousse with Sherry-Glazed Pears.
   At the beginning of each recipe, David has an often-amusing story about how its creation came about.
   Here are some recipes I have my eye on to try:
- Irish Coffee Cupcakes
- Nectarine-Raspberry Upside-Down Gingerbread
- Bahamian Rum Cake
- Banana Butterscotch Cream Pie
- Champagne Gelee with Kumquats, Grapefruits and Blood Oranges
- Watermelon-Sake Sorbet
- Simple Cherry Sorbet

An incredible no-machine ice cream - to be made under certain conditions

Updated on Dec. 21, 2023

This is going to be a mixed-up blog post.
   I’m going to recommend a recipe, but only under certain conditions.
   It’s No-Machine Chocolate-Banana Ice Cream , created by professional pastry chef David Lebovitz.
   Don’t get me wrong – for the right “target market,” this is an amazing ice cream. My husband absolutely loved it and encouraged me to write about it.

   Make this ice cream if:
   - You want to make ice cream, without a machine, that looks and feels like the finest store-bought variety.
  - The people to whom you serve it like strong tastes, as this smacks of Irish cream liqueur and dark rum, which are needed in ridiculously huge amounts for the ice cream to freeze properly.
   - The people to whom you serve it could eat liqueur chocolates without wincing or enjoy Irish cream liqueurs, such as Bailey’s, straight up.

   Don’t make this ice cream if:
   The only people to whom you'll serve it are picky eaters or people who prefer bland tastes. They will not like this ice cream one bit. And, with all the booze, I would never serve this ice cream to children. This is a dessert for grown-ups.

   So, with that in mind, here’s a quick rundown on how to make it. It’s really a very easy recipe for the finely-textured product you get without a machine.
   Bittersweet or semisweet chocolate is melted with whole or low-fat milk (I used two per cent) in a bowl over simmering water.
   Irish cream liqueur (I used Bailey’s), sliced bananas, dark rum and the melted chocolate are pureed in a food processor. Don’t be tempted to cut back on the called-for one cup plus two tablespoons of liqueur or the three tablespoons of dark rum, or the ice cream won’t freeze to its proper texture.
   The mixture is poured in a shallow plastic container, and is then frozen eight hours or overnight (I opted for overnight.)
   Serve to the right audience and enjoy!
No-Machine Chocolate-Banana Ice Cream is also in David Lebovitz's new cookbook, Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes. It is available for purchase at amazon.ca or amazon.com through the links below.

Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes at amazon.ca
Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes at amazon.com

I made a raspberry sorbet, the kind you find in an icy treats store

Apologies to Prince for that headline, but I'm sure he'd like this Red Wine-Raspberry Sorbet (click here for the recipe at the Bon Appetit website). My husband sure liked it!
   This sorbet recipe was created by professional pastry chef David Lebovitz and can also be found in his new cookbook, Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes.
   In the introduction to the recipe in the cookbook, Lebovitz writes that this red wine-raspberry sorbet is his all-time favourite.
   This must really be saying something, because there are no less than 14 sorbet recipes in his new cookbook, including sangria, chocolate-tangerine, Meyer Lemon, watermelon-sake and cherry.
   I can see why it's his favourite (it's my favourite too now, by the way) -- it's a sorbet for wine lovers, with the taste of red wine mingling with the fresh berries in every spoonful. There's a bit of pucker here too, like you would get with a red wine or berry.
   It's a simple yet elegant dessert, perfect for ending a small dinner party (or a weeknight dinner!)
   It's also the most "professional" sorbet I've made yet, with a perfect texture and lovely colour -- it looked exactly like it did in the cookbook photo!
   And here's the kicker -- it's extremely easy to make. However, it requires the use of an ice-cream maker.
   I successfully substituted Splenda for the sugar called for in this recipe.
   Sugar (or Splenda), water and a bottle of red wine (I used a merlot) are brought to a boil, then the raspberries are added. This is left to steep for an hour.
   The mixture is then poured through a sieve into a bowl, and the raspberries left behind. Using a spatula, berries are mashed through the sieve into the liquid, conveniently leaving the seeds behind. The mixture is refrigerated until cold (I left it in the fridge overnight.)
   It's then processed in an ice-cream maker.

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