A Collection of Fine Baking: The Recipes of Young Mo Kim (Paperback)

~ Young Mo Kim (Author), Dan Deming (Editor), Yoon Yeom (Photographer) "I began baking when I was 17 years old..." (more)
Key Phrases: mousseline cream, instant dry yeast, cream stage, Making the Cake, Mont Blanc, Paris Brest (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Fancy bakeries in the Far East often fill their display cases with delicacies as intricate as Faberge eggs. These treats are meant to be visual delights as much as gustatory ones; complicated constructions of meringue, gelatin and cream, they look better than they taste. Kim, the current president of the Korean Bakers Association, wants to make these ornate goodies accessible to the home cook, but what home cook would be interested in a chocolate layer cake that requires 20 steps? Replete with a "genoise chart," and recipes for five types of pastry cream, this cookbook is not for the amateur. Strawberry Pear Pudding demands more than an hour of concentrated effort; Double Chocolate Mousse Cake requires more than two. While the technique behind many of these recipes is French, the guiding spirit of the book is Asian: bizarre cartoon characters decorate the pages, and the prose has the stiff, slightly forced syntax of English in translation. However, for a cook with a sweet tooth, a fully-stocked kitchen and a lot of endurance, these well-photographed recipes might delight, or at the very least intrigue.
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Review

"...layout of this book so very easy to use. The step-by-step pictorial instructions are extremely helpful." -- Christopher Papagni, P.h.D. School Director/Dean of Student Affairs The French Culinary Institute, New York City

"I am looking forward to getting my chocolate covered fingerprints all over this book!" -- Christopher Papagni, P.h.D. School Director/Dean of Student Affairs The French Culinary Institute, New York City

This is a cookbook like no other...easy to read book that offers new ideas -- Jennifer A. Wickes

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Dream Character, Inc. (July 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976554305
• ISBN-13: 978-0976554301
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #456,821 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top Notch, September 8, 2005

By	Jennifer A. Wickes "Food Writer" - See all my reviews

A top notch baking book that fuses European pastries with Asian ingredients: Imagine the richness of French desserts mixed with ingredients like green tea and ginger? This is a cookbook like no other.

Young Mo Kim began his adventures in baking when he was 17 years old. His passion brought him to pastry arts school. Before he was 30 years old, he opened his first bakery in Seoul, Korea. Currently, he has four bakeries and one cafe. Not only does he teach baking at culinary schools as well as to home bakers, he is also a celebrity chef on television. He is currently the president of the Korean Bakers Association. This is his third baking book, and the first one in English.

Not only are there fantastic photos of the finished product for each recipe, but also photos of each stage of creation, totally over 1000 photos! I find this extremely helpful when trying a completely new recipe.

Young Mo Kim's experience at teaching home bakers is quite evident. He explains the method to each recipe so well, anyone can try these recipes.

Chapters included in this book are: Simple Delights (cookies, pound cake and more); A World of Bread (croissants, scones, bagels and more); Fantastic Desserts (tarts, souffles and more); Cakes for Special Occasions (genoises, sponges, cheesecakes and more); Valentine's Day (chocolate); Holiday Treats (yule logs, fruit cake and more); ingredients; and equipment.

One of my favorite recipes is: Pumpkin Cake. It is very different from what we usually see. The cake is a layer cake with the cake part made of a pumpkin genoise. Instead of a cream cheese frosting, the cake is filled with a pumpkin mousse. It is topped with chantilly cream. The entire outside of the cake is covered in genoise powder and then utilizing a jack o lantern stencil and cocoa powder, there is a jack o lantern on the top of the cake!

Another tidbit about this book is that there are Dream Character characters that offer tips and ideas throughout the book. It's like getting a tiny bit of anime on each page!

For the home baker that is wanting an easy-to-read book that offers new ideas to baking your repertoire. This is a wonderful book!

UPDATE: Winner of a Gourmand World Cookbook Award for 2006 Best Desserts Book in the World on May 21st, 2006.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even I can bake!, September 9, 2005

By	Rosemarie Guaglieri (New Jersey) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A friend of mine bought me this book to prove to me that even I can bake! She is an excellent baker & I would never even try because I was always intimidated by her baking skills. Well, it turns out - even I can bake! This book or should I call it a baking road map helped me so much. The format of this book is great - it is inviting and does not scare the heck out of you when you open it up. Usually I say, I can't do this stuff. But this book is easy to read and understand. Each baking instruction has a corresponding picture to illustrate the steps. When I go through the recipes I feel like I have Young Mo Kim in the kitchen with me - teaching me - guiding me - helping me along the way. The characters were also very helpful providing tips & guidance & very funny at times. A cookbook with humor - what a concept!! I recommend this book highly and will probably give this as gift to my baking challenged friends and family.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tastes just as good as it looks, September 7, 2005

By	Steve (Tennessee) - See all my reviews

My girlfriend bought this book for me after I said I wanted to try baking at home, and I was a little intimidated at first because all of the pictures looked so professional. But as soon as I dove in, I found that the recipes were very easy to follow, and my cakes ended up looking (almost) as good! But more importantly, they tasted phenomenal. The ingredients are always very specific, they don't want you to use just any old kind of flour. But I'm sure you could and it would still taste great! Anyway, I've made about a dozen of the recipes so far with very little trouble (any omissions were my own I'm sure)and I can't wait to try some of those delicious looking holiday cakes. If you love baking, do yourself a favor and buy this book. If I can use it, you can too!