Customer Reviews

Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

David Lebovitz was a pastry chef at Chez Panisse, Alice Waters' restaurant in Berkeley, for a number of years before he moved on to live in Paris. I think that his work in Ready for Dessert is probably very reflective of that experience. I live in the Berkeley area and am pretty familiar with the food of Chez Panisse, and the influence that it has had on its former chefs--many of which end up opening up their own restaurants in the Bay Area and expand the food philosophy and underlying culinary style and tradition of Chez Panisse, e.g., the use of seasonal, sustainable, and local ingredients put together simply but with a certain flair.

Lebovitz's book is full of grown-up desserts which is reflected by the fact that a good 80% of them, from cakes to ice cream, involve the addition of alcohol and liqueurs. There are very few "down-home" or classic American type desserts in this book. Most of the offerings are what you might find at an upscale restaurant's menu like Chez Pannisse, for example, peach-marscapone semifreddo, champagne gelee with kumquats grapefruits and blood oranges, concord grape pie, peaches in red wine, black currant tea creme brulee, red wine-raspberry sorbet, frozen sabayon with blood orange soup, chocolate port truffles, and rosemary cookies with tomato jam, etc.

The reasons that I appreciate this book are, (1) Lebovitz really provides a host of recipes that can expand a home baker's repertoire, (2) I appreciate that he included weights for all of his recipes (an important tool for increasing the likelihood that a home baker can replicate intended results in their own home), (3) the book has some gorgeous photos and is generous with providing a substantial amount of them, (4) the "basics, sauces and preserves" section at the end of the book provide some great classic recipes that all home bakers should have in their tool belt, e.g., all-butter pie dough, a really easy press in tart dough, pastry cream, etc., and finally (5) David's writing style make this book a great read beyond just baking from it.

I took away two-stars because I think that many of the recipes are not that accessible to a broad audience. California, and the Bay Area in particular, is very lucky to have access throughout the year to the type of produce that is called for in these books. There is also a vibrant food culture that supports farmers' markets which allow a Californian to follow the food philosophy of eating locally and in season that Chez Panisse likes to advocate. In addition, while I like the opportunity to increase the sophistication of my dessert palette, I find the addition of alcohol in most of Lebovitz's desserts a bit excessive. I have a young child, and a husband who is just not a fan of the taste of alcohol. They both just don't appreciate the more "finer" style of desserts that this book offers. As such, Lebovitz's book sits on my shelf except for the occasional fellow foodie "girls night" dinner party I may throw. While I am a fan of Lebovitz's blog, I really prefer a baking book that allows me give it a thorough work through, e.g., I can use it often, and it has the potential to satisfy many palettes through sharing the creations with friends, neighbors and colleagues. Unfortunately, Ready for Dessert just does not have that kind of range.

Here are the recipes I have already made, my thoughts on those recipes in particular, and my thoughts on the book as a whole:

Soft-Candied Lemon Peel and Candied Orange Peel- I'd never tried this and since a recipe was in the book I thought I should give it a try. The peeling was obviously the time consuming part of this project but now I have two jars in the fridge waiting to be used this weekend when I make the Guinness Gingerbread Cupcakes (as a garnish).

Candied Ginger- I've bought this but never thought to make it. It was a tedious and drawn out process. Blanching three times, boil in lots of sugar water to the appropriate temperature, let rest, drain, dry, dip in more sugar, dry some more. Several things to note, the end product is way better than any store bought candies ginger I've ever tasted! Second, I used the sugar water left over from boiling the ginger as he suggested by sweetening homemade lemonade. Wow, it was the best!

Gingersnaps- I love gingersnaps and there are two recipes in the cookbook, one nonfat. I made the regular recipe but added some of the candied ginger (how could I not???) even though it wasn't called for. This is the first gingersnap recipe I've ever made that called for freshly ground pepper! My husband and I agreed this was our favorite recipe thus far.

Banana Soufflés- (see picture) This was only my second soufflé I've ever made and it tasted pretty good. The original recipe calls for pastry cream which he has a recipe for later in the book. However, I didn't feel like scaling the recipe down to a fifth and adding that much more time to the end dessert. So, I followed his variation suggestion and replaced it with sugar, making it less rich. I also followed another one of his variations by adding dark chocolate to the mix before baking. Because of the variation it was sweeter than the standard soufflé but was quite tasty.

Apple Pear Crisp with Grappa Soaked Raisins- Since I was serving this to Japanese dinner guests I omitted the raisins, they don't eat them. I followed the recipe, using pecans for the nut and cornmeal in place of the polenta. My husband and I both agreed we enjoyed the apple pear mixture more than the standard apple crisp recipes. However, we are partial to my crumb topping with oatmeal from a different recipe.

Pistachio-Cardamom Cake- A friend came over to cook Indian food for us so I thought I should make an Indian inspired dessert. The most time consuming part of this cake is shelling the pistachios and for me breaking cardamom pods open for the seeds (I only had pods on hand). It was easy to put together and looked lovely. I was worried it would be too strong but was pretty good (slightly dry though, I think it could have used less time in the oven). Our Indian friend loved it, he had two pieces!

Overall take of the book: I ended up pretty much skipping the entire Frozen Desserts section because I don't have an ice cream maker at the moment and don't plan on picking on up until later this year. You'll find some normal recipes like gingersnaps and chocolate chip cookies, but the majority of the recipes are unique. I love how he gives variations to some of the ingredients as well as proper storage (how long it's good for and how to keep it). Some recipes would cost a fortune to make, especially ones that call for liquor that you don't keep on hand and wouldn't use again. David Lebovitz surely knows his desserts and the book itself is a great read. He introduces each of his desserts with a related story to it (I particularly like his history with creme brulee). Some recipes are work intensive and others don't take long at all to put together. It has something for everyone! I recommend this book to anyone that wants to try desserts that are more exotic than the standard fair.

If you enjoy baking and/or sweet treats, then "Ready for Dessert" is going to be a cookbook that you'll savor.

In David Lebovitz's "Ready for Dessert," he offers over 250 pages of dessert recipes, including cakes, ice cream, cookies, fruit desserts and more. He's also included a helpful introduction detailing not just the ingredients you'll find in his cookbook, but what types would make for the best cooking experience.

While I'm a pretty basic person (give me a good chocolate dessert any day), Lebovitz has quite a wide variety of desserts for anybody's taste. The offerings range from simple (Chocolate Orbit Cake) to fairly complex (White Nectarine Sorbet with Blackberries).

This is not a book for the casual baker, though, as many of the ingredients might be hard to find (I know that I can't necessarily locate some of these easily in my local grocery, and wouldn't know where to go for some of the more unusual items). To be fair, Lebovitz does mention in the introduction where you can find some of these things, but not every area can support specialty items. The other reason this book isn't for the casual baker is because many of the recipes are complex - requiring several extra steps beyond just throwing everything in a bowl, mixing it up and popping it in the oven. To make the majority of these desserts requires a commitment level that, usually, I don't want to give to my baking.

Overall, though, "Ready for Dessert" has enough variety in recipes to satisfy even the pickiest sweet tooth. Recommended.

I come from the school of thought that says rock bands shouldn't release their Greatest Hits album until their career is complete. Likewise, chefs should restrain themselves from re-releasing their favorite recipes until their career enters a culminating phase. That said, David Lebovitz's Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes will be excused since some of his previous books are no longer in print, and his greatest hits truly are classics worth reprinting.

Quite frankly, when this book's release was announced I was surprised. Lebovitz seems to have left the hustle of the big kitchen for a quiet life in Paris where he writes and offers culinary tours. He already had a string of successful and widely lauded cookbooks, some of which have become standards on many a baker's shelf. And his blog fanbase has grown steadily, suggesting a comfortable ex-pat existence in the City of Love. I've always viewed Lebovitz as a modern-day Julia Child. Proven creds, strong training, and a wit that wraps his recipes like taut butcher's twine. But his books aren't so far out of print that they aren't accessible. Even so, this was an opportunity for him to hone and update a few recipes and re-present them with gorgeous photography and a new lens - the lens of a wising elder.

David Lebovitz spent thirteen years in the Chez Panisse kitchen learning and teaching the craft of using local and seasonal ingredients in pastry. He is mostly field trained with some academic background, but has worked in a handful of San Francisco kitchens making a name for himself and his employers.

The reviews of this latest book have been largely favorable. Condé Nast Traveler called the book the "dessert genius David Lebovitz's opus." The Washington Post claimed "Lebovitz is solidly among the pantheon of modern bakers."

At just shy of 300 pages with 170 recipes covering cakes, pies, custards, frozen desserts, cookies and basics, this could serve as a base reference book. Again I compare it to Baking with Julia as a potential standard for any home baker. In my recipe testing I focused in on the three recipes held out as Lebovitz's favorites: Fresh Ginger Cake, Champagne Gelée with Citrus, and Chocolate Chip Cookies. Each turned out just as expected with fresh, bold, but not flashy flavors. Each was easily doable for bakers of any level. And each was thoroughly enjoyed by my guests. I appreciated Lebovitz's inclusion of metric measures, in addition to the clunky cups and teaspoons. This little perk elevates the function of the book to one that allows professional chefs to use it as well. Yet this book is not without flaws.

The photography is from the award winning Maren Caruso. The photos are bright, vibrant and truly capture the texture of each dessert. The cover photo alone is enough to make me want to lick the page with the luscious chocolate cascading over the moist cake layers. But I want more. I confess, I always want more photos. And I recognize that photos are more expensive for the printers to produce, but it seems that the more complicated recipes are also the ones lacking pictures in this book. I also wanted more pictures of Lebovitz and his life in Paris since his life is as much of an interest to his fans as is his cooking.

And that critique carries forward into my second criticism, which is the lack of personality in the book. I was baffled by the number of reviews who talk about Lebovitz and his personality and character, as I saw so little of this in Ready for Dessert that I was disappointed. It is difficult to write a review in a vacuum and, with Lebovitz, his fans follow his blog and have read his memoir, The Sweet Life in Paris, so they may feel like they know Lebovitz fairly well. As someone who certainly knows Lebovitz, but wouldn't count himself as an ardent fan, I knew enough about his personality to say that it is only modestly included in the book. I felt at times as if he didn't want to take the time to give us an anecdote because you could find it in his other books. That paucity means that this is a cookbook, nothing more, nothing less. Don't expect the fun, wit, and adventure of his memoir. Simply expect a recipe with a brief introduction and a tip or two.

My final criticism is the lack of freshness. Here's a man who has defined his career by fresh ingredients, and his recipes feel... well, stale. The recipes are diverse in their breadth, and solid in their performance, but nothing that will prove to be exciting or unique. Having followed his blog from a distance I know that he has some innovative and exciting recipes and techniques, but for some reason they didn't make it into this book. The omitted recipe that is part of my regular repertoire is his super fast French Pastry Dough which (with my adaptation of his adaptation) allows me to have a pastry shell made and baked in less than 15 minutes. Ready for Dessert sticks to the safe classics, and with those the reader won't be disappointed.

Beyond those criticisms, Ready for Dessert is a solid book. Home bakers of all levels will appreciate the simple and sure recipes, while advanced bakers will take the foundations and whisk in their own personality. And just as many great musicians continue their careers after a Greatest Hits album, so too will David Lebovitz. His age too young, and his talents too great to stop now. I'll be waiting to see what greatness is yet to come, and in this meantime, Ready for Dessert will get nestled into an already crowded bookshelf.

This book is a compilation of chef David Lebovitz's personal favourite and proven recipes, and like most compilation works, many of these recipes are currently available from other sources both print and online and even on David's own website and blog.

What sets this book apart from other compilation type works is that is it not a mere reprinting or rehashing of pre-published recipes; David Lebovitz actually added helpful tips and notes throughout to help the home baker achieve results. These tips on some frequently asked questions are printed right next to the relevant recipes in attention grabbing little "tip boxes". While these same notes may be found online, one must usually dig for them in the many comments, suggestions, reviews and replies under each online recipe.

The recipes contained in this book are considered modern urban-American recipes, meaning that there is a good mix of international flavours and influences interpreted for the American palate. If you are looking for All-American-Recipes, Classic French Desserts or Viennese Pastries then this is not the book for you. Sample recipes include: Chocolate Orbit Cake, Lemon Semifreddo, Guinness-Gingerbread Cupcakes, Summer Pudding, Sorbets, Pate a Choux, and Zimtsterne. Readers new to David Lebovitz's work should note that he is an American Chef, trained in California, who is currently living in Paris and his recipes do reflect that.

If you are already a fan or reader of Chef Lebovitz's blog, then the format of the book and its recipes are instantly recognizable. Each recipe is preceded by a short story, and gorgeous photos are one per every few recipes. This is not a Martha Stewart styled visual overload of one photo per step. And unlike Martha Stewart's compilations, David Lebovitz does frequently personally respond to comments, suggestions and questions posed by readers of his printed and online contributions. What other chef or author does that? As a result, the reader can be assured that this latest compilation, does contain the chef's latest thoughts on each recipe.

Overall a very pleasant and welcome surprise from a very approachable chef. Recommended for any David Lebovitz fan, and a wonderful introduction to those that are new to his work.

Desserts of all sorts, along with funny and endearing anecdotes. There is something for everyone: cakes (including a can't-mess-it-up chocolate cake and ginger cake), frozen desserts (red-wine raspberry sorbet, lemon frozen yogurt), custards, fruit desserts, cookies, candies, and family favorites such as best-ever brownies... This is a great book for every-once-in-a-while cooks as well as cooks who devour recipe books and culinary lit.

Lebovitz emphasizes the basics we all appreciate: chocolate (!) and seasonal (hopefully local) foods. Strengths include a friendly tone, unfussy attitude, and the wisdom of a very skilled pastry chef. On the down-side, the author expects us to have some fancy kitchen tools, and doesn't offer alternatives for the less-well-off cook. Not just a beautiful coffee-table book, a fun and funny book of culinary inspiration, destined to be well-thumbed, stained, and kept close at hand in the kitchen.

Unaware of Lebovitz till obtaining this cookbook, I was stunned by its diversity and creativity. It is right up my dessert alley, having a nice selection of what I like to make, with lots of tarts, pies, sorbets, crisps and cobblers, many of them fruit laden. The author describes this as the best of his repoitoire and then some additions and corrections.

I have had time to experience three of a mounting list of the "have to try" category: Pear Tart with Brown Butter, Rum and Pecans; Red Wine-Raspberry Sorbet and Banana Butterscotch Cream Pie (which uniquely has an unbelievably good toffee smoothness and taste with its chocholate-cookie crust. These were not that difficult to pull off and had amazing success and raving compliments from guest diners. That makes about 167 more recipes to try!

It comes with excellent sections on ingredients and equipment, along with tips and alternatives on many recipes, all with Ten Speed's 'par-for-the-course' nice large format and exquisite color photos of most of the dishes.

Sure to become one of my go-to's for great dessert!