With recipes of glamorous by-gone desserts, and packed with history and anecdotes of famous classic restaurants and the people who frequented them, Lost Desserts features delicious and sometimes exotic favorites from the new world and the old. Conjuring up the heyday of Hollywood are such American classics as the Brown Derby’s Orange Chiffon Cake, Trader Vic’s Flaming Tahitian Ice Cream, and Chasen’s Banana Shortcake with Banana Sauce, while the old-world elegance of Paris and London is evoked with delightful concoctions like Escoffier’s Mont Blanc and Lady Jekyll’s Orange Jelly with Compote. The seventy recipes included here, adapted for the home cook and updated for the modern palate to taste as good as they look and are remembered, are organized by type of dessert, which run the gamut from Bavarians, Cremes, Charlottes, Mousses, Puddings, Fools, Jellies, to Frozen Desserts, and Souffles, Crepes, and Custards, as well as, of course, Cakes and Pies, Tarts, and Tortes. A lavish volume, Lost Desserts is illustrated with thirty stunning still lifes of visually spectacular confections, capturing the flavor and essence of the dessert cart era.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Gail Monaghan is a food writer and editor. She teaches cooking classes and is the author of Perfect Picnics for All Seasons. Eric Boman is a still life photographer for such magazines as Vogue and World of Interiors. His recent books include Blahnik by Boman and Rare Bird of Fashion: The Irreverent Iris Apfel.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Foreword by George Lang On one of my birthdays, after an all-night party, my wife Jennifer arranged eighty birthday cakes, each made by another pastry chef around the world. Sometime around midnight I had a strange encounter with an elderly gentleman, who was looking at me with his mesmerizing eyes, surprised that I had sampled bites of at least three dozen of the birthday cakes. Fortunately, I remembered Mark Twain's line and told him, "The secret is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside."
What this mysterious person did not know was that during the past couple of decades, I had become a dessert addict, tasting and, mostly, enjoying their flavors.
What we need today is a book that gives precise and stylish instructions for making sweets our ancestors made and enjoyed. I am happy to say that Gail Monaghan's volume, Lost Desserts, is a brilliant collection. She brings to us practical and contemporary versions of great sweets of yesterday made with today's ingredients and techniques.
Reading her book reminded me that I learned quite a bit about this sweet subject in Hungary, the country of my birth, where some of the experts claim that the Aztecs shamelessly stole the secret of making chocolate from a Budapest housewife. Even though Hungarian housewives and pastry chefs make memorable desserts, I have a bit of a problem with this Danubian statement.
A few weeks ago, five friends of ours from the world of restaurants were enjoying our coffee when one of the guests asked us to mention desserts that are truly close to us. I have to admit that dessert names were thrown around without rules to follow, but I recall a few of the names that each of us declared during this session. Here is a list: Charlotte Russe, Chocolate Angel Torte, Dobos Torte, Escoffier's Peach Melba, and Schrafft's Coffee Milkshake.
The most engaging power of an author or a cook is to make new things familiar and--surprise--familiar things new. When James Beard was asked, "What is the best part of a dessert?" he said, "It is the anticipation." You might start anticipating by reading this great book of Gail Monaghan's recipes.....
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By SWEET TOOTH
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
My copy of "Lost Desserts" arrived in the mail the other day like an early visit from Santa. What a beautiful concoction! The photos and design are sumptuous, the writing evocative as well as informative, and the recipes spot on. I have begun to impress my friends not only with "fruits" of my labors but with a perfect accompanying story as well.
This book is the "must have" gift not only for those who likes to bake, but for all of us that find desserts the most important part of the meal.
This book is the "must have" gift not only for those who likes to bake, but for all of us that find desserts the most important part of the meal.
16 of 19 people found the following review helpful
By M. Cremaschi
Format:Hardcover
"Lost Desserts" is the most beautiful and the best cookbook of the year--------and as a cookbookaholic I might add that it is one of the best of all time. Ms. Monaghan not only has a deep knowledge of the history of cuisine but she writes beautifully about each recipe, which adds enormously to the delight of the book, and makes it deeply personal. The recipes are all the kinds of desserts I--and my family & friends-----want to eat: yummy delicious ones that are also beautiful, but not contrived (they look like desserts served at home should look------not tacky restaurant chef fantasies.) And that great rarity: the recipes work perfectly! Have already done the Fane, souffle Rothschild, Carmelized Rice Pudding and Sticky Toffee Pudding------all came out so perfectly they are now part of my cooking repertoire. And my friends loved them too! My holiday list is now done: everyone gets this great book, which is a treasure (can't wait to try the cover recipe, in Spring.) Oh-------the photographs are the most beautiful ever found in a cookbook, absolute perfection.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Very pretty book with historical information, more of a cocktail table book than daily guide/reference. Great ideal and presented well.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
From shoes, to beautiful women, to sweets, it is obvious that Eric Boman is a delight that is well worth savoring. Here, as in his other offerings, his talent is tastefully presented, both great to look at and a pleasure to read. His work warrents a coffee table of its own and a place in the living room of all who appreciate beauty.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is the most beautiful cookbook I've ever seen. But that's not the reason to by it. Inside you'll find an array of wonderful recipes clearly laid out that will delight any guest lucky enough to have you make one of these creations for them. I have made the "Fane" several times and my friends were in heaven! I highly recommend Lost Desserts to anyone who longs to end a meal with something truly special. Buy one for you and send another to your best friend!
20 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
It's a very pretty book with a great premise: the recipes of great desserts that are no longer made, thus "lost."
The New York Times gave this book good reviews, so I asked for and received a copy for Christmas.
Well, I have to say I'm disappointed. The introduction is enough to tell you the premise of the book: a compilation of the author's favorite "lost" recipes mostly from restaurants that have long since closed.
I never ate at the Brown Derby in Lons Angeles, so I have no idea how wonderful the original Brown Derby Orange Chiffon cake was, but is orange chiffon cake truly a lost dessert when so many excellent recipes abound in cookbooks all across America? The same can be said for most of the featured recipes from famous restaurants in NYC and LA. Good, but not truly "lost" recipes.
The author does, however, include several older 19th century recipes, such as trifles and wine Jellies, that are actually "lost" recipes for they are rarely made, and are never featured in modern cookbooks. For that, she gets bonus points.
Still, I found it intriguing that in the introduction, the author writes how most people instantly mentioned floating islands as a lost dessert, but for various reasons she decided not to include it. When I asked for the book, I had visions of it being filled with recipes of old-fashioned 19th and early 20th century recipes for wine jellies, bavarian creams, and fancy tortes that one reads about in the fiction of the time and which sounds scrumptious. As I mentioned, she does include a few of those recipes, but my take is that it isn't enough to justify buying the book if you are looking for genuinely lost dessert recipes.... Read more ›
The New York Times gave this book good reviews, so I asked for and received a copy for Christmas.
Well, I have to say I'm disappointed. The introduction is enough to tell you the premise of the book: a compilation of the author's favorite "lost" recipes mostly from restaurants that have long since closed.
I never ate at the Brown Derby in Lons Angeles, so I have no idea how wonderful the original Brown Derby Orange Chiffon cake was, but is orange chiffon cake truly a lost dessert when so many excellent recipes abound in cookbooks all across America? The same can be said for most of the featured recipes from famous restaurants in NYC and LA. Good, but not truly "lost" recipes.
The author does, however, include several older 19th century recipes, such as trifles and wine Jellies, that are actually "lost" recipes for they are rarely made, and are never featured in modern cookbooks. For that, she gets bonus points.
Still, I found it intriguing that in the introduction, the author writes how most people instantly mentioned floating islands as a lost dessert, but for various reasons she decided not to include it. When I asked for the book, I had visions of it being filled with recipes of old-fashioned 19th and early 20th century recipes for wine jellies, bavarian creams, and fancy tortes that one reads about in the fiction of the time and which sounds scrumptious. As I mentioned, she does include a few of those recipes, but my take is that it isn't enough to justify buying the book if you are looking for genuinely lost dessert recipes.... Read more ›
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Gail Monaghan's New Book Lost Desserts is the best cook book you can get your hands on! If you want to WOW all your friends and have them clamouring for a spot at your table, this is the book for you! She takes you through all the steps you need to make these over the top creations yourself. The pictures are beautiful and the book is worthy of any coffee table I know! Lost Desserts is an essential for any serious chef's library.
By L. Sedor
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a fabulous addition to any cook's shelf! Wonderful recipes- many will remind you of desserts you had long ago and have since forgotten. Beautifully illistrated as well - and easy to follow - the wine jelly on the cover I made recently for a dinner party and it was spectacular!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as I thought it would be
After purchasing this book sight unseen, I felt compelled to write a review. My copy arrived today. It was a big let down, the rest of the photos in the book (except for 1) are not... Read more
Published on January 9, 2008 by S. Boston
1.0 out of 5 stars
OH NO!
i looked through this book at barnes and noble today. i was so outraged that i had to write a review. the cover of this book is amazing, and the size is impressive. Read more
Published on November 29, 2007 by jessiquina
5.0 out of 5 stars
My gift-giving problems solved
Copies of this gorgeous book -- filled with glorious photos, engaging stories and irresistable recipes -- are going to all the cooks on my Christmas list. Read more
Published on November 15, 2007 by Casey Ellis
5.0 out of 5 stars
great desserts.......great stories.great photos
a book like this was long over due........great all the way around...it is one of the few cookbooks that you will treasure for years to come....
Published on November 7, 2007 by john marcus
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