I am a sweets freak, but I do know that there is a time and a place for everything, including certain desserts. Bob has discussed before the foods, in general, that he can't even think about eating in summer, but here are specifically eight desserts that should just never see the light of a summer's day:
- Apple pie - it sounds so perfectly all-American, and there is no more all-American time to have it than the Fourth of July celebrations at the height of summer, but apples are a fall fruit.
- Pumpkin pie - I'm not going to lie and say that I always cook and puree pumpkin pulp fresh myself, but even though the canned stuff is available year-round, it's just absolutely autumn. If apple pie is autumn, pumpkin pie even more so.
- Cut-out sugar cookies - Technically, in the summer you'd likely be cutting out shapes of stars, or shells, or fish, but I just can't imagine sitting in a hot kitchen cutting out shapes. Then baking them. Then decorating them.
- Gingerbread - Ginger is a tropical spice, but strangely, we seem to use it for desserts and sweets that we eat all winter long. Gingerbread and gingerbread cookies are so "winter" to me, it makes me shiver.
- Souffle - Even though a souffle sounds light and airy and perfect for summer, there is way too much beating, whipping, cooking, etc. involved that would work up quite a sweat before you even heat up your kitchen with the oven.
- Anything heavy with chocolate - Pretty much, chocolate is a year round sweet ingredients. However, anything with chocolate is usually very heavy and very rich. I can feel myself exploding out of my sundress right now. Besides, chocolate will melts into a mess in summer's heat way too easily.
- Bread pudding - Even if you go crazy and try to make it light by using something insane like angel food cake as a base, or even use summer fruits like berries, bread pudding is just way too heavy to eat in the summer.
- This one's for you - what dessert can you just not imagine eating a warm/hot.sunny summer's day?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-18-2006 @ 5:37PM
ann said...
fondue
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7-18-2006 @ 5:48PM
amanda said...
i'm in seattle so pretty much all of those sound fine to me! too hot to cut out sugar cookies? not around here :)
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7-18-2006 @ 5:56PM
Jessica said...
come on- you can't put a limit on dessert! Especially when you have air conditioning!! :)
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7-18-2006 @ 5:58PM
rainey said...
Is today a grumpy day? Apple pie isn't right any time of year? Pumpkin is absolutely delicious and I use it in ice cream, pasta filling & pasta sauce, muffins, cookies and more all year round.
Bread pudding? Sugar cookies? Souffles? Chocolate? Yup, it must be a grumpy day.
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7-18-2006 @ 7:06PM
Nicole Weston said...
I've got to disagree, Sarah. I would eat all of these in summer! And to Ann, I think fondue is a fabulous outdoor dessert, especially when you don't feel like baking/cooking something.
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7-18-2006 @ 7:08PM
Dr. Electro said...
How about I feed you my ice-cold apple pie from the refrigerator with two scoops of ice cream? Like my homemade double vanilla? I'm having some for dessert in a few minutes with Rainier cherries on top. I will pay for my sins in the morning but right now I'm not really concerned.
:D
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7-18-2006 @ 7:10PM
Dr. Electro said...
I'm sorry, Sarah. I forgot to list the dessert I won't eat in Summer: Any hot cobbler regardless of filling.
I think I hear that ice cream calling my name.
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7-18-2006 @ 10:40PM
Nicolai said...
Eating and making are two different things!
Making leaves all sort of things out, like any laminated dough (puff pastry, croissants, danish). If you live in a humid area, meringue and a lot of sugar work is out. A lot of chocolate work is out unless you have great air conditioning.
As for eating, apples store very well, even if they are a fall fruit--count me in for pie! I find few things as refreshing as a chilled apple tart made with many layers of thinly sliced apples.
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7-18-2006 @ 11:21PM
kaitlin Hess said...
Does Hot chocolate count???
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7-19-2006 @ 7:39AM
mingerspice said...
Souffles may be a lot of work, but they're so perfect with berries either in them or as a sauce, and we all know that berries taste best in summer. Ditto for chocolate.
Making ice cream can be quite a time consuming job too (especially making the custard) - that doesn't preclude ice cream in summer, does it?
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7-19-2006 @ 9:20AM
GTO said...
Sticky toffee pudding. All that steaming and heavy saucing, it's bound to end badly.
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7-20-2006 @ 7:04AM
rosie said...
Apples are not a fall fruit - the first pippin apples are coming off the tree right now. However - they are best used for apple sauce, which I will eat ice cold for breakfast, lunch and dinner during hot spells...
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7-21-2006 @ 1:53PM
eric said...
One of my sons has his birthday in July, and he chooses Pumpkin Pie instead of a cake. I must say, a nice cold piece of pie with whipped cream tastes pretty darn good in the July heat.
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