Desserts for Dummies

By Bill Yosses, Alison Yates, Bryan Miller

Does the thought of baking a cake conjure up a nightmare vision of a 15-ft layer cake, scrolled and fluted with decorations fit for a king? If the word "dessert" just throws you into a cold sweat, the inside scoop on desserts is: they're actually simple to make. And with the right help...well, just a piece of cake. In the end, desserts are no harder to make than entrees. And with Desserts For Dummies , you'll cut even a Wedding Cake recipe down to size, flip Crepes Suzette with aplomb, and throw together a batch of Chocolate Truffles your local chocolatier will envy. And with this handy, down-to-earth guide from a leading pastry chef and a former New York Times restaurant critic, you'll discover the proper way to read a dessert recipe, organize your ingredients, and also how to: Think like a sweet chef--including basic tips on measuring, weighing, presenting, gauging cooking time, and pairing desse rts with meals Stock a pantry, and use leftovers creatively (such as caramel and meringue) Set up a kitchen--including tips on counter height and ovens Select the right cooking tools and how to use them Before you know it, you'll start creating desserts that you've only dreamed of, like: Pies and tarts--including Mom's Apple Pie, Banana Cream Pie, Raspberry Tart, and Linzertorte Puff pastry, cream puffs, and eclairs--Classic Puff Pastry, Profiteroles, Napoleons, and Eclairs Crepes and blinis--including Crepes Suzette and Chocolate Blinis with Diced Bananas Custards and puddings--including Zabaglione, Vanilla Pastry Cream, Traditional Bread Pudding, and Rice Pudding Homemade cakes--including Whipped Cream Layer Cake, Classic Chocolate Mousse Layer Cake, and Yellow Chiffon Cake with Chocolate Frosting With over 130 delicious recipes to choose from, plus sixteen pages of color photos, a summary cheatsheet of baking essentials, black-and-white how-to illustrations, and humorous cartoons along the way, Desserts For Dummies brings the world of delicious, elegant desserts right to your kitchen. And a little magic into the lives of your friends and family.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0764550470
• ISBN13: 9780764550478
• Release Date: October 1997
• Publisher: For Dummies
• Length: 424 Pages
• Weight: 1.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 7.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

I overcame my fear of baking

The book made me feel confident and I took on more and more recipes. They all came out wonderful. My family is trying a lot of new dishes out of Dessert for Dummies, and they love them all.

Bravo!

The recipes are great, beautiful, wonderful, and most importantly-just about fool proof! Try the lemon poppy seed cake with the blueberry topping. It alone I think was worth the price of the book. The only time I messed a recipe up was when I was to impatient to wait for a pan of custard to cool. Stunning recipes for a novice cook.

Great book for those just starting!!!

I went to school(BICC in Baltimore)for baking and pastry and can only wish that I had had these guys as teachers. Very informative with easy to use directions. They explain every thing very thoroughly and I gotta tell you the pie dough recipe is excellent. I am no longer afraid to attempt pie making!!! If you are into desserts and want a good book with some great recipes go for this one to start your collection. You just can't go wrong.