This bible of dessert recipes and techniques combines the finely honed skills of master pastry chefs with interactive videos and step-by-step photographs to ensure success at home. This richly illustrated volume details 260 step-by-step recipes with in-depth explanations for kitchen novices that cover all basic techniques and desserts and are grouped by category: hot or cold desserts, entremets, classic pastries, cakes, tarts, and frozen desserts. Expert chefs provide baking tips that will assure success with foolproof dough, creams and mousses, chocolate and candy, sauces, and frozen desserts. Classic and contemporary recipes feature crème brûlée, Black Forest cake, clafoutis, lemon meringue pie, profiteroles, frozen raspberry soufflé, Opéra, tarte tatin, crêpes Suzette, macaroons, gingerbread, strawberry-cherry gazpacho, mango-pineapple carpaccio, fruit taboulé, Christmas log, and sugar decorations. Practical references include visual lexicons of recommended kitchen equipment and common ingredients; decorative piping models; conversion tables; a glossary; descriptions of regional French specialties and fifteen classic French desserts; and an index of recipes and main ingredients. Each recipe is rated for complexity so the home chef can gradually expand his or her baking ability through experience. More than 600 photographs and twenty downloadable videos of complex techniques enhance the learning experience in this essential guide for novice and established cooks alike.

French pâtisserie—from a flaky croissant in the morning to a raspberry macaron with tea or a layered Opéra cake after dinner— provides the grand finale to every memorable meal. This comprehensive volume, from the professionals at the Ferrandi School of Culinary Arts—dubbed “The Harvard of Gastronomy” by Le Monde newspaper—offers everything the home chef needs to create perfect pastries for all occasions. 1500 skills and techniques Learn how to make pastries, creams, decorations, and more with step-by-step instructions and tips and tricks from Ferrandi’s experienced chefs. 235 classic French recipes Recipes for the complete range of French pâtisserie also include variations that are rated according to level of difficulty so that home chefs can expand their skills over time.

This comprehensive, illustrated reference offers the essential building blocks and recipes for working with chocolate in the home kitchen. This cooking school in book form opens with 100 step-by-step techniques: chocolate basics (tempering, ganaches, pralines), candy fillings, decorations, doughs, creams and mousses, ice cream and sorbet, sauces, and baker’s secrets. Each method is explained in text and photographs; fourteen are further clarified on the ninety-minute DVD. Organized into nine sections, 100 recipes are simplified for the home cook: classics (Sachertorte, pro fiteroles, molten chocolate cake), tarts (chocolate-pear, nut-caramel), snacks (macaroons, waffles, brownies, choco-ginger churros), frozen desserts, special occasions (dark chocolate fondue, hazelnut-praline Yule log), and candy (truffles, lollipops, coconut bars). Each recipe is graded with a three-star rating so the home chef can gauge its complexity. Cross references to techniques, DVD footage, glossary terms, and complementary recipes make navigation easy. The volume includes practical resources: visual dictionaries of kitchen equipment and common ingredients; tips for conserving chocolate; a guide to dark, milk, and white chocolate and the importance of cocoa content; and a detailed index.

With Simple French Desserts, making French pastry is as easy as apple pie--but deceptively more impressive. Pastry chef and author Jill O'Connor starts with the easiest recipes and gradually builds skills as she moves on to more challenging treats. Throughout, she demystifies the art of French baking, guiding cooks with step-by-step techniques, and clear and complete explanations. Here are over 50 recipes for delectable treats like Crme Caramel, Lemon-Almond Madeleines, and Chocolate Eclairs. With a whimsically elegant design and mouthwatering full-color photographs, Simple French Desserts is the perfect introduction to the art of the patisserie--sans signing up at the Cordon Bleu.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The definitive cookbook on French cuisine for American readers: "What a cookbook should be: packed with sumptuous recipes, detailed instructions, and precise line drawings. Some of the instructions look daunting, but as Child herself says in the introduction, 'If you can read, you can cook.'" —Entertainment Weekly “I only wish that I had written it myself.” —James Beard Featuring 524 delicious recipes and over 100 instructive illustrations to guide readers every step of the way, Mastering the Art of French Cooking offers something for everyone, from seasoned experts to beginners who love good food and long to reproduce the savory delights of French cuisine. Julia Child, Simone Beck, and Louisette Bertholle break down the classic foods of France into a logical sequence of themes and variations rather than presenting an endless and diffuse catalogue of dishes—from historic Gallic masterpieces to the seemingly artless perfection of a dish of spring-green peas. Throughout, the focus is on key recipes that form the backbone of French cookery and lend themselves to an infinite number of elaborations—bound to increase anyone’s culinary repertoire. “Julia has slowly but surely altered our way of thinking about food. She has taken the fear out of the term ‘haute cuisine.’ She has increased gastronomic awareness a thousandfold by stressing the importance of good foundation and technique, and she has elevated our consciousness to the refined pleasures of dining." —Thomas Keller, The French Laundry

Cheryl Wakerhauser, the award-winning chef and owner of Pix Patisserie, brings new artistry to classic French desserts. With recipes like Le Royale, Amélie, Pear Rosemary Tart, Pistachio Picnic Cake, Bûche de Noël, Crème Brûlée Cookies and Macarons, you will be sure to wow any guest with complex flavors and textures that are unique to French pastry. French dessert is a study in components, and Cheryl breaks each recipe down, providing information on classic techniques while imbuing each recipe with a new twist. Her Amélie recipe, the winner of the Patis France Chocolate Competition, combines orange vanilla crème brûlée, glazed chocolate mousse, caramelized hazelnuts, praline crisp and orange liqueur génoise. Cheryl trained with MOF Philippe URRACA, a prestigious patisserie located in southern France. She has been featured in World of Fine Wine, Delta Sky magazine, Thrillist Portland, Food Network Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Bon Appétit. This book will have 41 recipes and 80 photos.

The Valrhona cooking school presents everything the amateur or professional baker needs to learn about cooking with chocolate. One hundred fundamental techniques and more than a hundred recipes are explained with step-by-step photographs and clear instructions. Home chefs will learn chocolate basics (tempering, ganaches,pralines), baker’s secrets (marbling, faultless cake crusts, beating egg whites), and how to make candy fillings, decorations, doughs, cream and mousse bases, ice creams and sorbets, and sauces. Bakers can refer back to these building blocks as they progress with an increasing level of expertise through recipes from icing and cookie dough to macaroons and impressive mounted desserts. Recipes include the great classics (Black Forest cake, profiteroles), tarts and tartlets (chocolate-pear, nut caramel), shared delights, teatime treats (chocolate-vanilla waffles, brownies), iced desserts (chocolate cappuccino parfait, raspberry meringue with hot chocolate sauce), special-occasion splurges (dark chocolate fondue, hazelnut-praline Yule log), candies and confections (truffles, lollipops, chocolate-covered cherries), and savory dishes using chocolate. Visual dictionaries of basic equipment and commonly used ingredients, tips for conserving chocolate,a guide to cocoa content, a glossary, and detailed indexes complete the volume.

The latest French patisserie cookbook from award-winning French pastry chef Cédric Grolet Opéra Pâtisserie marks the entrance of the most talented pastry chef of his generation, Cédric Grolet, into the world of boulangerie-pâtisserie. This book coincides with the opening of his new shop in the Opéra district in the heart of Paris. Far from the haute couture pastries designed at palace hotels, with Opera Pâtisserie, Grolet returns to the essentials with a collection of hearty and accessible recipes. Follow your senses through the pages to discover the very best French recipes for viennoiseries, breads, biscuits, pastries, and frozen fruit sorbets. From croissant to mille-feuille, from tarte tatin to .clairs, the book features 100 fully illustrated desserts we all love. Recipes are organized into chapters that follow the rhythm of the day. At 7 a.m., it’s time for viennoiseries and breads; at 11 a.m., it’s pastries; at 3 p.m., desserts and frozen fruits; and at 5 p.m., it’s time for the final batch of bread. Opéra Pâtisserie is the indispensable book for every pastry lover!

Learn to create plated desserts like a master, with recipes from the World and National Pastry Team Championships Considered the Olympics of the pastry arts, the World and National Pastry Championships were founded by Michael Schneider in 1999. Since then, it has grown into the United States' most prestigious and popular pastry competition, aired annually on TLC. Now, in Plating for Gold, pastry chef Tish Boyle presents the most spectacular dessert recipes from the first decade of the competition and shows how you can recreate the same award-winning desserts in your own kitchen. Plating for Gold includes 50 recipes for absolutely spectacular desserts created by expert pastry chefs like Ewald Notter, Jacquy Pfeiffer, and Sebastien Cannone, all presented in easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions. You'll find whimsical and delicious one-of-a-kind recipes like Strawberry Soup, Vanilla Panna Cotta Napoleon, and Almond Tartlet; Hot Chocolate Soufflé, Ginger Mousse, and Tropical Parfait; and Yin-Yang Flourless Chocolate Cake, as well as insight and advice from top pastry chefs on perfect plating. Includes advice on essential equipment, stocking your pastry kitchen, and perfect flavor pairings to help you create your own original recipes Features enticing full-color photographs of finished desserts, as well as hand-drawn sketches to illustrate plating techniques and provide endless inspiration Offers a behind-the-scenes look at the world of pastry competition, with candid photos and insider advice from some of today's best pastry chefs Whether you aspire to compete with the best at the Pastry Team Championships or simply want to impress guests at your next big dinner party, Plating for Gold is the gold standard in dessert cookbooks.

By the author of the award-winning Around My French Table and Baking: From My Home to Yours, an irresistible collection of radically simple desserts from French home cooks and pastry chefs.