Duff Bakes -- A Cookbook Review

One of the things I love to do best in this world is bake. I originally checked out this book from the local library and I quickly found that it was one I would refer to over and over. (While I have always loved to cook from scratch recent diagnosis of anaphylactic allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, and fish have made it a necessity.  I am amazed at what they put in things or process them with/next to.)

Duff Bakes by Duff Goldman and Sara Gonzales is a fabulous book.  There are a few recipes where nuts are prominent and I can't adapt them, but all in all I believe more than 95% of these recipes will work for my family.  

We started out by trying the Chocolate Cream Pie with Oreo Crust and Marshmallow Meringue. (To be safe I just ate some of the filling, but my family loved the pie.

The crust is simple -- crushed Oreos and butter.  The filling is a chocolate custard that uses both cornstarch and egg yolks. It is cooked in a double boiler.  The meringue has traditional ingredients with melted marshmallows added.  (I had never made meringue with these added, but it held its shape well and did not weep -- even by the second day.)

My family ranked this pie a keeper. Their second request was the Vanilla Birthday Cake, which is similar to a "Funfetti" cake. I will share how that turned out later this week.