Let Them Eat Cake: 140 Sinfully Rich Desserts-With a Fraction of the Fat

Rating:
Summary: The cover picture says it all!
Review: I had a ball just reading the recipes. While they all wouldn't be considered "low-fat" they are reduced-fat and would definitely curb that craving that so many of us sweet-tooths get. I found the way the author reduced the fat (without adding sugar) to be fascinating. She really knew her stuff and I look forward to trying one of the cheesecake recipes later today.

Rating:
Summary: Yummy, Yet Good for You
Review: Just reading the Table of Contents may make your mouth water: Luscious Lemon Squares, Strawberry-Rhubarb Cobbler, Key Lime Pie, Southern Sweet Potato Pie, Pear-Prune-Brandy Cake, sauces, toppings, and more! Susan G. Purdy (former student at "Le Cordon Bleu" and "L'Ecole de Cuisine la Varennes" in Paris) is a master chef, whose previous book, "Let Them Eat Cake" won the Julia Child Award. Her number one criterion for these low-fat goodies is taste: "The recipes must stand on their own and taste wonderful, not 'okay' because they are low fat."

It's an easy yet complete guide to making low-fat sweets, with cooking tips on almost every page, enumerated instructions for each recipe, and notes on advance preparation, special equipment, and time requirements.

Her recipe for the delicious and usually cholesterol-heavy Tiramasu is a wonder. Per serving, it has 341 calories (compared to 600 for her favorite non low-fat recipe), 7.8 g of fat (compared to 37 g), and 92 mg of cholesterol (compared to 243mg). Her lemon meringue recipe has half the fat and one-sixth the cholesterol of the usual by using non-fat butter, no egg yolks, and other healthy substitutions. There is a long, excellent chapter on nutrition and cooking, a list of recipes by dietary requirement (e.g., fat-free, lactose-free, reduced-sugar) and occasion (children; holidays). She includes also a humorous 4-pagesection called "quick-fix cover-up tricks" when recipes don't go as expected.

This is a fun, thorough, and delicious set of recipes. Ms. Purdy talks about the importance of reducing fat and cholesterol but never sounds preachy. There's a guide to USDA food labels (for example, she explains the meaning of "fat-free" on a label), a list of mail order suppliers, a bibliography, index, and some beautiful color pictures within the book's 389 pages. An excellent book: Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: No one will guess these excellent desserts are low-fat!
Review: This is a great cookbook for people who love to eat desserts guilt-free. Susan Purdy does an excellent job of turning traditional favorities (like brownies) into low-fat treats. She uses rich ingredients (like dutch-process cocoa) in smaller quantities to provide flavor and low-fat ingredients (like low-fat cream cheese) to cut fat and calories. She gives a complete breakdown of the fat and calorie content at the end of each receipe. The recipes are written step-by-step and there are some pictures. Most of the recipes make a couple dozen cookies or an 8-in square pan. If I had one complaint it would be that the receipes call for a lot of very specific ingredients (for example, you are advised against substituting low-fat cream cheese and Neufatchel cream cheese). However, everyone I've shared these recipes with can't believe they are low fat.