cover image Ice Cream Treats: Easy Ways to Transform Your Favorite Ice Cream Into Spectacular Desserts

Ice Cream Treats: Easy Ways to Transform Your Favorite Ice Cream Into Spectacular Desserts

Charity Ferreira. Chronicle Books, $16.95 (95pp) ISBN 978-0-8118-4102-3

Food writer and""ice cream person"" Ferreira explores the possibilities of store-bought ice cream with recipes ranging from a richly decadent eggnog ice cream torte to an airy raspberry sorbet sandwich with cocoa meringues. While the author admits that ice cream is difficult to improve upon, she maintains that even the subtlest addition--a twist of orange zest, a white chocolate drizzle--can make a big difference. There needn't be much arm-twisting here--the mouthwatering photography does the dirty work for her. Along with recipes for cakes, inventive shakes and malts, hand-held treats and a variety of toppings, Ferreira offers a buying guide and tips on the basics, such as softening and shaping ice cream. For the reader who wants to try something more daring, the book also contains recipes for homemade ice cream in traditional flavors like coffee, dark chocolate and vanilla bean.