101 Great Desserts from Hawaii's Favorite Restaurants - Cookbook Review

Easy-to-follow recipes for delicious Hawaiian desserts

by Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi

(Island Heritage Publishing, $12.99)

Even as laidback as traditional Hawaiian cuisine is, it still has a penchant for color and panache, especially in desserts, which are often visually bright and packed with fruit. In 101 Great Desserts, author Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi compiles Hawaii's boldest dessert recipes from some of the best restaurants on the island. Not subtle in presentation or flavor, expect exotic twists on classic sweets, such as a sweet avocado mousse, green tea brûlée or Kona coffee flan, and heavy use of fruits like mango, pineapple and coconut — almost half the recipes in the book require one tropical fruit or another.

Although the book is not for beginners, a lot of the recipes are simple, like the homey sweet potato cheesecake from Big Island Grill or the syrupy sweet bananas foster from The Plantation House in Maui. Other recipes require more experience and a familiarity with Hawaiian foods, such as the Liliko'I malasadas (a type of doughnut) from Chef Mavro in O'ahu, or the Haupia ice cream pie from Sansei in Maui. Other restaurants featured include Orchids, CanoeHouse, and L'Uraku, and for those who follow the Hawaii dining scene closely, Tsutsumi doesn't forget to include recipes from celebrated chefs Alan Wong, Sam Choy and Georges Mavrothalassitis.

Reviewed by Nancy Huang