The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook: Sweets – Puddings and Candy

Each month I’m highlighting a different non-Ina cookbook – these can be old favorites, classics I need to try, or new books I’m excited about. I’ll make at least one recipe from each chapter of the book to get an overall flavor of each. For the month of June, the book is Deb Perelman’s The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. I hope you’ll cook along with me! The book is available for purchase here.

Note: some recipes may be available online, but I only share links if they explicitly state it’s reprinted with permission from the author or publisher!

Strawberry Cheesecake Fools

I’d never heard of a fool in the context of food prior to coming across this recipe. If, like me, you’re unfamiliar, a fruit fool is an English dessert of pureed fruit swirled with custard or whipped cream. I loved Deb’s New York-inspired take transforming it into an easy-to-make, no-bake cheesecake in a glass! The macerated strawberries are briefly cooked and then chilled. Once cold you strain them to remove access liquid and add some of that liquid to the cream cheese whipped cream. To assemble you fill champagne flutes alternating between the fruit, strawberry cream cheese whipped cream, and the brown sugar cookie crumble made of crushed whole wheat digestive biscuits, brown sugar, and cinnamon. The beautiful dessert is topped with whipped cream and a sprinkling of the crumbs. I loved getting all the flavors from a classic cheesecake with half the effort! I challenge you to just have one of these …

Book: The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, page 270
Rating: 5/5 
How Easy Is That: Easy
Store-Bought Is Fine: whole wheat crackers
Pricey Ingredients: —

Official recipe is not online.

Apple Cider Caramels

I knew I had to make these after a ton of you said they were one of your favorites from the book! Being that it isn’t autumn, I was sure I’d be able to find apple cider, but Westside Market thankfully came through. The cider is significantly reduced – concentrating that apple flavor – before being combined with butter, sugar, and heavy cream and then heated. I forgot the cardinal rule of caramel making: when it gets close to the correct temperature, don’t look away. I did so and it was just enough to go over the final temperature giving the final product a slightly burnt flavor. Oh, well! Once at the right temp, cinnamon and flakey sea salt are added and everything is poured onto a parchment-lined pan. Once cooled and firm, you cut them into little squares and wrap them in wax paper. Even though these were slightly burnt, they were absolute heaven, and I know done correctly these sweet puckery caramels would be even better! I’ll be making these again this autumn.

Book: The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, page 277
Rating: 5/5 
How Easy Is That: Easy
Store-Bought Is Fine: apple cider
Pricey Ingredients: —

Recipe on SmittenKitchen.com