Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes [Hardcover]

David Lebovitz (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 6, 2010

Pastry chef David Lebovitz is known for creating desserts with bold and high-impact flavor, not fussy, complicated presentations. Lucky for us, this translates into showstopping sweets that bakers of all skill levels can master. In Ready for Dessert, elegant finales such as Gâteau Victoire, Black Currant Tea Crème Brûlée, and Anise-Orange Ice Cream Profiteroles with Chocolate Sauce are as easy to prepare as comfort foods such as Plum-Blueberry Upside-Down Cake, Creamy Rice Pudding, and Cheesecake Brownies.
 
With his unique brand of humor—and a fondness for desserts with “screaming chocolate intensity”—David serves up a tantalizing array of more than 170 recipes for cakes, pies, tarts, crisps, cobblers, custards, soufflés, puddings, ice creams, sherbets, sorbets, cookies, candies, dessert sauces, fruit preserves, and even homemade liqueurs. David reveals his three favorites: a deeply spiced Fresh Ginger Cake; the bracing and beautiful Champagne Gelée with Kumquats, Grapefruits, and Blood Oranges; and his chunky and chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. His trademark friendly guidance, as well as suggestions, storage advice, flavor variations, and tips will help ensure success every time.
 
Accompanied with stunning photos by award-winning photographer Maren Caruso, this new compilation of David’s best recipes to date will inspire you to pull out your sugar bin and get baking or churn up a batch of homemade ice cream. So if you’re ready for dessert (and who isn’t?), you’ll be happy to have this collection of sweet indulgences on your kitchen shelf—and your guests will be overjoyed, too.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Featured Recipes from Ready for Dessert

Download the recipe for Red Wine Raspberry Sorbet

Download the recipe for Chocolate Pots de Creme

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. An elegantly-composed collection of classics and contemporary riffs, former Chez Panisse pastry chef David Lebovitz's (The Perfect Scoop) latest effort hits the sweet spot. Artfully balancing accessible recipes for novices (the simple four-ingredient Chocolate Orbit Cake, the three-ingredient Peaches in Red Wine and Pistachio, Almond and Dried Cherry Bark) with ambitious-but -worth-it desserts like Banana Cake with Mocha Frosting and Salted Candied Peanuts and White Nectarine Sorbet with Blackberries in Five-Spice Cookie Cups, Lebovitz truly has something for everyone. Can't-miss combinations like Guinness-Gingerbread Cupcakes, Cherry-Almond Cobbler, and Orange-Almond Bread Pudding are sure to inspire a trip to the market, and riffs on classics like a French apple galette (updated here with frangipane, a rich almond pastry cream) and a lush Fresh Ginger Cake will appeal to bakers whose bookshelves are already groaning with cookbooks. The inclusion of Coconut Layer Cake, Vanilla Ice Cream, Meyer Lemon Sorbet, Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Cookies, and Gingersnaps (including a fat-free variety) shows that Lebovitz also knows when not to mess with a good thing. Given its breadth, depth, and accessibility, readers with a passion for baking will be hard pressed to find a better guide to desserts this year. Photos.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press (April 6, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158008138X
• ISBN-13: 978-1580081382
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 1 x 10.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #229,246 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

American pastry chef living the sweet life in Paris! Author of several cookbooks, including The Perfect Scoop, the complete guide to making the best ice cream and frozen desserts at home, The Great Book of Chocolate, a guide - with recipes - for everything about everyone's favorite ingredient, and Ready for Dessert, a compilation of baking favorites, from an extra-moist Fresh Ginger Cake, to crunchy Double-Chocolate Biscotti.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

154 of 167 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Collection of Inventive Recipes with Creative Flavor Combinations April 3, 2010

By S. D. Fischer VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

First, it is important to point out that if you own Room For Dessert : 110 Recipes for Cakes, Custards, Souffles, Tarts, Pies, Cobblers, Sorbets, Sherbets, Ice Creams, Cookies, Candies, and Cordials (1999) and/or Ripe for Dessert: 100 Outstanding Desserts with Fruit--Inside, Outside, Alongside (2003), many of these recipes will look familiar. Since both of those books are now out of print, the author revised his favorite recipes from them and added "a dozen" new ones for Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes.

The book begins with an overview of ingredients, all of which either I already have or can easily obtain in any local supermarket with the sole exception of agave nectar. Next is an overview of equipment which is again likely to be found in the kitchen of an average family. The only item I don't have is a food mill (and I live in a one bedroom apartment that does not have a lot of storage space for little-used cake pans or other extraneous items). You may notice the recipes for financiers but the recipe has been adapted for standard muffin tins so don't worry if you (like me) don't have financier molds.

I have nearly 400 cookbooks, about half of which are for dessert, and was still pleased to see so many new flavor combinations and otherwise inventive recipes in Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes. Examples of new-to-me recipes include Nectarine-Raspberry Upside-Down Gingerbread, Pistachio-Cardamom Cake, Lime-Marshmallow Pie, Chocolatr-Caramel Souffles, and Sangria Sorbet. The only chapter that had a lot of what I consider to be fairly standard recipes is Cookies and Candies but even that had several creative recipes such as Peppery Chocolate-Cherry Biscotti and Green Tea Financiers. I was pleased to see so many tempting sauces that can be used with desserts featured in the book or even your favorite store-bought icecream.

The author includes helpful tips throughout the book about where to find ingredients (like cocoa nibs), which steps in a recipe can be done in advance, and how to get the best results from fruit (such as choosing apple varieties).

Each recipe includes serving and storage advice. The author also includes variations for many recipes. Examples include using apple cider in place of Guinness in the Guinness-Gingerbread Cupcakes (to make them more kid-friendly), and using unsweetened applesauce or banana puree if persimmons are not in season (for the Persimmon Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting).

The Cake chapter includes recipes for:
* Chocolate Pave
* Chocolate Orbit Cake
* Marjolaine
* Racines Cake
* Gateau Victoire
* Chocolate-Cherry Fruitcake
* Maple-Walnut Pear Cake
* Guinness-Gingerbread Cupcakes
* Irish Coffee Cupcakes
* Persimmon Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
* Plum-Blueberry Upside-Down Cake
* Nectarine-Raspberry Upside-Down Gingerbread
* Fresh Ginger Cake
* Buckwheat Cake with Cider-Poached Apples
* Spiced Plum Streusel Cake with Toffee Glaze
* Cherry Gateau Basque
* Kumquat Sticky Toffee Puddings
* Pumpkin Cheesecake with Pecan Crust and Whiskey-Caramel Topping
* Ricotta Cheesecake with Orange and Aniseed
* Date-Nut Torte
* Pistachio-Cardamom Cake
* Polenta Cake with Olive Oil and Rosemary
* Coconut Layer Cake
* Passion Fruit Pound Cake
* Banana Cake with Mocha Frosting and Salted Candied Peanuts
* Lemon Semifreddo
* Bahamian Rum Cake
* Coconut and Tropical Fruit Trifle

The Pies, Tarts and Fruit Desserts chapter features recipes for:
* Banana Butterscotch Cream Pie
* Lime-Marshmallow Pie
* Butternut Squash Pie
* Mixed Berry Pie
* Concord Grape Pie
* Peanut, Butter, and Jelly Linzertorte
* Apple Tart with Whole Wheat Puff Pastry and Maple-Walnut Sauce
* Apple-Quince Tarte Tatin
* Apple-Frangipane Galette
* Apple-Red Wine Tart
* Pear Tart with Brown Butter, Rum, and Pecans
* Brazil Nut, Date, and Fresh Ginger Tart
* Easy Marmalade Tart
* Freestyle Lemon Tartlets with White Chocolate Sauce
* Fresh Fig and Raspberry Tart with Honey
* Apricot-Marzipan Tart
* Cherry-Almond Cobbler
* Apple-Pear Crisp with Grappa-Soaked Raisins and Polenta Topping
* Peach-Amaretti Crisp
* Pineapple, Rhubarb, and Raspberry Cobbler
* Nectarine-Berry Cobbler with Fluffy Biscuits
* Baked Apples with Ginger, Dates, and Walnuts
* Very Spicy Baked Pears with Caramel
* Blackberry-Brown Butter Financiers
* Peaches in Red Wine
* Pavlova
* Summer Pudding
* Tropical Fruit Soup with Coconut Sherbet and Meringue
* Champagne Gelee with Kumquats, Grapefruits, and Blood Oranges

The next chapter includes the following recipes for Custards, Souffles, and Puddings:
* Coffee-Caramel Custards
* Chocolate Pots de Crème
* Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse with Pear and Fig Chutney
* Chocolate Ganache Custard Tart
* Orange-Cardamom Flan
* Butterscotch Flan
* Lemon-Ginger Crème Brulee
* Black Currant Tea Crème Brulee
* Super-Lemony Souffles
* Apricot Souffles
* Chocolate-Caramel Souffles
* Banana Souffles
* Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Blueberry Compote
* Orange-Almond Bread Pudding
* Creamy Rice Pudding
* Coconut Tapioca Pudding

The next chapter, Frozen Desserts, includes recipes for:
* Vanilla Ice Cream
* Caramel Ice Cream
* Chocolate Gelato
* No-Machine Chocolate-Banana Ice Cream
* Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream
* White Chocolate-Ginger Ice Cream with Chocolate Covered Peanuts
* Butterscotch-Pecan Ice Cream
* Toasted Coconut Sherbet
* Chocolate-Coconut Sherbet
* Fresh Mint Sherbet with Figs Roasted in Chartreuse and Honey
* Wine Grape Sorbet
* Blood Orange Sorbet Surprise
* Sangria Sorbet
* Chocolate-Tangerine Sorbet
* Passion Fruit-Tangerine Sorbet
* Meyer Lemon Sorbet
* Margarita Sorbet with Salted Peanut Crisps
* Pink Grapefruit-Champagne Sorbet Cocktail
* Watermelon-Sake Sorbet
* Simple Cherry Sorbet
* Strawberry-Mango Sorbet
* Blackberry Sorbet
* Red Wine-Raspberry Sorbet
* White Nectarine Sorbet with Blackberries in Five-Spice Cookie Cups
* Anise-Orange Ice Cream Profiteroles with Chocolate Sauce
* Berries Romanoff with Frozen Sour Cream
* Tangy Lemon Frozen Yogurt
* Blanco y Negro
* Frozen Nougat
* Frozen Caramel Mousse with Sherry-Glazed Pears, Chocolate, and Salted Almonds
* Frozen Sabayon with Blood Orange Soup
* Kiwifruit, Pineapple, and Toasted Coconut Baked Alaska

The next chapter features recipes for Cookies and Candies including:
* Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Cookies
* Chocolate Chip Cookies
* Chocolate Crack Cookies
* Flo's Chocolate Snaps
* Black and White Cookies
* Peanut Butter Cookies
* Cheesecake Brownies
* Robert's Absolute Best Brownies
* Brown Sugar-Pecan Shortbread
* Gingersnaps
* Nonfat Gingersnaps
* Zimtsterne
* Cranzac Cookies
* Orange-Poppy Seed Sandwich Cookies
* Rosemary Cookies with Tomato Jam
* Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons
* Green Tea Financiers
* Mexican Wedding Cookies
* Croquants
* Sesame-Orange Almond Tuiles
* Pecan-Butterscotch Tuiles
* Amaretti
* Almond and Chocolate Chunk Biscotti
* Peppery Chocolate-Cherry Biscotti
* Lemon Quaresimali Cookies
* Chocolate-Port Truffles
* Almond Ding
* Pistachio, Almond, and Dried Cherry Bark
* Spiced Candied Pecans
* Quince Paste

The final chapter includes recipes for Basics, Sauces, and Preserves including:
* Prebaked Tart Shell
* Pie Dough
* Galette Dough
* Pate a Choux Puffs
* Sponge Cake
* Frangipane
* Pastry Cream
* Crème Anglaise
* Champagne Sabayon
* Whipped Cream
* Cognac Caramel Sauce
* Rich Caramel Sauce
* Orange Caramel Sauce
* Tangerine Butterscotch Sauce
* Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce
* Rich Chocolate Sauce
* White Chocolate Sauce
* Blueberry Compote
* Raspberry Sauce
* Mango Sauce
* Strawberry Sauce
* Blackberry Sauce
* Apricot Sauce
* Orange-Rhubarb Sauce
* Candied Cherries
* Candied Ginger
* Soft-Candied Citrus Peel
* Candied Orange Peel
* Pineapple-Ginger Marmalade
* Seville Orange Marmalade
* Plum-Strawberry Jam
* Fig Jam
* Quince Marmalade
* Tomato Jam
* Vin d'Orange
* Nocino

I look forward to trying many of David Lebovitz's creations, and I think my family and co-workers will enjoy partaking in them!

191 of 213 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars I didn't love it as much as I wanted to March 12, 2010

By d bucci

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I am a compulsive baker with an embarrassingly large collection of dessert/baking cookbooks. For another book to make it onto the crowded shelves it has to stand out with unique recipes and techniques. While there are many excellent recipes in this collection that I am thrilled to have is there anyone out there who is thinking; if only I had another recipe for Mexican Wedding Cookies?

They are stingy with the photographs and it is very disappointing that of the pictures included none are of some of the more elaborate desserts where you would like to see what the final product looks like. Instead there are pictures of chocolate chip cookies, pots de creme, gingersnaps, flan, bread pudding, sorbet and frozen yogurt. That is just plain annoying. I would gladly pay more for a book that is well photographed.

I have a great deal of respect for David Lebovitz and was excited to be one of the first to get a look at his new title. There are some books I can say unequivocally, buy it you will love it. This one I would recommend looking through it first to see if it is something you would enjoy.

*Update: Obviously my comments on the book struck a chord among the obsessive bakers/ cookbook collectors out there. It has been bothering me though that other than my comment on the amount of recipes included that I dismissed as too common most were really complaints the publisher was responsible for. I want to update this review with a response to a question on the quality of the recipes in the discussion section for those who don't usually check in on those...

All recipes I have tried from this book do work, and they are clearly written. Many of the recipes are adaptations of classics with David's spin. I probably did a disservice to David by focusing on the book from my point of view as an accomplished baker comfortable adapting and tweaking recipes to suit my own taste. I think the real strength and value in this book is the amount of tips and advice David provides. It would be great for anyone who would like a book to teach them about baking and dessert making instead of just providing recipes. David's humorous conversational writing style is a big plus too.

54 of 64 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars You won't need any other dessert reference (details) February 24, 2010

By Patrick W. Crabtree TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

What most struck me about this work is that, even though these dishes have supposedly come into the author's head over the past thirty years (he says), each of these recipes are clearly right up-to-date and of the 21st Century, quite typical of California chefing. I review and give away lots of cooking and baking books, but I'll be hoarding this little treasure for myself. Every day I cook meals from scratch and I'm very much impressed with this dessert recipe collection.

Author David Lebovitz is a pastry chef who garnered much of his guidance from the Chez Panisse Cafe, (a highly-renowned Berkeley, California venue), an eatery from which many other terrific cookbooks have emanated. Here's my favorite of them all, authored by the restaurant's founder: Chez Panisse Vegetables. In any case, Lebovitz has assembled 172 dessert recipes here, most of which feature mercifully brief ingredient lists. These are recipes which can pretty much all be easily managed by home cooks of moderate experience.

Here is a breakdown of the recipes:

-- Cakes (29 recipes)
-- Pies, Tarts, and Fruit Desserts (29 recipes)
-- Custards, Soufflés, and Puddings (16 recipes)
-- Frozen Desserts (32 recipes)
-- Cookies and Candies (30 recipes)
-- Basic Sauces and Preserves (36 recipes)

The recipes themselves are rendered one or two to a page and since the book format is large (8 1/2" x 11" x 3/4") it's quite easy to follow the instructions as you cook or bake. In fact, I cannot actually recall having seen a nicer recipe layout. I'm reviewing an advance proof edition so the photos in my copy are in black-and-white. It may be the plan of the publisher to print them in color at some point but honestly, it makes no difference to me. These photographs (by Maren Caruso) are crystal clear and I can discern with no difficulty whatever what the finished dishes are supposed to look like. There isn't a picture for every dessert but for the ones where you most need direction, they're there.

There are 274 pages in all which includes an Introduction, tips on equipment and supplies, and so on. Other advanced cooking tips are described in the Appendix.

I found these desserts to be both innovative and inspiring -- toffee puddings, cream pies, sorbets, and numerous old standbys (which have been artfully tweaked to contemporary culinary standards) such as ginger cake and macaroons proliferate this fine cookbook. I should also add that ingredient measurements are conveyed in two ways, by Avoirdupois increments (American standard measurement) and by the metric system.

Most important to me, the author expresses the imperative value in utilizing only the best available ingredients in preparing these wonderful dishes -- I don't see emphasis on this important point much elsewhere and I was pleased to see it here as I heartily agree with this culinary philosophy. Having now read the book from cover to cover, I liked every single recipe in here and I've already made two of the desserts, both of which turned out great.

I feel compelled to say that any erudite home cook or professional chef will benefit from the recipes in this, Lebovitz's most recent dessert book. Highly recommended.