Terri and Joanne, that Blueberry Crisp was Grandma's recipe, not mine, but I've always loved it. She's probably smiling right now at how the internet made her blueberry crisp famous. LOL I was flattered and delighted that the recipe made it into Ann's Dessert Book.

Maggie, that cake looks pretty darned good to me, I'd have never known if you hadn't "confessed". So Donna Summer reminds you of Michigan? Do we even want to know?

Carol, I love the Swedish Chef. Caken Schmoosher, LOLOL.

Carnelian, I really like that plate your cake is on. The cake ain't bad either!

Nancy, you are getting pretty good at setting up a picture, I like the addition of the fruit, it looks fresh and like spring.

Everything looks so good, it's a darned good thing I'm taking mine to the office. I made three. I couldn't decide. (grin) We're having a staff meeting during the lunch hour tomorrow, so I'm going to try to soften the blow of a mandatory staff meeting with cookies.

I made oatmeal cookies, not quite as pretty as Monique's, but darned yummy:

A pan full of Decadent Brownies with no nuts because one of the attorneys is allergic to nuts:

Finally, my favorite, shortbread. I added some chopped dark chocolate chunks...

{{gwi:1514451}}

I took one picture of everything together on the plate but it just didn't come out as well as the individual pictures did, so you are just stuck with them. :-)

Annie

Ann, I'm with Moe on the Bananas Foster, but if I ate any right now....I probably would die and who knows where I might end up.

Annie, can't imagine there will be too many grumblers about a meeting over lunch hour with those great looking cookies. That new camera is doing a fine job......or maybe the operator is...dunno.

We will have to drag Maggies story out of her one of these days.

Nancy

Blueberries seem to be the trend here today! I made the blueberry oatmeal squares because I could easily take them to work to share. Unfortunately, they just came out of the oven so I haven't had a chance to take a picture. Lets just all pretend that they're as beautiful as Ann's! :)

Wow! This really was a dessert party! 'Whole lotta bakin' goin' on!

Thanks to Nancy for this idea and promoting it so well! Guess the next virtual "cook off" will be low fat, low cal, low ___ (fill in your need) dishes? LOL!

Oh, I wish I had more time - I'll post more tonight when I get home, but we had my niece and a friend of hers over for dinner last night, very impromptu and lots of fun. I made the Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake. It was soooo good, Ann. A great recipe and so easy. I'll post a picture tonight. Gotta go to work early - darn.

Sally

What a great party! Love how everyone decorated and did their own thing with the recipes. Lemon bow ties, cakes in ramekins, everyone is just so clever. The photos are the best part!

Thanks again Nancy for organizing, and Ann for so generously sharing all your recipes!

Shelley

Annie, your oatmeal cookies look pretty to me. I like them with a few nuts in them too. And I would love a wedge of your shortbreads with chocolate in them. Would go great with a cup of coffee.

Sally, looking forward to seeing a picture of your chocolate shortcakes and of Bri's blueberry squares.

Ann

I also loved the lemon bow!! Very creative~

Ann T's recipe book, Annie's recipe!

I was in blueberry mode too and made the Blueberry crisp!
DH pronounced it "PERFECT". Not too sweet, not too tart.

Here's the pan right out of the oven:

And here's my bowlful with a little whipped cream and a few uncooked berries!

Thanks for throwing the party, Nancy!!!

Deanna (looking forward to trying more recipes!)

I need to get a copy of these. Although I didn't make a dessert for this, I have made her Boston Cream Pie several times and it's always a hit. I'm dying to try the lemon cake recipe next.

Why is it when you want to load your pics the batteries are shot in your camera???

First, I'm drooling over all of the great pictures above, this was a fun party for sure. I'm at work so I don't have time to comment on each one. Seems blueberries were very popular.

I couldn't decide on one thing so I made two desserts and the walnut bread I found towards the end of this chapter. My nephew and his friends had borrowed my truck for the day and showed up just in time to wipe out the rhubarb cake and half the cookies. I sent three loaves of the bread home with him and his friends and kept one for myself.

Here ya go...Rhubarb Cake, World Peace Cookies(I'm sure they've been added to the book by now) and Walnut Bread. I know it's not dessert but I had to make it after seeing the recipe and pic. I'll be making all three again but have to say the cake was my favorite this time.

The first piece of cake....

Thanks again for offering all of us this collection of wonderful recipes Ann. Nancy, thanks to you too, for thinking of and organizing another fun and yummy virtual cooking party.

David

That Blueberry Crisp...good choice..I was wavering between that and the squares and the upside down cake...

I had just enough blueberries in the freezer..

David, everything looks amazing..those rhubarb squares look really good..I don't usually like rhubarb stuff..but I can like it...

David I also had to wait and recharge the blessed batteries in my camera before I could upload the blessed pictures, for the blessed event.

Everyone's desserts are fabulous. Take a bow.

I wanted to make the Boston Cream Pie, but due to unrelenting protests by a family member who shall remain nameless to protect the finicky -Jim- I ended up making something else.

That something else was another dessert I always wanted to try anyway. Cassata. And I was happy with my choice. I used my chocolate buttercream, because I didn't have enough heavy cream to cover the entire cake. But that was the only change I made. The flutterby was made with some leftover tuile batter I had. Needless to say, but say I will, the cake was very good and Jim also gave it a thumbs up.
I was feeling naughty this morning and I had a big hunk of it for breakfast to drown out my screaming arteries. This was fun, and now I'm off to hit the treadmill.

Sol

David..wow..great job!
Sol, that is absolutely beautiful! Do you use a stencil for making your butterfly tuile? Love the presentation!

Shelley

What a fun thread so many photos have inspired me to do way more~

We could do this again right? W/ all of Ann's recipes? We could try more!

You must be happy you inspired this Let Them Eat Cake party:)

That little bow is darling!
Everyone's offerings are totally mouth watering! Annie I love shortbread w/ chocolate also~

I am craving Blueberries right now! Am anxious to try the Strawberry Génoise..I never expected la tarte au sucre to look like that ! Must try too.
I wish there were more people living at home:)
And wow Soleil~ Take a bow..Beau!
Imagine..You make desserts look like masterpieces .

Oh pleeease....Any chance of a little butterfly tutorial? I would love to learn:)IWOULDLOVEIT!

Sol, how beautiful, and the butterfly, wow! I am signing up for your class too!

David, great job, and so many desserts!

Annie, I don't know how you resist eating all those lovely things you made..lucky office!

Deanna, I am craving blueberries now, and gimme some of that cream, please!

Ann, the Bananas Foster..I never had that...I would def love to give that a try. Anything with that sauce on it would be delicious!!

Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures before I took them to work, and the only thing left is this:

But everyone in the office lucky enough to get a piece loved them! Thanks for the wonderful recipe Ann!

Bri

I'm usually a lurker, but I couldn't resist participating in this one! I am so inspired by both of Ann T's cookbooks. Thanks, Ann, for sharing.

I know I'm a day late. I made the Strawberry Roll. It's wonderful and will go on my list of desserts to make again.

Wow! All I can say is wow! Look at all those desserts.

Sol, what a beautiful cake!

Those Blueberry desserts - I can't wait till blueberry picking time is here.

Annie, those cookies look fabulous.

Maggie, I thought your cake is pretty.

Adoptedbygreyhounds, I toyed with making that genoise, but I was too intimidated by it. Your's is beautiful!

There are too many to comment about. I want to taste them all.

Well, here's mine. I made the Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake. It met with rave reviews from everyone.

Thank you Ann, for the cookbook, and thank you Nancy, for organizing this. It was fun!

Sally

I lurk here for awhile now and wanted to tell everyone that their desserts look incredible!

I, sadly, could not join in because I have a final weigh-in next week and wanted to be good. I do have a question for Ann or anyone who may know.

My question is regarding the Blueberry Coffee cake recipe. The picture looks like the blueberries are on top of cream cheese or some kind of sugar concoction, but there is nothing in the recipe that states so. Is is just a lot of icing on the blueberries along with the drizzles or is it something else?

It looks wonderful and I would love to make it once I'm off the gawd awful diet, but I'm confused. Would anyone please help me or if Ann sees this, could you point me to the right direction?

Sorry for going off topic. Just wanted to reiterate that everyone's stuff looks SOOOO good! Great job!

Cookingpassion, I used the recipe for the Blueberry Coffee Cake, but in that photo I also topped the dough with a cream cheese filling before adding the blueberries. And after it was baked I drizzled the cake with an icing. It is just another way of how this recipe can be adapted.

Ann

Nancy, thank you for posting my picture! And thanks for explaining again how to include photos. I'll have to try photobucket.

I can't wait until I can pick rhubarb and raspberries from our back yard and try more of these recipes. And now I'm inspired by all the gorgeous pictures to try desserts I've never attempted before. Thank you, everyone, and thanks again, Ann.

Connie, you made the Strawberry Roll! I was in the middle of writing my post and looking up my cheat sheet for posting pictures while you posted. When I earlier said I was going to choose between 2 recipes, the Strawberry Roll was the other recipe I was thinking of trying. (Well, I also toyed with the Strawberry Genoise, but knew that was out of my league.) I'm glad you did the Strawberry Roll. I still want to try making it, too. If y'all think I'm in the mood for strawberries, you're right. I planted stawberries last year, and this year they're starting to produce, so I had to do a strawberry theme. Unfortunately, I didn't have nearly enough homegrown strawberries to make a dessert, so I had to buy them for mine, but maybe one of these days I'll have enough to feature them in one of Ann's strawberry dessert recipes.

Sally

Thank you Shelley, Mme. Monique and Kathleen. Tuiles are pretty easy; I'd be glad to do a mini-tutorial, and put it on my blog, so as not to hog this thread. I'll try to do it as soon as I can.

Lurker Connie, your Strawberry Roll screams Summer.
And Sally, your dessert looks decadent, but I'm also eyeing the lovely plates.

Sol

Oh Sol, you took the Cassata cake to a whole new level. Wow.

Connie, I'm glad you posted. Your Strawberry Roll is a beauty. Can't wait for strawberry season.

Sally, I'm glad you tried the Chocolate Strawberry shortcake. The chocolate really is a nice alternative. Yours looks delicious.

I made a second dessert. Another one that I hadn't made since I started taking photos. O'Henry Bars.

The original recipe doesn't call for chocolate but can chocolate ever be wrong?

Oh my gosh, Ann. Does anything you make look messy or otherwise imperfect in any way!?!?! :) Those O'Henry bars look reeeeeally good. I'll have to give them a try next. Thanks for being our muse for this dessert party!

Ah, I figure it was some kind of cream cheese underneath the blueberries but I had to ask just to be sure. It looks very beautiful and I am going to make it next week for hubby and I.:)

Thanks again, Ann.

CP

I second Bri's question, Ann. Your desserts look stunning.

Thanks, Sol. Those plates are part of a set I inherited from my mother. They're Spode's Tower by Copeland, but Mom always just called them her Spode. I think the set dates back to the 40's or 50's, cause she and Dad were married in 1942. They came out for special occasions. It's funny, cause my niece, who joined us for the dessert party, said she'd never been allowed to eat off of them at family dinners. Now that she's almost 30, she's finally old enough to eat off the Spode!

Sally

Ok, I'm a little late to the party but I did participate. Yesterday, in between working from home, taking care of a sick baby, and procrastinating getting to the bank and post office to figure out how to pay my taxes, I baked the bottom part of the "Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cookie Tarts" found on page 149. Tonight I made the icing and piped it onto the cookie part with the help of my 3 1/2 year old son. They didn't come out pretty (I'll blame him) to where I feel inclined to share a picture after all that is shown above, but they are in fact very good and we just got finished enjoying too many of them.

I chose the recipe because it was quick and easy, and because DW love peanut butter and chocolate. From those two perspectives, it definitely fit the bill.

Thanks so much Ann, I can't wait to try more from your collection!

I only have time to drool, but you can be sure that once May 6th I'll have time to bake. Right now I'll enjoy the calorie free versions on screen! Decisions, decisions, what to make first?
Sol, you've outdone yourself...again!
Ann, everything goes better with chocolate!

I want to thank everyone that participated in the Dessert Party and encourage anyone that makes any of Ann's wonderful desserts to share their comments and pictures here. It's really fun to see all the creations.

So please continue this thread as you make more of the wonderful recipes.

Ann, I want to thank you again for your generosity in sharing with all of us.
It's truly a gift from the heart.

Nancy

Me too, thank you Ann~

Nancy, thanks for pulling this together. The stars did not align for me this time but I truly enjoyed watching this thread.

Thanks to you too Ann for sharing your recipes.

This thread has been so much fun to follow! I now have several more things on my "to try" list! I'm late with my entry as it's been a crazy week. I have two kids playing three sports, so needless to say we haven't been home much. Anyways, I grabbed some time today and decided on Ann's cherry coffee cake. Definitely a keeper! I ran out of AP flour so I ended up using a mix of AP and whole wheat pastry.

Tracey, I'm going to show the picture of your cake to Matthew. He never really cared for regular cakes so for his birthday I often made him either this cake or a cherry pie. I would love a nice big piece of your cake. Looks perfect.

Ann

I have to stop looking at this thread. It makes me want to make every single dessert in Anns Book!

The strawberry roll looks wonderful!

The chocolate strawberry shortcake is a favorite of ours, I have made it numerous times.

I now need to make the o'henry bars and the cherry coffee cake, thanks to the pictures posted.

This is a wonderful thread! Maybe we should do another one from Ann's original cookbook? I am game if any one else is.

Shelley

More great inspirations..I think I may have to do
like Julie and Julia.. :)
Thanks once again Ann..Summer will be even more fun w/ new desserts!

Oooh, I'm glad I checked back in on this thread - that coffee cake looks delicious! I bet DH would love for me to make that one.

Sally

Sorry I missed the party - tax time took its toll! Last night I made the gingerbread with lemon sauce & forgot to take a picture before bringing it to the office. Rave reviews from everyone - & it couldn't have been easier. Thanks for the recipe, Ann.
Hester

Hi - I'm usually over on the gardening side, but I was looking at the cooking section for the first time and was intrigued by Ann T's dessert compendium. I have a large Christmas party every year and am considering making it desserts only this year

Can someone please post where to find Ann's compendium.

Thanks in advance.

Sandy

Sandy, you'll have to e-mail Ann and ask her for it. (It's that simple, she gives it to all who ask!) Go to My Page after clicking on her name, and Send an E-mail to her so she has your address and can send it back.

I made the commitment and decided to print Ann's Desserts so I could take them to my kitchen. THIS IS ONE BEAUTIFUL BOOK! I splurged and put them in plastic sheet protectors so I could splash around to my heart's content. I also printed Ann's new pictures of her Bananas Foster and O'Henry Bars to add to the book, since it's those darn pictures that cause me to drool. (Which is also why I need sheet protectors.) There was plenty of room on the last page for the Bananas Foster picture, so that worked out nicely, Thank You Very Much Ann!

I'm headed into the kitchen to make the Strawberry Roll as I procured some beauties and need to make something worthy. Although I've been baking for years, I've never rolled up a cake jelly-roll style, so I'm going to be learning something new today. I'm not promising pictures, because if it turns out ugly, I don't want to hurt your eyes...

I can see I'm going to have to make a list of what I've tried, so I can be sure to bake my way entirely through this book. It's a goal I'm going to relish!

Claire, "rolls" are easy..just remember, non fuzzy towel and lots of powdered sugar..:o)

I'm thinking I could make the blackberry galettes..I picked up blackberries and Maple Syrup at Costco yesterday and I LOVE the Maple Oatmeal pastry!

I must be missing something. Page 130 has the Maple Oatmeal Pastry, but it doesn't seem complete. Can someone enlighten me? Thanks!

Maple Oatmeal Pastry

2 c AP flour
2 T oats
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 c unsalted butter, cut into pieces and chilled
2 T sour cream
2 T maple syrup

1.preheat oven to 350F.
2.combine flour, oats, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Cut in butter to the texture of coarse meal. Stir sour cream and maple syrup and add to the dough, mixing until it just comes together. Chill dough for 15 minutes.

~ I find that it freezes very very well too!

I just looked at the book again..you didn't need the pastry recipe..LOL (which I just happened to have in front of me in my binder, so typed out.)
You wanted to know about the blackberry galettes..I think at the time Ann said she just used blackberries and sugar..but maybe she'll stop by and spill the beans.

OK, I did it! My first cake roll...Here it is:

{{gwi:1514466}}

I decided to coarsely chop the strawberries instead of tediously adding slices. (I'm lazy.)

Thank You Ann for so generously sharing your recipes with us!

Julier - Here's what I believe is the original recipe. It includes the missing steps. It appears that Ann uses the pastry but makes different filling.

Maple Crisp Pie
Anna Olson / foodtv.ca
Yield: 6

I like this dough so much because it can be rolled and re-rolled without toughening up or shrinking once baked.

Ingredients:

Dough

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp oats
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces and chilled
2 tbsp sour cream
2 tbsp maple syrup

Filling

5 Mutsu (Crispin) or Granny Smith apples
4 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp butter
1 egg, mixed with 2 tbsp cold water, for brushing

Directions:

Dough

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Combine flour, oats, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Cut in butter the texture of coarse meal. Stir sour cream and maple syrup and add to dough, mixing until it just comes together. Chill dough for 15 minutes.

Filling

1. Peel and slice apples. Toss with maple syrup and cinnamon.

2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. Slide dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place apples and all the syrup into the center of the pastry. Dot with butter.

To Assemble

Fold crust over apples in 5 folds, leaving some of the filling visible. Brush with egg wash and bake for 30-40 minutes, until crust is brown and filling is bubbling.

That looks good, Claire. I definately have to make that cake, too.

Years and years ago, I made some kind of chocolate rolled cake and served it at a family function. We're talking probably at least 20 years. My BIL still talks about it. He brought it up at the last gathering, and I had to rack my brain just to remember that I made something like that. I have no idea what exactly the recipe was, or what I did, but it involved chocolate and rolling up the cake like that strawberry roll. I sure wish I could remember. Oh, well. At least my BIL remembers it.

Sally

Julie, for the blackberry galette, I just wing the filling. Just blackberries with a little flour, sugar and you can add a little cinnamon if you like. I just do it to taste. Roll out the pastry, put the berries in the middle and fold the sides up over the berries. Brush with pastry with a little cream or milk and sprinkle with more sugar and bake.

YOu can substitute blueberries, raspberries or even rhubarb.

Ann

Thanks Fenworth - I am one of those people that needs recipes (sadly). It was just calling my name. It was so nice of you to do this!

Julie