540710 Sun Jul 20 21:13:25 -0700 2008 34 31 Home Cooking 0 3886613 Folks- I'm trying to put together a list of the 5 absolute best dessert cookbooks of all time. Ok, it's doesn't have to be limited to just 5 -- but it does have to be somewhat limited so I'll pretend that 5's the limit. While I'm a SERIOUS dessert eater, I'm not much of a dessert cookbook expert -- or even especially knowledgeable, but for me, two very recent cookbooks come to mind. One, I think, really should be on the list and the other I'm curious as to what you think: 1. The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz. Let's face it, there are a few fundamental formats of dessert. One of them (my personal favorite) is ice cream. And as someone who's made ice cream for a good while -- and tried all formats of recipes from all sorts of sources -- I I find this book to be a new go-to ice cream bible. Straightforward and still sophisticated and incredibly informative. I've been waiting for this book my whole life. 2. The Sweet Life by Kate Zuckerman This one is nowhere near as focused as the one above (it's about a wide variety of desserts -- the author was/is the pastry chef at a high-end NYC restaurant for a decade) but for me, seems to be foolproof. I've made a dozen desserts form it -- many far more complex than things I typically try -- and they all work flawlessly. Even more important, the book is full of great "why it works this way" type of information that speaks to my preference for "Cooks Illustrated/Best Recipe" type cookbook reading. I like to know why things work so I can improvise and experiment with some sense of impending results. ... so, what do you think of the two books above? What else should join them? I assume there's some sort of "bible" when it comes to cookies. And when it comes to cakes. Is there a pie bible? (there should be!) Again, I'm looking for a list of 5 books in the end. Ah heck, if it's 7 or 10 that's ok. Of course this is ENTIRELY subjective but that's ok. That's what makes this fun. :) Peter http://www.flashlightworthybooks.com Sun Jul 20 21:13:27 -0700 2008 10109 Peter 1 3886648 Fabulous thread you have started! Sorry, to be a little vague in "precise" cookbooks to add to your list. Just in from a Margarita laden Sunday evening here in the San Fernando valley area of Los Angeles. I will tell you that in my life of cooking/baking, there is a dessert maven whom I have relied on for years. Her name is Maida Heatter, and her dessert books have been ummmazing. She gives exceptionally explicit details in her recipes---some might think that the directions are too extreme---but by me, these directions are exquisite foundation----if you follow them, you will be creating desserts that would make Ms. Heatter proud. More currently I have been enjoying the book called "Sweet Stuff" by Karen Barker---a modern day dessert maven, if ever there was. Cheers and thanx for your post, Jeff Sun Jul 20 21:28:49 -0700 2008 3886613 11598 JeffW 2 3886700 Jeff- Thanks for the feedback -- I don't know why I didn't think of Maida Heatter already. Does anyone know if there's one book of hers that stands above the rest? Peter http://www.flashlightworthybooks.com Sun Jul 20 21:55:57 -0700 2008 3886648 10109 Peter 3 3888748 She has a compilation cookie book (I believe it's a combination of at least 3 previously published books), and a chocolate one. Maida's the best ... Mon Jul 21 14:03:35 -0700 2008 3886700 19108 foiegras 4 3889278 I expressed an interest in baking at a pretty early age and a long time friend of the family gave me a copy of her book "Great Desserts" for christmas that year. I still have the book over 30 years later and I recently bought a hardcover copy of the same title. It's a terrific book. Mon Jul 21 16:49:28 -0700 2008 3888748 63569 flourgirl 1 3886987 There is a "Cake Bible" as well as a "Pie and Pastry Bible" by Rose Levey Beranbaum, but my favorite cookbook of hers is "Rose's Christmas Cookies". A beautiful book, especially the photography, but some of the recipes are "nice to look at but will never ever make them". Mon Jul 21 04:56:47 -0700 2008 3886613 109573 coney with everything 2 3887082 I haven't read "Cake Bible" but I have and refer often to "Pie and Pastry Bible". The beauty of the Pie and Pastry Bible is that Beranbaum's recipes run the gamut from the classics of American, French, German, Austrian, etc. to what seem like her own riffs on classic recipes. Full of good recipes, gives you a grounding in classic preparations and prepares you to invent your own creations through her thorough explanations, recipes and foundation recipes. I love this book; it will make anyone a better pastry cook. Mon Jul 21 06:02:58 -0700 2008 3886987 139725 janniecooks 2 3887134 Wow -- when I said "bible" I didn't mean it so literally... but I suppose I should have known that with enough time, there'd be a cookbook with every title. :) Has anyone used these two cookbooks? Do they live up to their titles? (Man, it's gotta take some serious guts to name your book the Bible!) Thanks! Peter http://www.flashlightworthybooks.com Mon Jul 21 06:24:21 -0700 2008 3886987 10109 Peter 3 3887406 I can vouch for the Beranbaum books. They're very useful, although quite technical in places - she has a background in food science, so it isn't altogether unexpected. Mon Jul 21 07:57:39 -0700 2008 3887134 125689 puck1337 3 3887542 I have both of these books and just started using the pie and pastry bible more often. I made cherry turnovers from it the other day that came out really good. But I find her technique super fussy at times. I followed her directions to prepare the filiing and the dough but not to actually put it all together. My way was MUCH easier and they looked very pretty when I was finished. But as for the 5 (or whatever), best dessert books ever? That's a tough one. I have tons of cookbooks, and many of them are dessert/baking books. I don't know if I could 5 or even 10 that I would say were just so much better than the rest. I love many of them for Mon Jul 21 08:45:27 -0700 2008 3887134 63569 flourgirl 1 3887503 My personal list: -Baking With Julia (Dorie Greenspan) -Baking: From My Home to Yours (also DG) -Great Cookies (Carole Walter) -Death by Chocolate (Marcel Desaulniers) I can't decide on a fifth one. I have tons of cookbooks, and many dessert-only ones, but often I combine parts of recipes from various books. I like Maida Heatter's cookie cookbook, but I haven't tried her other recipes. I have Berenbaum's Pie & Pastry Bible, but I don't use it too often for some reason. Mon Jul 21 08:34:45 -0700 2008 3886613 10666 Chocolatechipkt 2 3888643 "Death by Chocolate" Doh! Of COURSE one of the books on the list has to be a chocolate-oriented book. I don't know why I didn't think of that. Ok, the way I see it, what I'm looking for is: -- 1 book on ice cream -- 1 book on cakes -- 1 book on cookies -- 1 book on pies, etc. -- 1 book on chocolate -- 1 book on desserts in general -- 1 book on "fancy" desserts So I guess I'm looking for at LEAST seven books. Probably it'll end up being 10 because there will be a few ties. So... any great chocolate-oriented books out there? Peter http://www.flashlightworthybooks.com Mon Jul 21 13:35:54 -0700 2008 3887503 10109 Peter 3 3888814 This ain't gonna work. You wanna see "fancy," look at "Demolition Desserts." But them aren't classic desserts, you see. Or maybe you could accept not classic "Demolition Desserts" and find a classic "chocolate" or "cakes" cookbook. For "pies," you could just include something like "Farm Journal's Complete Pie Cookbook" by Nell B. Nichols. That would give you the best of the standards, but not pies for the chandeliered ballroom. Those might be under "tarts." Then where are you going to put the fusion "Sweet Spot?" No, this ain't gonna work. I'd help if I could. Mon Jul 21 14:21:30 -0700 2008 3888643 10743 yayadave 4 3888910 I guess I'd have to agree since I think most cookbooks present have a wide variety of deserts. Personally I love Lebovizt's "Room for Desert" ( Harper Collins, 1999) which offers a full array of recipes for pies, cakes, tarts, sorbets, cobblers, sherbets and much more. Mon Jul 21 14:46:51 -0700 2008 3888814 148845 scoopG 3 3888884 For cookies I'd definitely pick The Good Cookie by Tish Boyle. I'm a pastry chef & every single recipe I've made works. It's my go to cookie book if I need a recipe in a hurry. I know that no matter what recipe it is..it will work & taste great. Rose Levy's Cake Bible has some good cake recipes..& her Mousseline Buttercream is the only one I use but some of the other recipes aren't that great. Ditto for the Pie & Pastry Bible..a few great recipes ..but otherwise..eh. Stars Desserts cookbook by Emily Luchetti..out of print but you can find some in Ebay. Her ice cream book..A Passion fro Ice Cream is good as well. Mon Jul 21 14:39:52 -0700 2008 3888643 15755 sugarbuzz 4 3889320 I also love The Good Cookie... many of the favorites for my Cookie of the Month Club came from this book. Mon Jul 21 17:03:58 -0700 2008 3888884 12813 Katie Nell 1 3888817 I also find Rose B's "Bible" books too technical. Pies don't need to be that fussy. I've made some of her cakes and they were great, but for a fancy cake book I prefer The Art of the Cake by Healy and Bugat. I've had a lot of luck with Richard Sax's Classic Home Desserts. Everything I've made so far from Alice Medrich's Pure Dessert has been wonderful. (But most especially the sour cream ice cream.) And I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the late Bill Neal's Biscuits, Spoonbread & Sweet Potato Pie which is full of Southern homestyle desserts, many of them old-fashioned, like the Osgood pie. His apple dumplings are AMAZING. Mon Jul 21 14:22:02 -0700 2008 3886613 155576 tipsybaker 1 3889338 The dessert cookbooks put out by King Arthur Flour are ones I often turn to. Mon Jul 21 17:09:14 -0700 2008 3886613 184315 weem 1 3890127 My favorites: 1. The Baker's Dozen Cookbook 2. Southern Cakes 3. Desserts by the Yard 4. Perfect Cakes 5. Baking: From my home to yours 6. Gale Gand's Just a Bite: 125 Luscious Little Desserts 7. Pure Dessert and for personal, sentimental reasons: 8. Filipino Desserts: the mini cookbook series Great thread :) Mon Jul 21 22:51:14 -0700 2008 3886613 40475 sharkgirl88 1 3890288 Any book by Maida Heatter Any book by Rose Levy Beranbaum Any book by Alice Medrich Any book by Carole Walter Any book by Nick Malgieri Baking with Julia, by Julia Child and Dorie Greenspan There are other good baking books out there, but that ought to get you started! Tue Jul 22 03:57:56 -0700 2008 3886613 52499 ChefJune 2 3890422 June- Thanks so much for the leads on Authors... can I be a pain and ask you to narrow it down? Let's just start with Maida... of all her books, what's the ONE book that you think is a must-have? And thanks again! Peter http://www.flashlightworthybooks.com Books so good they'll keep you up past your bedtime. ;) Tue Jul 22 05:55:26 -0700 2008 3890288 10109 Peter 3 3890787 Nick Malgieri's Chocolate is very good, as is Alice Medrich's Bittersweet. I like the other Death by books (cakes, cookies), but the original is still the best, IMO. Tue Jul 22 08:13:17 -0700 2008 3890422 10666 Chocolatechipkt 4 3898328 I defiantly agree with Nick Malgieri's book. The book may be a bit old but the recipes always work and you can play with the amounts to personalize them if you choose. My fine would be Bo Friberg's tomes, the King Arthur books, Dorrie Greenspan, and maybe RLB. Thu Jul 24 13:25:56 -0700 2008 3890787 22220 Kelli2006 3 3892130 I would go to a big bookstore & take a look at what they have ... see which author you connect with. However, I would not recommend Malgieri for beginners. In past discussions here, I've learned I'm not the only one who's had issues with his recipes ... As far as Maida, I'm a cookie person, so her compilation cookie book is the one I'd say to start with. But if your focus is something else, one of her other books might be better. Take a look at Amazon & see what you think ... As someone else mentioned, Maida has a very particular style. She's a Virgo & very detailed ... as a technical writer I appreciate her style & thoroughness. It may be overkill, but it ensures you won't screw up. I have cookbooks by Maida, Nick, and Dorie ... you could have a very fulfilling baking career just with Maida and Dorie's recipes, IMHO ;) Tue Jul 22 14:28:21 -0700 2008 3890422 19108 foiegras 4 3892365 Imho, I think Perfect Pastry by Nick Malgieri is perfect for beginners. He goes into detail on how to perform some difficult tasks. Patisserie is part art and part science, which can be quite difficult to follow using just a recipe without much experience and/or understanding. Any time I would use a new recipe, I would always test the recipe out. Different oven, different kitchen, different ingredients, even time of year can change the out come of any pastry recipe. Not to mention the skill it takes to make fine pastry. There are many, many fine chefs who are useless in the pastry kitchen. Producing pastry, home style or fine French style, takes some experience and understanding. I see that there are a few chocolate books mention in the above posts. Chocolate can be a very difficult ingredient to work with. If people are working with chocolate (not cocoa powder or Bakers Chocolate) in their desserts, chocolate mousse, chocolate ice cream, ganache, etc… Then I would assume that N Malgieri’s Perfect Pastry and his other books would not be all that difficult to follow. Imho I would not expect a beginner to make pate a bombe or Italian meringue. But I don’t think that making a sabayon is all that difficult. A bain-marie, whisk, yokes, sugar, and a liquid and in no time you have sabayon. If I’m not mistaken making a sabayon, French meringue, or even pate a Chou are as difficult as it gets in Perfect Pastry. Tue Jul 22 15:38:11 -0700 2008 3892130 193247 Pastryrocks 5 3895418 I'm aware of the difficulty of baking ... What I know is this ... I experienced a number of 'failed' Malgieri recipes before I set his books aside (Perfect Pastry is not one I tried). By failed I mean dry and relatively flavorless. And many others here on chowhound have reported the same thing. I've baked a Maida recipe I didn't like before, but that's only happened because I didn't like the flavor (e.g., I'm not a fan of great quantities of candied ginger as she is). I don't remember ever having a real problem with a Maida recipe. Wed Jul 23 15:34:03 -0700 2008 3892365 19108 foiegras 6 3897833 Foiegras I’m sure anyone who has tried to bake from scratch is aware of the difficulties, at least at the beginning anyway. Hence the reason why people purchase frozen cookie dough, ready made frozen puff dough, frozen cakes in a box, frozen pie dough, etc… My point is that just because someone published a recipe for something does not mean that it will turn out just like the picture. My point was that there are various reasons way it won’t turn out like the picture. Since I did not know the issue, I tried my best to explain what could be the problem. As far as taste goes, well that is subjective. I prefer richness over sweetness, but then all my nieces and nephews prefer it sweet and colorful. I feel that what salt is to savory food, sugar is the same in pastry. It would appear from what most supermarket bakeries produce these days, my nephews and nieces are right. Unsure of what Malgieri recipes have ‘failed’ or maybe you don’t like. It would appear from what Cookiegirl and Nofunlatte have posted that Perfect Light Desserts and How To Bake have issues. I assume that these where cookie recipes from the first post. If the cookies where in the style of petits fours secs, which I understand many Italian style cookies are, then they possibly turned out ok. Unsure if it is the recipes’ or it is your expectations’ that are at issue. My favorite way to make mousse is by making a sabayon with the yokes and some flavorful liquid. Every time I make mousse this way imho it turns out wonderfully rich and much denser than modern recipes for mousse. This is from Perfect Pastry. Also, “[w]hat I know is” that every recipe I have used from Perfect Pastry turns out, well perfect. Thu Jul 24 11:12:13 -0700 2008 3895418 193247 Pastryrocks 7 3898265 I also found the one dessert I made from Perfect Light Desserts to be flavorless. Perhaps I didn't give the book enough of a chance but I sold it after that. Thu Jul 24 13:08:14 -0700 2008 3897833 123744 karykat 1 3891249 Some of my favorite pastry books are the following: • Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermè (also my wife’s favorite) • The Classic and Contemporary Recipes of Yves Thuriès, Modern French Pastry (actually the 3 book set from Thuriès is great! Some of my best recipes are from the 3 book set, somewhat old school in technique and flavour) • Nick Malgieri's Perfect Pastry The next two books are full of great recipes and techniques, when I was in school I would always refer to these books. • Patisserie by L.J. Hanneman • The Professional Pastry Chef by Bo Friberg • Pairs Boulangerie-Patisserie by Linda Dannenberg has some recipes with little if any techniques. What I do like is all the info on the different Paris Patisserie, ah to live and work on Boulevard St Honoré! Tue Jul 22 10:15:02 -0700 2008 3886613 193247 Pastryrocks 2 3892346 I'd say my very favorite (for the past year) has been Breakfast Lunch Tea from the Rose Bakery in Paris. Although there are a few recipes for dishes other than dessert, mostly it's dessert. I don't know any other book...well except for Medrich's Pure Dessert which comes in a close second to Rose Bakery. Where else can one find, in the same book, a flourless orange almond cake, a ground pistachio cake, a rice flour cake, Eccles cakes (small, turnover-type filled cookies, a broccoli cake, gingerbread that is not very sweet, and an orange polenta cake. This is seriously fantastic. Everything I've made from it has been stellar. Tue Jul 22 15:31:25 -0700 2008 3891249 10245 oakjoan 3 3892443 Thanks oakjoan for the tip. Breakfast, Lunch, Tea: The Many Little Meals of Rose Bakery looks like a great cook book. Reading the Product Description from amazon.com, the book looks like a winner. It is now on my list of books to get. Well I believe Paris-Boulangerie Patisserie, Recipes from 13 Outstanding French Bakeries by Linda Dannenberg comes close, thought I doubt it has as many recipes. Some of the recipes include Pistachio Macaroons, Galette a l’Orange, Cake aux Olives et Jambon, Coulibiac de la Mer, Tart aux Pignons and also Quiche aux Courgettes et Tomates, and many, many more. Also there is some great info on many of the great Boulangerie and Patisserie in Paris. When I win the lottery my wife and I are going to eat at every one! Tue Jul 22 16:07:34 -0700 2008 3892346 193247 Pastryrocks 2 3898480 Thanks for the mention of the Linda Dannenberg book. I'm always looking for recipes to add to my repertoire and that looks very promising. You have to be a good baker to recommend the Friberg and Yves Thuriès books, so if you ever want to open a bakery give me a call. I baked for 3 years in college and afterward, and I still do cakes for friends as well as baking for a free meal program. Many people may not understand the drive to bake, but there is a certain feeling of accomplishment when you walk home in the morning after looking at a full case and a steam of smiling customers. Thu Jul 24 14:08:03 -0700 2008 3891249 22220 Kelli2006 1 3893037 Celebrate with Chocolate by Marcel Desaulniers The Sweet Spot by Pichet Ong and Genevieve Ko The Secrets of Baking by Sherry Yard Tue Jul 22 20:07:49 -0700 2008 3886613 36312 HillJ 1 3893133 Peter -- What have you made from the Sweet Life that you recommend. So many things in this book are very tempting. Everything has just a little different twist. Books I like are The Last Course by Claudia Fleming and, as HillJ mentions below, The Secrets of Baking by Sherry Yard. That one has some basic recipes and then variations on them. So you really learn the basics -- and ways to tweak them. Another book I have and would like to use more is Desserts by the Yard. There is a picture of a Banana Brulee on page 107 of the book. It looks so good I could almost eat the picture. Looks like a carmelly, gooey, creamy, banana masterpiece. If you have this book on your shelf, look at this picture. As soon as it's cooler here, it's on my to do list. Tue Jul 22 20:50:34 -0700 2008 3886613 123744 karykat 1 3898984 Chez Pannise Desserts by Lindsey Shere. Thu Jul 24 16:41:01 -0700 2008 3886613 13794 SilverlakeGirl