Description:
Sarah Phillips was a single mother who pulled herself up by her apron strings by selling cookies baked at home. Then, she turned to making low-fat muffins, which became so popular she translated her recipes into mixes to be sold in supermarkets. In her Healthy Oven Baking Book, Phillips is realistic. She explains why fat-free recipes give poor results: taking out too much fat also removes good taste and texture. So, she often uses applesauce in place of fat, but she also uses canola oil, whole eggs, or a small amount of butter in some recipes. Butter, she explains, makes pie dough tender and keeps baked goods moist. Healthy Oven Baking Book offers two new techniques for low-fat baking. Both rely on getting air into delicate batters, and help you avoid overmixing, which makes cakes tough. The techniques, the "New Classic Method" and the "New Creaming Method," call for beating batters for at least 1 1/2 minutes with a handheld electric mixer, and for handling batters very gently. Using Phillips's 125-plus recipes, and following her advice on ingredients, you can bake everything from sticky Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake topped with Grape Nuts Cereal instead of nuts, to Zucchini Bread, a killer Fudge Layer Cake with fudgy frosting, and phyllo-layered baklava made with pears. She also features eight recipes incorporating her instant mixes. Cheesecake lovers should take special note--The Healthy Oven Baking Book offers amazing recipes that set a new standard for creaminess. They're low in fat but excellent compared to any other cheesecake. --Dana Jacobi
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