Rating: 
Summary: Just TOO fat
Review: I know that Suzanne doesn't believe in the concept of low fat but this book was just too over the top for me (or anyone) to believe! Yes I tried the creme brulee and it was good. But 6 egg yolks and over 2 cups of cream. That would be a whole days worth of fat allotment on a "heart healthy" program and 2 DAYS of saturated fat. Of course this is not in the book nor is the fact that the creme brulee is still over 500 calories, without the sugar. This just convinced me she is too off base. I doubt SHE eats many of these. And all the recipes are this way. I guess this is what I should have expected. But did she have to purposely choose the HIGHEST of the high fat recipes to simply take a little sugar out and call that amazing. That is not amazing and neither is the cost of the Somersweet. Again if you think you can eat all the fat you want without consequence the stuff does taste good. But for my money I prefer the other book I ordered from Amazon called "UNBELIEVABLE DESSERTS WITH SPLENDA". It also features low to no sugar recipes - over 75 not 30 - and they are ALSO low in fat and under 200 calories per serving. They taste fabulous (which is unbelievable) and I am so much more comfortable knowing I am not only cutting the sugar but the fat and calories too. I know I will use this book SO much longer and that the desserts can be enjoyed by everyone no matter what their diet. Think about that.
Rating: 
Summary: Delicious but Expensive Desserts!
Review: Somercize Desserts is a slim volume of 30 desserts accompanied by sumptious photographs! These are not diet desserts. They are made with full fat cream cheese, heavy cream, egg yolks, and chocolate. However, if the desserts are eaten according to the Sommercize rules of food combining you can enjoy them and lose weight! If they are eaten whenever, you could gain weight.
The rules of combining are explained in Suzannes other books, Eat Great Lose Weight, Eat Cheat and Lose and Get Skinny on Fabulous Food. The rules are not explained in the Somercize Desserts book. She does however indicate, to those familiar with Somercizing which desserts are Level One and which are Level Two.The book includes both new treats and desserts previously published in her other books. Most of the recipes include a sugar substitute Suzanne has developed called SommerSweet. She also gives substitutions using real sugar or saccharin. The SommerSweet product is available from her website and is quite pricey. Two small cans with shipping runs $24 plus. One of the recipes in her book is for Truffles. She also sells the Truffles at her website for around $20 plus shipping. I purchased the Truffles from her site and enjoyed them. My husband who appreciates very fine chocolate found them to have an aftertaste. No one felt they were as good as a real truffle with sugar. But you can't have it all I guess. I decided to make the truffles with her book and found the recipe easy to follow but the end result was not as tasty as the ones she sells. Aside from the Sommersweet, other recipes call for ingredients including whole vanilla bean, wonton skins, phyllo dough, and whole wheat PASTRY flour. These items are not always easy to find. In addition one recipe calls for a springform pan and several call for an ice cream maker.
By the time I purchased her book, the springform pan and the ingredients to make the chocolate layer cake, I figure I had about $75 invested! Other recipes in the book include, peach sorbet (ice cream maker needed) orange souffle, decaf coffee granita, creme brulee, steamed chocolate pudding, and asian napoleons. The directions are easy to follow and the ingredients are clearly listed along with the serving size. Fats, fiber, calories, and carbohydrate information is not included. Book lies flat for cooking ease. The book is lovely with the tempting color photographs and the recipes I have tried all turned out well. BUT considering the hard to find ingredients and the fact that the book contains only 30 recipes, its one pricey piece of cake!
Rating: 
Summary: Delicious, sugar-free, low-carb desserts!
Review: Somers' diet plan is very much in keeping with all the various low-carb and sugar-free programs out there such as the Zone, Protein Power, Atkins and Sugarbusters. I myself follow Atkins and very much enjoy sweets, so this dessert cookbook is a happy find for me. The recipes in this book are almost gourmet, calling for fancy, often expensive ingredients and special cooking pans, but the recipes are all relatively simple, without a huge list of ingredients or elaborate preparation requirements, and the results are extremely tasty. Examples of the recipes include: decaf coffee granta, crème brulee, orange souffle, raspberry sorbet, New York-style cheesecake, caramel cheesecake, steamed chocolate pudding. All of the recipes call for Somers' expensive new sweetener, Somersweet, which is sold on her website. However, since her cookbook indicates substitutions for it, you don't have to use it. She doesn't list Splenda as a substitute for Somersweet, but it works well in recipes like pudding, sorbet and cheesecake. (I don't recommend it in cakes and cookies--they get really dry.) In addition to the excellent contents, this 75-page book is gorgeous, with beautiful photos, glossy paper and a lovely layout design. As such, it would make a great gift.
Rating: 
Summary: Great with a little help.
Review: This book is great for those who know what they want, that is, desserts that fit into their Somersizing way of eating, as well as a love for baking. If you have given up sugar and are no longer craving the sickening sweet things you previously ate, then these recipes are perfect. The creme brulee is rich and creamy and just sweet enough. After all, aren't we supposed to be adjusting to a healthier lifestyle? If what you want is a rich ice cream sundae that makes your teeth ache, then this book isn't for you. But if you have given up sweets, and find the sweetness of natural fruit to be sweet enough and have a love of baking and cooking, then these recipes will do the trick. My family loved them, too.
Rating:
Summary: Great for those who know what they want!
Review: This book is great for those who know what they want, that is, desserts that fit into their Somersizing way of eating, as well as a love for baking. If you have given up sugar and are no longer craving the sickening sweet things you previously ate, then these recipes are perfect. The creme brulee is rich and creamy and just sweet enough. After all, aren't we supposed to be adjusting to a healthier lifestyle? If what you want is a rich ice cream sundae that makes your teeth ache, then this book isn't for you. But if you have given up sweets, and find the sweetness of natural fruit to be sweet enough and have a love of baking and cooking, then these recipes will do the trick. My family loved them, too.
Rating: 
Summary: Many recipes were not tested first
Review: Warning: there are many recipes in this book that didn't come out, even though I'm a very experienced cook and I followed the directions exactly. The "SomerSweet" product does indeed leave an aftertaste and is bitter. After adjusting to less SomerSweet, the recipe tasted better, but not the same as using sugar, no way. Ms. Somers is an actress, not a author, and it shows. Out of the 10 recipes that I tried, one worked as promised. What ever you do, don't even attempt to make the caramel sauce. I wasted about $10 worth of cream trying. Please, if anyone has this book and can recommend one great recipe from it, please do so!
Rating:
Summary: Dessert, anyone?
Review: You do not have to use Somersweet for these desserts, they work well without it, but Somersweet IS A GOOD THING! I've used it well, and everyone else has enjoyed the desserts I've made, too. I love the ones I've tried, the cappuccino cheesecake, the lemon-scented ricotta (works great with lime, I always add more, though), the lemon zablagione. . .this is a really good dessert book.
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