Hungarian-American Desserts

Introduction

DESSERTS are those elegant sweet dishes that finish a great meal, celebrate a special occasion, and offer an every day treat. They come in all forms: cakes, cookies, strudels, and breads. They range from creamy to fruity to crunchy. They evoke special moods. For Hungarians, desserts represent romance, love, passion, and a general feeling of well-being.

IN HUNGARY, where I grew up after WW II, I gave and attended afternoon parties called "jour." These daytime get-togethers usually started in the late afternoon and ended in the early evening. The party participants were classmates, friends, and relatives of mixed genres. We talked, played games, and listened to music. After a while the hostess would roll in a serving cart. This cart was stacked with delicious savories and a wide assortment of open-face sandwiches. Cocoa, coffee, and tea were served. We ate, played more games, and laughed and told jokes. We had fun! After the savory cart was rolled back to the kitchen, the hostess would refill it with mounds of petit fours, cakes, cookies, and other home-made luscious sweets. The arrival of the dessert cart was the signal for us to begin to dance, The ceiling light was turned off, darkening the room. We danced, mostly slow dances due to the small apartments we lived in, or so we said. We hugged, danced, flirted, and desired each other. Ah! It was romantic. It was passionate. It was sensuous.

YEARS LATER we continued entertaining friends, but by this time these gatherings took place over dinner in the United States. At our dinner parties the conversations were lively around the table, then once the main meal was over, lovely, sumptuous desserts were served, occasionally in the living room accompanied by coffee or tea and followed by dessert wines. Just like in Budapest, the lights were dimmed. The candles lit, The mood was set for romance. We listened to music and danced. It was only after the sweets were served that we truly began to relax. The intense conversation of heavy inner-table topics was replaced with romantic whispers in a candlelit room. Again, as in Budapest, the spectacular sweets crowned the evening and signaled the beginning of a special good time. It's no wonder I developed a sweet tooth for sensuous desserts.

TIMES HAVE CHANGED. Heavy desserts are not considered healthy, but elegantly served, scrumptious reduced-calorie sweets can be just as romantic and sensuous. In this book I use high-cholesterol ingredients in moderation, but never to compromise taste. I use only natural ingredients. Nutritional information per serving is included for each recipe, and portions never exceed 300 calories per serving. This sensible, sensuous Hungarian-American dessert collection includes recipes selected partially from my mother's collection, some I have developed myself, and others that were inspired from sweets offered to me by my friends. I modified all to lower-calorie versions.

IT IS MY HOPE that these recipes will delight the palate, keep you in good health, and inspire a romantic celebration of a special occasion between special friends.

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