The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"First and foremost, everything I make has to taste absolutely delicious," says Claudia Fleming in her introduction to The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern. Words to live by, especially when you're the pastry chef at one of New York City's most popular restaurants. Fleming cleverly describes and explains her creations in intelligent introductions to every recipe. She easily justifies her unusual flavor combinations, such as Roasted Apricots with Chamomile and Lavender-Lemon Pound Cake, and carefully walks us through important steps like gently cooking the strawberries and rose wine for her Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Strawberry Rosé Gelée.

Recipes are divided by their star ingredient, and read like a farmers' market shopping list: apples, pears, and quinces; figs, melons, and grapes; herbs and flowers; cheese, milk, and cream. "Composed Desserts" make up the last chapter, and each is paired with a dessert wine. While every one of Fleming's recipes produces a delectable dessert on its own, the combinations she proposes in this chapter are truly memorable. A lighthearted composition like Waffles with Maple-Glazed Bananas and Maple Flan brings a favorite breakfast treat into the dining room for dessert. It's creamy and sweet, crispy and warm, cold and tangy--all at the same time. A number of Fleming's signature desserts are here, too: Coconut Tapioca with Coconut Sorbet, Passion Fruit-Pineapple Sorbet, Passion Fruit Caramel, and Cilantro Syrup (a Gramercy favorite). There are also plenty of recipes for the cookie jar, including the wonderfully soft and chewy Chocolate Brownie Cookies, elegant enough to serve with coffee for dessert. Treats like Milk Chocolate Malted Ice Cream, Mascarpone Cream Cannoli, and Lime-Gingersnap Parfait will have you singing Fleming's praises as loudly as her fans do at Gramercy Tavern. --Leora Y. Bloom

From Publishers Weekly

Claudia Fleming pastry chef at New York's swank Gramercy Tavern is a dessert visionary who has earned a James Beard Award for Best Pastry Chef and two Best Dessert Awards from Pastry Art and Design. Some of her restaurant recipes will be a challenge even for the most practiced home bakers, but they are well worth the effort. The book includes 175 recipes, organized by main ingredients. There are chapters on fruits (recipes include Blueberry-Cornmeal Cakes and Tamarind-Glazed Mango Napoleons), vegetables (Truffled Rice Pudding, Chilled Rhubarb Soup) and sweet essences (Earl Grey Ice Cream), as well as the usual suspects like chocolate (Chocolate Espresso Terrine) and dairy products (Goat-Cheese Cheesecake). Fleming also displays a light touch with such unusual herb-inflected desserts as Bay Leaf Flan. The restaurant's wine director, Paul Greico, has contributed thoughtful wine suggestions for each category. Recipes for the individual items are provided separately, but in an appendix Fleming groups them as they appear on the restaurant's menu and explains their assembly process (e.g., Rose Meringues with Summer Berries, Raspberry Sorbet, and Goat Yogurt-Rose Mousse consists of three recipes, but a composition of all three would be a single dessert at Gramercy Tavern). It's easy to see why these recipes whimsical without being silly, daring without ever losing their focus on flavor have won Fleming a reputation as one of today's most talented pastry chefs. 85 color photos. Agent, David Black. (Oct.)Forecast: With a first printing of 30,000 and a seven-city author tour (with demonstrations), this cookbook's commercial prospects are good. Gramercy Tavern's name should help too; since its 1994 opening, it has consistently made Zagat's top five most popular New York restaurants.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1 edition (October 16, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 037550429X
• ISBN-13: 978-0375504297
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 8.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #345,016 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Recipes I Can't Wait to Use Again, February 4, 2002

By A Customer

I don't usually write reviews but I have to in this case because Fleming's book has exceeded my expectations. I got it as a Christmas gift, and have since made about half a dozen of the recipes for a dessert party I had for my birthday last month. They were all superb, and while some were a little more complicated than others, all were definitely worth it. The party was a huge success, mostly due to Fleming's desserts, which disappeared before any of the others I made. From this book I made the panna cottas (almost too easy), chocolate caramel tarts (they were a lot of work but such a hit), caremelized pineapple (easy), maple flan (turned out perfect), chocolate brownie cookies (a cinch), and goat cheesecake with candied kumquats (very easy, gorgeous). I recommend this book to anyone who loves making desserts and isn't a complete beginner.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Toothachingly, heartbreakingly pretty., May 19, 2003

By	"spitbite" (Shortnin' Bread, Lincoln) - See all my reviews

Claudia Fleming's desserts possess charms that are immediately apparent to both the eye and the palate; in fact, one of Claudia's greatest strengths is that she addresses whimsy and mathematics in equal measure. Also, she has managed to come up with the most consistently delightful sounding recipes I have ever encountered in a dessert cookbook. The fantastic photography helps.

However, I choose the precise, fastidious and in many ways, highly inflexible world of pastry-making when I want to escape the overwhelming pressure to improvise with my supper. I like the never-fail promise of a good piecrust recipe and all. Which is why I dislike having to nip, tuck, and make alterations when I am dealing with pastry and the whole thing is clearly going pear-shaped. Many of Claudia's recipes, though they were _all_ invariable divine, required modifying to varying degrees.
- Hazelnut Torte was dry and there was far too much batter left over.
-Gingersnaps were yummy, but if you live near a Whole Foods market and you haven't tried their brand of Gingersnaps yet, save yourself some time and trust me; they are far superior.
-Buttermilk Panna Cotta was WONDERFUL.
-Caramel Ice Cream tastes good because it has 12 egg yolks in it. I suppose anything would taste good with that much abandon applied to it, but is that surprising? Still, really good stuff.
-Chocolate Brownie Cookies are the best thing to happen to the cookie since the chocolate chip. And Claudia makes the chocolate chip look like a dirty joke from outer space. WOW!
-All berry desserts are not worth trying unless you have access to truly superior berries. Claudia has a passion for combining fruit, vegetables and chocolate with herbs and spices, and if the fruit is not potent and overpowering in aroma and flavor, the desserts end up tasting like a faceful of basil or tarragon or lemon verbena. As was the case with my strawberry shortcakes. And my bing cherry cheesecake. And my meringue. Hmm. In other words, these are not recipes to help you make the best out of a mediocre crop. And, if you're anything like me and you prefer to eat your best fruit fresh, unadulterated, and out of hand, then that won't leave much left for these tantalizing desserts.

Bottom line: my guests were impressed with the innovative presentations and the utterly unique philosophy behind these desserts. I was happy as a clam up until the point where I was eating them, and half if the time I felt disappointed with what I was tasting, given the amount of work I put into these recipes. If you have great access to great produce, then this book will be indispensable to you. Plus, it makes for great bedtime reading.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SO GOOD!, April 17, 2002

By	"shell2128" (Southport, CT USA) - See all my reviews

I love this restaurant & have always loved the desserts. I was skeptical about buying the book because most restaurant cookbooks I have purchased never have my favorite recipes from the restaurant. This one has them all & then some!!! My favorite is the warm chocolate ganache cake!!! This cookbook is great & the recipes are easy enough to follow!