I was not put off by the large number of recipes calling for an ice cream maker. This seemed reasonable for ice cream recipes. The book has much more to offer: ice creams, sherbets, custards, tarts, cakes, simple or complex fruit desserts, chocolate, spirited desserts, you name it. If you want to make delicious seasonal desserts, from early summer strawberry ice cream to a quick dessert of maple custard for an autumn eveing, or a buche de noel for Christmas, or poached dried fruits in darjeeling syrup, this is THE book to have!