Rating: 
Summary: good for decorating ideas, great for basics
Review: Covers: pound cake, sponge cake (genoise and variations), meringues, bavarians, charlottes, logs, frostings+fillings, ingredients, techniques, equipment.Wow, what a comprehensive book. What I like about this book is that it covers everything for a beginner, yet has a lot for the intermediate baker. It tells you a lot making and designing cakes without skimping on information about equipment and techniques, and ingredients. It tells you all the basics of how to decorate cakes, prepare pans, separate eggs, all of these very basic but vital things. Yet at the same time, it goes through step by step how to do things like creating charlottes, roll-type charlottes, put together complicated rectangular-layer cakes - all of these more intermediate techniques, and it does so in a way which makes it all seem easy. There are lots of step by step descriptions and (hand drawn) pictures of how to put each cake together. It really breaks down how to do everything. Edited addition - I've reread this book after becoming a much better pastry chef, and like it much more. The main selling point of this book is that it teaches you pastry techniques the "French" way - but does it in a way that doesn't assume you have endless time to make things and/or endless money to buy specialized equipment and ingredients. For instance, it tells you recipes for almond paste and praline (some books assume you have it in jars), and suggests using simple paint scrapers to make lines of Joconde decoration (rather than buying a ~$60 scraper from J.B. Prince). It skips many long tedious steps (making Joconde wrappings) and there are not many exotic ingredients (such as lavender, cocoa beans, passion fruit, etc..) that you find in some books. It's aimed at the intermediate who wants to learn French pastry technique. Overall great book. This book was a finalist for the IACP award in the baking category.
Rating:
Summary: Sinfully Delectable
Review: I applaud the authors of this book for bringing the art of French cake making down to an approachable level. Once confined to master chefs, French cakes should and can be enjoyed by everyone. The collection of recipes are well varied and comprise a selection of cakes that one really would find in France. Some recipes are very complex and time consuming, but the authors have done their best to explain everything and outline the processes step by step. I can attest that the time spent is well worth the effort. Some readers may object to the lack of photos, but that did not bother me. Decorating is also well covered because after all, a grand dessert deserves an even grander presentation! This is a rather large book, a serious baker will return to it many times. For me, it has become one of my favorites. I have yet to find a better collection of beautiful cakes anywhere
Rating: 
Summary: A Book for the Professional Baker
Review: I recently bought this book,after reading several reviews about it and decided to give it a try.For my surprise is a 600 page book with barely no pictures,Its a book for professionals,I am a mom trying to make a nice cake for my son's b-day.If you are NOT a Professional Baker with LOTS of experience DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK.The book is a beautiful example of the french methods ,but at times you can't even find the ingredients to make the recipes here in the US.Be aware!!!
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite cookbook, baker must have
Review: I recently obtained this book, and it doesn't disappoint me at all. I admire the two authors' effort to teach the readers to bake GOOD CAKES. This book is so knowedlegable and explains detaily to my any question. I am an experienced baker,and I am tempted to try all the receipes right away because it is so beautifully written. I am also into some cake decorating the Wilton's way. I have questions about the tools this book mentions, such as the wood grain tool for chocolate. I just don't know where to get it. This book has very clear drawing illustrations by Paul Bugat. But sometimes, I wish it has some more PHOTOGRAPHS than just the cakes' photos so that I know what to look for. After purchasing this book, I try to buy "The French Cookie Book", which is also by Bruce Healy and Paul Bugat. I am very disappointed to find it out of print. I just loooooove their (Bruce and Paul) work --- ph.D for pastry.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite cookbook, baker must have
Review: I recently obtained this book, and it doesn't disappoint me at all. I admire the two authors' effort to teach the readers to bake GOOD CAKES. This book is so knowedlegable and explains detaily to my any question. I am an experienced baker,and I am tempted to try all the receipes right away because it is so beautifully written. I am also into some cake decorating the Wilton's way. I have questions about the tools this book mentions, such as the wood grain tool for chocolate. I just don't know where to get it. This book has very clear drawing illustrations by Paul Bugat. But sometimes, I wish it has some more PHOTOGRAPHS than just the cakes' photos so that I know what to look for. After purchasing this book, I try to buy "The French Cookie Book", which is also by Bruce Healy and Paul Bugat. I am very disappointed to find it out of print. I just loooooove their (Bruce and Paul) work --- ph.D for pastry.
Rating:
Summary: THANK YOU BRUCE HEALY!!!! THANK YOU PAUL BUGAT!
Review: I would give this book a million stars if I could. Just amazing. This book is written by 2 professionals, one American, the other French. After I checked out their first book from a library, I was incredibly happy to find a new book they published. (that first book is out of print) The details in this book are great and I believe we owe this to Mr. Healy. I've long wanted to own an authentic French Pastry cookbook written in comprehensible English. And the recipes... A gold studded, mysterious looking Alhambra (read chocolate heaven), the cake in the cover, a russian strawberry cake brushed with a glistening glaze, a pink art deco piece with sour cherries embedded in its layers.. many beauties and wonderful techniques. This is no Colette Peters, or Slyvia Weinstock kind of baking, this is taste AND art. My only, only suggestion is for more pictures. Don't get me wrong they already have a few very good pictures , but I wish there was more since many people are not familiar with these cakes and it's always easier to have a picture in front of you. There is a pink cake (can't remember the french name it's got an almond paste covering) the authors have illustrated the steps needed to put it together which I also found very helpful. At the end of the book they have a 2 page pronunciation guide for Americans which is very nice. I am just going to suggest that they add more words cause it doesn't cover many in the book. I've seen french pastry books going for 100-200 bucks, ingredients measured in liters, grams, forget about them. Start out with this one. This is not a lightweight, nor a suffocating tome, you get a good introduction to french style of cakes. And friends, please throw out that Angel Food Cake Mix, it's time to layer and glaze an Alhambra! My only wish is that these 2 gentlemen continue writing on this subject. Loved it, highly recommend it to people who have an interest in cooking.
Rating:
Summary: a real cooking school primer
Review: If you want to learn french cake making techniques, this book is for you. The first part teaches how to make each kind of cake (pound cake, sponge cake and flan) and then the later chapters show you how to embellish the basic cake. The recipes go from rather simple to quite complicated. I found it extremely helpful in terms of learning how to make a good meringue and different kinds of buttercreams, how to use utensils, how to frost cakes properly,how to prepares various fillings, how to make many kinds of decorations for a cake.
This book is not for someone who plans to buy the book today and whip up a birthday cake for tonight. It will require study and patience but the results are very well worth it and in the process you learn a lot about the art of the cake.
Rating: 
Summary: Wordy, but not always to the point.
Review: It's a bit wordy, but not always to the point. Perhaps an experimental physicist would have written a better, more concise step-by-step instructional book than a theoretical one. Plus, some of the important basic preparations are missing. For example, recipes that call for chestnuts are redirected to a short paragraph on buying French chestnut products. It is not that difficult to make your own chestnut puree and spread, the authors could have at least offered an alternative with a few lines of instruction on how to roast, peel, candy, and puree chestnuts instead of asking you to buy a jar of French chestnuts for $20, which probably has been sitting on the store shelf for a decade. Besides, with that kind of cash, you probably can buy a chestnut tree and get 100 lbs fresh chestnuts each fall; I guess not everyone has a professor's salary to burn. The pictures of finished cakes look fine except some of the layers, fillings, and glazes are applied unevenly. Some of the topping designs are less professional, and lack the elegance and artistic looks of modern desserts. Anyway, overall, it's an ok book, but I would suggest you to get a pastry book that is written by a real professional pastry chef, such as Bo Friberg's "The Professional Pastry Chef."
Rating:
Summary: The Art of Cake is great!
Review: My sister Summer and I recently graduated first and second in our baking class at Paris' famed Le Cordon Bleu. (Who was first and who was second, I will not say! Summer might get mad at me! But second is still good!) While in Paris, which is very familiar to us because we are former high fashion models and we are French, we ordered this gorgeous book on the art of French cake baking. We absolutely adore the recipes and we know they are very authentic because we are French and after all, who would be knowing more than we! The cakes are heaven sent but they can be hard to make, even if you are French, unless of course, you have graduated from Le Cordon Bleu as we have. Then they are easy enough. These are the most delectable cakes for any dessert and since Summer and I do a lot of entertaining at our homes in Provence and on the Isle of Capri, we really appreciate this book. Ces gâteaux sont délicieux! Essayez-les! Presented by.........................Winter!
Rating:
Summary: Délicieux!
Review: My sister Summer and I recently graduated first and second in our baking class at Paris' famed Le Cordon Bleu. (Who was first and who was second, I will not say! Summer might get mad at me! But second is still good!) While in Paris, which is very familiar to us because we are former high fashion models and we are French, we ordered this gorgeous book on the art of French cake baking. We absolutely adore the recipes and we know they are very authentic because we are French and after all, who would be knowing more than we! The cakes are heaven sent but they can be hard to make, even if you are French, unless of course, you have graduated from Le Cordon Bleu as we have. Then they are easy enough. These are the most delectable cakes for any dessert and since Summer and I do a lot of entertaining at our homes in Provence and on the Isle of Capri, we really appreciate this book. Ces gâteaux sont délicieux! Essayez-les! Presented by.........................Winter!
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