Simply Sensational Desserts : 140 Classics for the Home Baker from New York's Famous Patisserie and Bistro

Rating:
Summary: Recommended
Review: I've had this book for just a few weeks and am very pleased with the recipes. I've made the apple cake (3 times), pound cake and the chocolate raspberry cake. Everything was delicious. The photos are beautiful and they inspire you to try every recipe.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing, Delicious, Well put together
Review: So far I have tried the Banana Bread, Apple Bread and warm Apricot Souffle. They have been relatively easy to put together and delicious

Rating:
Summary: Extraordinary desserts, very french!
Review: This book is not only a pleasure to look at but the variety of recipes is one that will keep you busy for a very long time. The biographical information on the chef, the facts about what sells best in his famous NYC shop as well as the organization of items is simply fantastic. Even though the first one I baked was the "banana cake" it was actually banana bread with a great variation. It was lighter and moister that the one that I use from one of my other books.The photos are professional and the recipes are easy to use. I will make alot of items from this book.

Rating:
Summary: Contributions from a master
Review: This book is not only a pleasure to look at but the variety of recipes is one that will keep you busy for a very long time. The biographical information on the chef, the facts about what sells best in his famous NYC shop as well as the organization of items is simply fantastic. Even though the first one I baked was the "banana cake" it was actually banana bread with a great variation. It was lighter and moister that the one that I use from one of my other books.The photos are professional and the recipes are easy to use. I will make alot of items from this book.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best dessert books ever
Review: This book is the best combination of relatively simple but unique recipes and high quality results I have ever seen in a dessert cookbook and I own 15 of them. I've made about 8 recipes from the book and only one was a flop (hazelnut noisettes). The rest were excellent. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Big Hoopla, Mediocre Recipes
Review: This cook book starts out with many promises and a big name attached to a famous patisserie. There are some good points; in the end, however, it turns out to be a decent, if undistinguished, dessert book. This book is especially valuable for those who are fans of the author's eateries.

All of the popular, wonderful items at Payard's patisserie on the East Coast have been adapted for the home kitchen. Gone are the multiple component creations that take several days to execute at home, as are the sophisticated decorative touches that take talent and look like Picasso or Dali on a bad day. There are few components to do (e.g. only one pie crust recipe, rather than the dozen or so you will find in competing books), and all that is left is the wonderful taste. This, at any rate, is the stated intention of the author. Problem is, the recipes themselves are things you can find in almost any all purpose cook book, and there is little reason to pick this one over a cook book you might already have on your bookshelf. It is true, however, that all of the finicky bits are missing and procedures for the most part are not that difficult to do, and do not require any special skills.

The first part is a good step. It lists delineates tools, techniques, and basic recipes (genoise, simple syrup, buttercream, apricot glaze, etc.) that are crucial, but are often relegated as boring stuff tossed in at the end of many cook books. This book, happily, lists weights as well as volume measures for both liquid and dry ingredients, the mark of a good cook book author (thank you, chef). However, it has several lapses. It does not describe the proper procedure to beat egg whites, fold batter, or tell you what a batter that "ribbons" means. For ingredients: he specifies grade AA large, but does not indicate that the size ("large") and not the grade is important (AAA, AA, A, and even B will work as long as the egg size is correct); Armagnac is specified, but substitutes for those who cannot get or afford it are not specified (in fact, any decent quality brandy will do; I use California ones and usually get better flavors than with Armagnac), and a similar remark applies to his choice of chocolate (whenever a cookbook specifies Callebaut, I substitute Hershey's Special Dark, and always get identical results).

The Fruit Soup chapter is like Mexican agua fresca with Asian flavors (lemongrass, ginger, and five spice powder). Note that the Cookie chapter is about classic French cookies (tuiles, sables, macaroons, etc.), and not American ones. The Cake chapters were uninteresting, but the tarts were pretty good (especially the Lemon, and also the individual Tartes Tatin). In the Souffle chapter, half of them were frozen souffles (really just frozen mousse). I cannot tell you about the ice cream chapter, since I do not have an ice cream machine or a freezer cold enough to make granite. The last two chapters on Holiday stuff and Candy have some decent recipes. A listing of all recipes in the table of contents or chapter heads would be an improvement.




Rating:
Summary: Extraordinary desserts, very french!
Review: This is one of the most amazing dessert books I own. Not only are the recipes easy, but they have that french touch that makes them unique and delicious in a incredibly balanced way. For anyone who likes (or loves, like me)french cuisine this is an essential book! I have tried the lemon tart (more than once), pear and almond tart (twice), pistachio almond biscotti, chocolate tart to mention some, and I'm constantly asked to make them again. Excellent in every way!!