It's a fun book with easy to make recipes that takes about 30 min. I don't get the grandma part though but the book itself is very useful! I love desert but I'm lazy to make it so I could use these recipes. There are some funny memes after each recipes and makes it more like a millennium cookbook than a grandma cookbook. Every single recipe has a photo! The recipes in this book are from different authors and there's a website before each recipe telling you were they got it from. So it's like a book with all the recipes you have saved in a folder in your computer! I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

I am not sure what these recipes have to do with a grandma, but there are easy to make desserts that will take 30 minutes. Their authors are cooking bloggers from around the internet. Each recipe provides a link to the source, photos are taken from the internet as well. I was hoping for some interesting stories from a grandma but there were none. I did not understand the point of it.

Thirty, 30-Minute Made-From-Scratch Desserts earns 5/5 Whisks...Delicious Treats!

I love desserts, and fondly remember my grandmother’s huckleberry pie, chocolate cake, and peach cupcakes. More importantly, I remember helping by rolling, mixing, and scooping. As an adult, outside of my hippie phase where everything was from scratch, I moved on to box mixes, frozen dough, canned fillings, and “just pick it up at the bakery.” However, with a need to find things to occupy my “stay at home” time, I thought channelling my “Grandma Faye” was a great idea and CakeChatter folks with DoughPunchers gave me thirty opportunities to make desserts from scratch in 30-minutes. Here goes...

The thirty recipes are varied from traditional cakes, pies, cookies and brownies to a more fancy dessert like cannoli, mousse, gratin and crepe millefeuille offering something for everyone and every occasion. Each recipe begins with a nice photo to which one’s efforts can be compared, then Prep and Cooking time well close to the 30-minute goal, a “Note” of interest, full ingredient list, easy “How-To-Do-It” directions, and often “To Serve” ideas and Nutritional Facts. There is a Metric Conversion Chart, links about the author/team who created the recipes, and often a cute meme. The eBook version has several links to other resources, and easy to navigate the recipes using the “Contents.” It’s definitely a complete and fun cookbook even a novice should have, but alternatives for lactose issue or suggestions for substitutions would have been a nice addition. Now, which dessert...traditional or a little more fancy?

Traditional: Boozy Rumchata Brownies. It was easy, and with the option to use any cream liqueur, I exchanged the Rumchata for Kahlua, my favorite, and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. “Feeling downie...eat a brownie.”

Fancy: French Berry Gratin with Elderflower (liqueur). This recipe just said “berries, preferably organic,” and blackberries were plentiful at the market. It was an issue trying to find elderflower cordial, especially since I’d probably not use it often, and there were no substitutions. It was only 2 Tbsps...Do I try the recipe without it? I decided to use Chambord Raspberry Liqueur. It was surprisingly good. It was suggested to serve warm, but I liked it a bit chilled. Not quite a brûlée, but close. “A Berry Bite of Happiness.”

I also tried the “Orange Pudding,” light, refreshing flavor (I had to really work at the tempering the egg yolks). Second time worked; “Strawberry Lemon Shortcakes,” is nice for tea time (Room to be creative: Blackberry Lemon?); and for a nice chocolate fix? “Swedish Chocolate Cake (Kladdkaka)! Twenty-five more to enjoy!

This cookbook title was a little misleading. It says 30 minute desserts just like grandma used to make from scratch. However, you soon realize a lot of convenience foods and modern appliances are required to get these recipes done in 30 minutes, so they couldn’t be much like Grandma’s. 

The very first recipe is a microwave cake, for example. 

Nonetheless I did find some recipes that caught my eye, such as No Bake Lemon Cream Pie, Rhubarb Fool, and One Bowl Chocolate Cake, among others.  I think a better title would be Tasty Desserts In 30 Minutes or Less.” I was expecting Grandma level desserts, so I was let down a little.  

If you want to try some quick and easy dessert recipes, give this book a try. 

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley. My review is voluntary.