Paris Sweets: Great Desserts From the City's Best Pastry Shops [Hardcover]

Dorie Greenspan (Author)

Book Description

Release date: November 12, 2002

The prize-winning author of Baking with Julia (more than 350,000 copies sold), among other cookbook classics, celebrates the sweet life with recipes and lore from Paris's finest patisseries.

Like most lovers of pastry and Paris, Dorie Greenspan has always marveled at the jewel-like creations displayed in bakery windows throughout the City of Light. Now, in a charmingly illustrated tribute to the capital of sweets, Greenspan presents a splendid assortment of recipes from Paris’s foremost pastry chefs in a book that is as transporting to read as it is easy to use.

From classic recipes, some centuries old, to updated innovations, Paris Sweets provides a sumptuous guide to creating cookies, from the fabled madeleine to simple, ultra-buttery sables; tarts, from the famous Tatin, which began its life as an upside-down error, to a delightful strawberry tart embellished with homemade strawberry marshmallows; and a glorious range of cakes–lemon-drenched "weekend cake," fudge cake, and the show-stopping Opera. Paris Sweets brims with assorted temptations that even a novice can prepare, such as coffee éclairs, rum-soaked babas, and meringue puffs. Evocative portraits of the pastry shops and chefs, as well as information on authentic French ingredients, make this a truly comprehensive tour.

An elegant gift for Francophiles, armchair travelers, bakers of all skill levels, and certainly for oneself, Paris Sweets brings home a taste of enchantment.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Dorie Greenspan's most vivid memory of her first trip to Paris doesn't have anything to do with the Eiffel Tower, but rather a heavenly strawberry tartlet. Overwhelmed by its extraordinary flavor, texture, and appearance, Greenspan was "hooked on Paris and hooked on the city's sweets." Paris Sweets is the result of 30 years of searching for the most delectable, delicious, awe-inspiring pastries she could find, and then convincing their creators to part with the recipes.

Scattered throughout this delightful book are whimsical illustrations and beautifully written stories about each of Greenspan's favorite pastry shops and the chefs who created them. Some of their recipes, such as Boulangerie Poilane's sweet, buttery, bite-size cookies called Punishments, are quick and easy enough for even a novice baker. And with Greenspan's clear, step-by-step, detailed instructions, Robert Linxe's Grandmother's Creamy Chocolate Cake, an elegant fudgy decadence, and Poujauran's rich, nutty-flavored Financiers, become child's play. Greenspan manages to demystify even the complicated multilayered Opera Cake from Dalloyau.

From the most perfect Crème Brulee and Coffee Eclairs to the stunning Fresh Strawberry and Marshmallow Tart, made with homemade strawberry marshmallows, Greenspan will have you torn between making Paris Sweets at home and going there yourself. And in case you can do both, she's included all the addresses you need. --Leora Y. Bloom

From Publishers Weekly

Greenspan, the author of Baking with Julia and a frequent contributor to the food pages of the New York Times, here compiles recipes from "les bonnes adresses," collecting secrets for perfect madeleines, macaroons, apple tarts and other classic French desserts. She embellishes her cookbook with anecdotes and histories, explaining that, for example, crème brulee is actually a Spanish invention (known there as crema catalana) and that Saint-Honoré is the patron saint of pastry chefs. Greenspan also includes descriptions of some of her favorite Parisian bakeries, introducing American readers to the pleasures of Laduree and La Maison du Chocolat. The recipes themselves often involve numerous steps and a certain amount of technique; although Greenspan writes with a reassuring tone, most of this cookbook is not for beginners. Even the "simple cakes" require practice to perfect. But even if you don't intend to concoct a twelve-step cake called "Bacchus" ("it could send a hedonist's heart racing into overDrive") any time soon, simply reading Greenspan's transporting cookbook might be the next best thing to dessert.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter; 1 edition (November 12, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767906810
• ISBN-13: 978-0767906814
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 0.9 x 9.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #76,314 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #81 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > European > French

More About the Author

Called 'a culinary guru' by The New York Times, Dorie Greenspan is the award-winning author of nine cookbooks, a special correspondent for Bon Appetit magazine and a frequent guest on National Public Radio's All Things Considered and Splendid Table. Her cookbooks include the bestseller, Baking with Julia, the book that accompanied Julia Child's PBS series; Desserts by Pierre Herme, which was named Cookbook of the Year by the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP); Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme; Paris Sweets, Great Desserts from the City's Best Pastry Shops; and, most recently, Baking: From My Home to Yours, which Amazon.com named as one of the top 50 books and one of the top 10 cookbooks of 2006. The book won a James Beard Foundation Award in 2007, the same year Dorie was inducted into the Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America.

Dorie's next book, Around the French Table, will be published in 2010.

Dorie lives in New York City; Westbrook, Connecticut; and Paris. You can read about her food adventures in these and other places at www.doriegreenspan.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

80 of 83 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Creme de la Creme May 1, 2004

By B. Marold HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

Contemplating recipes in this new book from Dorie Greenspan, subtitled `Great Desserts from the City's Best Pastry Shops' is much like shopping for antiques in that furniture whose style and construction have survived either decades or centuries of wear and changes in taste is almost invariably of a higher quality than last month's great new thing. You don't even have the disadvantage of having to pay a premium price, as Ms. Greenspan's book list price is lower than many books containing mostly new recipes original with the author and her support team.

Ms. Greenspan is not only reporting recipes from what she believes are the greatest patisseries in Paris, she is telling us from which shops these recipes come, and where these shops are located. Happily, some of these shops even have satellites in New York City. Yum.

All of these recipes are classics. The Madeleine cookie is so important and so well known that Ms. Greenspan gives us three recipes from three different shops. Apparently, there are so many different recipes for Madeleines, she could have assembled a book from them alone.

Cookies are the subject of the first chapter. Following chapters cover cakes, tarts, `pastries and small treats', and `grand gateaux'. The `pastries and small treats' chapter includes such standards as Crème Brulee, Chocolate Mousse, Chocolate Bread Pudding, Ali-Babas (similar to baba au rhum), Tiger Tea Cakes, Soft Apple Cakes, Whipped Cream-Filled Meringues, Coffee Eclairs, Strawberry and Orange Flower Water Marshmallows, and Hot Chocolate.... The `grand gateaux' chapter includes pastries such as Bacchus (raisin filled cake plus ganache and glaze), Opera Cake, Chocolate-Thyme Cake, Chocolate Temptation (ooh la la dessert), Blanc-manger (a very, very old French version of panna cotta), King's Cake (traditional after Christmas), Mille-Feuille (Napoleon), and Gate Saint-Honore. Decedent doesn't even begin to these homages to butter, cream, sugar, and eggs.

The final chapter of `Base Recipes' contains just a few important pantry staples. Even though they look very familiar and are probably in the repertoire of every experienced pastry chef, they deserve a look, as they may be a bit different than what you are used to. The recipe for pate sucree, for example, includes almonds and vanilla, things which are not commonly in American sweet tart dough recipes.

The recipes in this book are the main attraction, but they are not the only charm. There are lots of headnotes, asides, and sidebars on the recipes, the shops and their bakers who contributed the recipes, and the French take on classic ingredients such as butter, salt, vanilla, water, and eggs. A take on fleur de sel worth repeating is Dori's comparing it to extra virgin olive oil, the most desirable first yield from the olive oil harvest. The stories on the shops make me wish I was more in tune with French pastry when I was in Paris many, many years ago. Even the addresses of shops on streets such as the Boulevard Haussman and the place de la Madeleine bring back fond memories of time spent in Paris.

The final charm offered by the book is the collection of watercolors done by Florine Asch which decorate the text, the end pages, and the cover.

I am not at all surprised that the description of the recipes is quite clear and should be not at all difficult for an American amateur baker. Although all European professional bakers measure everything strictly by metric weight, the author has converted everything to the teaspoons and cups and English weight units. Many recipes make sensible use of a food processor for mixing dough. In spite of this all, do not be surprised that many recipes are two or more pages long. The result is more than worth the effort. Each recipe concludes with a supremely considerate note on how to best keep each result and for how long. Each recipe also includes a paragraph labelled `An American in Paris' on variations and options for serving.

Ms. Greenspan's credentials for writing this book are impeccible. This is her eighth book on pastry. Her previous books have included collaborations with Pierre Herme, Daniel Boulud, and the great Julia Child. It is quite appropriate that the book was suggested by the author of `The Paris Cookbook', Ms. Patricia Wells. Much credit to Ms. Wells for instigating this very happy result.

Highly recommended for both recipes and warm evocation of a sweet aspect of Paris. Read more ›

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Delicious book September 6, 2006

By Deb Nam-Krane VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

The big caveat about this book is that it has no photographs. That has come to be an expectation for today's better cookbooks, and some of the recipes (such as Gateau Saint-Honore) demand them. However, Greenspan's descriptions are so clear and evocative that you not only have a very good idea of what the pastry in question should look like, you are also transported (or so you feel) into the author's emotions and memories associated with the pastries, bakeries and chefs. The whimsical drawings also help, although they are more of place and ingredients than finished products.

While classics such as madelines, Opera Cake and the aforementioned gateau can be found, many of the recipes are updated versions of classics, such as the chocolate pound cake, Earl Grey madelines and Tigres. There are very few "new" recipes, though the ones included (such as the Chocolate Thyme Mousse) sound delicious. Many recipes are also surprisingly simple, such as the Chocolate Grandmother's cake. Plus, her recipes are so straightforward and easy to follow that you feel like you can tackle something like puff pastry and not encounter any difficulties (for the most part!).

I currently have this book out of my library, but I think it's going to require a permanent space on my bookshelf.

42 of 49 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Great stories - mediocre recipes March 17, 2007

By km

Format:Hardcover

I, too, love Paris and have spent years there as a student. I was delighted to find anecdotes about all my favorite pastry shops - and some others - and very excited to try the recipes. However, I agree with several other reviewers that not all of the recipes in Greenspan's book are not quite up to par. This comes partly from the fact that there are some desserts that Americans do better - the tea cake, being an excellent example. Greenspan's recipe came out dense and dry and absolutely could not compare to my usual cake. That said, there are several great recipes: the chocolate mousse technique Greenspan offers is very unique, delicious and quick, the madeleines tasty, the tarte tatin good. But I would hesitate to make any of these for a dinner party before trying them myself, seeing the collection is so mixed and many recipes simply not what you'd expect.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Delicious!! April 17, 2006

By Chihiro

Format:Hardcover

I love Paris, and no vacation is every long enough. "Paris Sweets" helps bring back a small part of Paris' charm with detailed observations of the city's patissieres and other such anecdotes. Most importantly, the recipes are clear, concise, and delicious.

Some of the recipes are time-consuming, and others are simple, but all are worth the effort. Although the recipes are what make up the core of this book, it is Dorie Greenspan's passion for pastry and Paris that sends me flipping through the pages again and again.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Desserts from the City of Lights to Your Table March 1, 2004

By Kevin Kelley

Format:Hardcover

If you cannot go to Paris, then buy this book and bring some of Paris to you.

Greenspan (Baking with Julia) has done it again - another book that deciphers and presents some complicated recipes into approachable masterpieces. The recipes work (at least the ones I've tried), and I have foisted them on some of my French friends, some of whom immediately identified it and the shop the recipe came from (Earl Grey Madeleines, from Mariage Frères, for example). That constitutes success.

The book is organized cleverly, with the simpler recipes in the front, and more and more complex recipes as you work your way through. Though Greenspan does not say she is doing this by design, it is clearly the case. After each recipe, she has some tips and suggestions she calls "An American in Paris," in which she tells you things she does to make the recipe more in her own style, as an American living in Paris.

This is not a primer on French pastry, however, and you will learn little about technique; although there are many classic desserts in this book, it is not comprehensive, by any means. But that does not lessen its value.

There are some nice touches at the end of the book, too. Places to buy ingredients that might be hard to find, and of course, addresses and contact information for all the pastry shops that contributed to the book. Get out your Paris street map and start planning your next trip...