Admit it–eating non-fat, exercising 30 minutes every day, keeping an eagle eye out for those bad carbs that seem to be waiting on every kitchen counter, and turning a blind eye to the doughnut shop you pass on the way to work may be good for your waistline and your heart, but every now and then, while you’re chugging down that glass of skim milk or taking a bite of your fat-free Boca burger, you have adulterous thoughts: of sugar, of butter, of thick white icing dripping off of ridiculously gargantuan slabs of sticky buns, of the ultimate carbohydrate overload–coffeecake.
With the weather warming up and entertaining moving outdoors, why not give in to that devil on your shoulder and indulge yourself a bit? Cookbook author Carole Walter gives you the perfect excuse: her new book Great Coffeecakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins & More is like a breath of fresh air blowing through a Weight Watchers meeting–eat coffeecake, drink iced lattes, and be merry.
If you are still trapped in the 1950s and think coffeecake begins and ends with that brunch standby of yellow cake topped with a brown sugar-cinnamon-streusel mixture, fast-forward into the 21st century and meet Walter’s Caramel-Glazed Blackberry Jam Cake, Pineapple Squares with Toasted Coconut Streusel, and (for the truly liberated among us)the Irish Whiskey Cake.
Walter’s culinary triumphs don’t confine themselves to coffeecakes; take a look at her Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake, her Country Cherry Honey Scones, or her Chocolate Glazed Cream Buns and you’ll be wriggling with delight when you get the next flyer asking for bake sale goodies or church potluck donations.
Walter’s book is an ode to the forbidden, a sonnet to caloric overindulgence, a symphony of delight for the taste buds, a firmly planted thumb on the nose of Non-Fat, Low-Carb, Joy-less living.
So why not take a break from soymilk and organic whole wheat? Be daring–flip open a copy of Great Coffeecakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins & More, shock your family and yourself with an Apple Walnut Strudel and relax by the pool with an adult beverage in hand. Your diet will still be there on Monday.
