“No Bake Makery” features 80 oven-free treats.
As the summer heat rolls in, our desire to use an oven rolls out. But the warm temps are no match for the cute and tasty two-bite treats that Cristina Suarez Krumsick, chef of No Bake Makery, creates without ever turning on an oven.
Her go-to appliance: the fridge. “You assemble the cake or pie and let the refrigerator do the work instead,” she says about the recipes found in her new cookbook, “No Bake Makery: More than 80 Two-Bite Treats Made With Lovin’, Not an Oven.”
And avoiding a steamy apartment isn’t the only perk of the no-bake experience. Krumsick’s recipes don’t follow strict measurements, making her treats as laid-back as your breezy summer attitude.
“With baking if you have too much of this or too much of that, you’ll ruin your cake,” says Krumsick. “The thing that’s so great about not having to use the oven is that you can play around with ingredients and it can still turn out really great.”
Go ahead, sign up to for dessert duty at your next barbecue.
“Serving size really helps with the presentation,” says Krumsick about her mini treats, “because everything that’s smaller tends to be cuter.”
Recipe: Retro Cake
Ingredients:
30 chocolate wafer cookies (Like Nabisco)
3 tablespoons cold water
1 packet (1 tablespoon) unflavored gelatin (found in the baking section of your grocery store; try Knox brand)
¾ cup frozen raspberries
¾ cup frozen blueberries
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 cups cold heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Line an 8×8-inch pan with aluminum foil and set aside.
2. Line the bottom of the pan with cookies (about 20). You may need to break some up to get them to fit just right.
3. Pour the cold water into a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over the water; let sit for two minutes.
4. Combine the raspberries, blueberries and sugar in a medium heavy saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring a few times, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture becomes warm to the touch.
5. Stir in the gelatin mixture. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
6. Set aside.
7. Combine the heavy cream and vanilla in a large bowl and mix using an electric mixer until stiff peaks form, three to four minutes.
8. Gently fold in the cooled raspberry mixture, taking care not to deflate the cream.
9. Pour about half the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth it with a rubber spatula. Insert the remaining wafers into the mousse vertically (this will make your cross section look cool when you slice it later).
10. Spread the remaining mousse over the wafers and smooth with the spatula.
11.Cover with plastic wrap and freeze overnight.
12. Transfer the cake to a cutting board. Peel away the plastic wrap and slice into 1-inch squares.
Makes about 20 servings.
