Carole Bloom - Bite-Size Desserts: Creating Mini Sweet Treats, from Cupcakes to Cobblers to Custards and Cookies

Copyright 2009 by Carole Bloom. All rights reserved.

Photography copyright 2009 by Glenn Cormier

Originally published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to or to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 3 Park Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10016.

hmhbooks.com

DESIGN BY Vertigo Design, NYC

FOOD STYLING BY Carole Bloom

PROP STYLING BY Carole Bloom, Glenn Cormier, and Jerry Olivas

Library of Congress Cataloging-In-Publication Data:

Bloom, Carole.

Bite-size desserts / Carole Bloom.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-0-470-22697-1 (cloth)

1. Desserts. I. Title.

TX773.B6145 2010

641.8'6dc22

2008019011

eISBN 978-0-544-17853-3
v3.0220

With love to:

MY MOTHER, FLORENCE

MY SWEETIE BOYS, TIGER AND CASANOVA

MY NIECE, ANNA, WHO IS AN AMAZING YOUNG WOMAN

AND MY HUSBAND, JERRY, WHO ALWAYS INSPIRES ME TO DO MY BEST.

Although writing a book is a solitary venture, it takes a team to bring it to fruition. With grateful thanks to:

Susan Ginsburg, my terrific agent, who is always there when I need her and always follows through.

Pam Chirls, my immensely talented editor, for the opportunity to work together again and for her excitement about this book.

Ava Wilder, senior production editor, for her enthusiasm for this book and so skillfully guiding it through the publishing process.

Rochelle Palermo Torres, copyeditor, for her great attention to detail, helping to make this book read so consistently. And Deborah Weiss Geline, proofreader, for her eagle eye.

Alison Lew of Vertigo Design for the exciting book design, and Jeff Faust for the cover design.

The entire team at John Wiley & Sons, Inc., for supporting this book and bringing it to the public.

Florence Bloom, my mother, who takes great pride in my work and is always supportive.

Kitty Morse, good friend and colleague, who is a great sounding board and great support.

Lesa Heebner, good friend and fashionista, who is a big source of encouragement. I always look forward to Lesas e-mails and our show and tell dates.

Bonnie Manion, another good friend, who is always very interested in and supportive of my work, and for bringing me the occasional terrific eggs from her chickens, the girls.

My neighbors and friends for cheerfully eating my experiments and giving me feedback.

Land OLakes for providing me with plenty of delicious butter for developing and testing the recipes.

Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker and Valrhona Chocolate for supplying me with superior-quality chocolate to use.

Patricia Rain, The Vanilla Queen, for superb vanilla products.

Photographer Glenn Cormier for his incredible talent that makes my desserts look so luscious. Glenn and I have a great collaboration, and working together is a true pleasure. This is our third book, and I look forward to more in the future.

Ben Carufel, Glenns assistant, who makes our photo sessions go as smooth as butter and greatly enjoys tasting what we photograph.

Tiger and Casanova, my feline boys, who are a constant source of amusement and bring so much love and joy to my life.

Jerry Olivas, my husband, for his unstinting assistance with everything, including tasting all the recipes (often more than once), providing ideas, editing, food and prop styling, being the general gofer, making me laugh a lot, and making my life sweet.

Have you ever wanted just a bite or two of a scrumptious dessert? Do you sometimes order one normal-size dessert with several forks or spoons so everyone can share? And, how about when you ask for a take-out container to take home the dessert that you havent finished?

More and more, people want smaller-size desserts, but they dont want to sacrifice great flavor, texture, and sensory experiences. Bite-Size Desserts offers 87 recipes for small-size desserts that are easy to prepare, look beautiful, and are every bit as delicious as their full-size cousins.

With portion control becoming more prevalent in our health- and weight-conscious society, the desserts in this book are right in line with what people desire. Smaller-size desserts are eaten with only a few bites, so less is consumed. Also, bite-size desserts allow flexibility for people to choose to have one, or two, or maybe three. Bite-size desserts are a great option for a group of people at a dinner party or other gathering who have different dessert likes as well as different appetites. And you will not hear guests saying, Make mine small, because bite-size desserts are just thatsmall portions.

One great benefit of bite-size desserts thats exciting to me is that a variety can be offered. Everyone doesnt have to eat the same dessert, and those who like a certain one are free to eat just that. And because of their small size, you dont feel compelled to eat a large serving at one time. Its fine to have one, come back a little later for another, and maybe even another one after that.

For a buffet event, bite-size desserts are perfect because they are so easy to handle. Whether its a buffet or serving at the table, there is a lot of flexibility for presenting bite-size desserts because many different platters, trays, and dishes can be used. I like to use decorative pieces of tile or stone as a creative serving surface. And I also like to use a multitiered plate holder, like those used for serving afternoon tea. For individual servings there are a variety of fun options, from colorful and whimsical paper napkins to petite plates and bowls.

We have all seen those exquisite miniature desserts that look like little jewels. They look like they would be hard to make, but that is a myth. Having made many of these in my career, I can assure you that smaller desserts dont require any more skill or time than regular-size desserts. Also, one thing that I especially like about many small-size desserts is that you can get your hands into shaping and forming them. Several of the desserts in this book, such as scones, shortcakes, galettes, cookies, ice creams, and candies, are made on a small scale, while others are made using small pans, molds, and ramekins, which are very easy to find.

This book starts with a chapter that covers ingredients, equipment, and techniques. Information is provided on many of the ingredients that you will use, including types of sugar, chocolate, and flour, as well as many other basics. Most of the equipment and tools that are needed are discussed, including the staples that all dessert makers should have, as well as some unique, but easy to obtain, pieces that are used to make bite-size desserts. For example, this is where you will find information on small-size pans, molds, and ramekins. Also, in this chapter various techniques for making bite-size desserts are explained.

The recipes are organized by category of desserts. There are seven chapters covering a very large variety and select the category that you desire. Some recipes may require a few steps and take a little longer to make than others, but everything in this book can be made easily by the novice dessert maker.

Recipes begin with a note that gives information about what makes the dessert special and, where appropriate, makes suggestions for when to serve the dessert, such as a particular season or event. Underneath this you will find the specific yield and the required pan, ramekin, or mold, if necessary. This is followed by a list of the ingredients along with the easy-to-follow instructions for making the recipe. At the end of each recipe is the section called Keeping (storing). Where appropriate, the following are also included: Making a Change (variations), Streamlining (do-ahead), Adding Style (decorating), and Troubleshooting (preventing problems).