Bakeless Sweets: Pudding, Panna Cotta, Fluff, Icebox Cake, and More No-Bake Desserts

by Faith Durand, Stacy Newgent (Photographer), The Kitchn (Editor)

Treats you can make without putting on the oven—also includes many gluten-free desserts!   With plenty of puddings—chocolate, pistachio, butterscotch, maple bourbon,rice pudding with lemon—plus Nutella fluff, Thai sticky rice with mango, wholesome “jello” made with fruit juice, no-bake cookies, icebox cakes with whipped cream and graham crackers, you’ll find tons of special, delicious desserts here—and lots of them are gluten-free too. Bakeless Sweets is the first cookbook to give you all of these beloved no-bake desserts in one big collection.   “The fact that most of the recipes in Bakeless Sweets are naturally gluten-free makes it a boon for anyone who still wants decadent desserts without baking. Also, there’s root beer and cream soda terrine. Need I say more?” —Shauna James Ahern, author of Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Food

230 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2013

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am so excited to try recipes out of this cookbook, especially since the heat of Summer will start getting to me here soon! Between puddings, custards, panna cotta, mousse, jellies, icebox cakes and more, this will be great to have on hand on hot days when you want to avoid the oven.

[Bookish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bakeless, but not necessarily easy. As an expert, of sorts, on making desserts, I was undaunted, but others may find many of these recipes out of their league.

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are so many delicious pudding and jelly recipes. I made the papaya filled with coconut jelly and mango, which blew my family away.

[Ligaya · Rating 2 out of 5]

This lovely book made me realize that I'm much more of a baker and that, to me, dessert means "chocolate" and/or "cake." That said, there are many interesting and fairly simple recipes here to possibly change my mind. The author writes from the point of view that many of these desserts will evoke nostalgia - but I've never had most of these dishes and the few that I have (panna cotta, tiramisu) only after I was an adult - so it was a bit off-putting. I was surprised that the easiest chocolate mousse recipe ever (ingredients: water, chocolate) was not included. I was glad that vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free diets were taken into consideration. Beautiful photographs.

[Joey · Rating 2 out of 5]

As I had been looking for books about desserts which do not require baking, this book seemed to be able to meet my needs when I picked it up from the library. However, I find that there is too much content and it's very difficult to understand some of the concepts since it's too wordy and technical. The lack of photos showing the finished product or some of the key steps in the process added to the difficulty in understanding the recipes. On the other hand, there is a good variety of recipes which should suit a variety of needs.

[Beka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely the go-to cookbook for anyone obsessed with puddings, panna cottas, and other no-bake desserts. She's obviously put so much into testing ALL the different variation, it makes me wish I liked puddings more.

[Sheila McVicar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Today we are making Date Coconut balls. The recipe is actually one I used to make at Christmas time, so this is nostalgic! Went through the book, looking at all the recipes. Yum!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I made the rice pudding with cooked rice and it was pretty good.

[Jute · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this book and with the heat of summer coming on, I'm hoping to try a wide variety of treats from its pages.

The author does a really good job of explaining her cooking methods, why you should use a certain type of ingredient and she even gives tips on what to do if you go wrong. I love the concept of giving basic recipes for various items to give you the opportunity to do your own particular rift on them. She also has suggestions for combining various deserts from the book into even more elegant and tasty treats.

I know it's a bakeless cookbook, so I even though I wish she had recipes for some of the storebought items, I can't fault her for it.

I am really glad I stumbled across this gem.

[Sarah Payne · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far I've tried the chocolate, caramel and tapioca puddings and several of the gelatin desserts. All were spectacular and really fun to make. This is one of my favorite cookbooks ever! It really has answered all the burning questions I've had about gelatin. :)

Faith Durand (executive editor of The Kitchn) has compiled a really unique book with lots of techniques and desserts that I just haven't seen anywhere else. It is puddings, jello and icebox cake desserts and so much more.

The only fail was the "instant" pudding recipe. So skip that one. (It may have been my fault, but I think it was the "instant clear gel" that was gross).

[Pamela Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like to bake so this isn't really my thing. But I made the chocolate peanut butter pretzel bars and they were sticky but good. I know someone who I think will like the papaya filled with coconut cream and mango. It's really beautiful.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the concept of this book. Puddings and mousses aren't my favorite, but I was still interested. I'm particularly excited to try the no-bake creme brulee and the different rice puddings. Of course, the nicely shot pictures don't hurt, either.

[Drianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cookbook. Mmm, pudding. Will try some of these, I hope, but a LOT of them are dependent on gelatin, which I don't eat (vegetarian), and I know there are substitutes, but it seems like they probably won't work as well. :(

[Liz De Coster · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yummy-looking recipes but I would vote for more cakes and whatnot.