Patisserie at Home

An excellent book for an adventurous home baker. It has a bunch of base recipes which are then used to construct many classics of French patisserie. It does require a certain level of knowledge and an understanding of process, but I think it strikes a good balance between instructional and aspirational. The reviewer who claims some recipes are incomplete is wrong. I’ve read every one and didn’t spot any howling omissions or errors. (Except for the Epiphany cake which lists 100g of vinegar in the puff pastry instead of 10g – yikes!) Recipes instruct you to make a sponge or cream or meringue from the base section then direct how to use these elements to make the final product, just like in college or a pro kitchen. Occasionally, the time management seemed a little off, placing elements halfway through a recipe that would perhaps be better made the day before, but this may be a stylistic choice to enable things to be made in one day. However, the authors do note when elements can be held overnight, so it's easy to plan differently if necessary. Being French, it requires mostly rings and frames rather than tins and pans, and you might have to get one or two silicone moulds and other assorted paraphernalia if you want to recreate everything exactly (like nozzles, acetate, thermometer, etc.) Thankfully, I haven’t noticed anything too wacky, ingredient wise. Definitely worth a look if you’re keen to learn more technique and go beyond the ordinary.

I bake a lot but never tries anything too fancy. This book is excellent as it has a picture of ever thing you are making and breaks down the recipes so they are really easy to follow. I would say that a lot of them are time consuming or have to be done over a couple of days, which I don't mind but if its not what you are looking for then maybe don't get a patisserie book.

Fantastic, love the step by step guides in these books, makes daunting tasks achieveable, have the baking and french cookery books from the series, highly recommend all 3.

Bought this as a birthday present for my mother. She loved it. Great book, easy to follow instructions. Highly recommended

This book contains a lot of the basic, but essential, recipes required to master French patisserie, as well as more complicated deserts, cakes and sweetmeats, and will encourage you to experiment with you own recipes once you've tried some of the techniques. If you love graphic design, you'll really like the look of the book too, with some really nice illustrations and layouts. My only, minor, criticism is that some of the recipes are a little hard to follow and require you to stop and think about what is going on.

This is a fantastic book. It is exceptional in the way it shows with each recipe the individual steps required with photos so you know how everything should look. I bought this book as a Christmas present for our grand daughter but after looking through it I was so impressed with it that my daughter bought one for me.

No dislikes

Very good

This is a beautiful book containing classic pastries like Paris-Brest, Napoleons, and macarons. The architectural drawings of the pastries help you understand how they're put together, and the recipes are extremely clear and well written. Will you make pastries with an average of six layers of things that must be combined, cooked, and constructed? Maybe not. Nonetheless, you'll enjoy this coffee table book on pastries and appreciate the classic patisserie much more when you eat it.

I bought this for my wife who enjoys making cakes and has always dreaded making pastries. However, this book has changed everything as the book goes through every process step-by-step and now we have our own French patisserie at home! A must buy for those seeking to make French delicious pastries at home.

Hands down best baking book that I have purchased. I went to pastry school and just loved the design and layout of this book, and the diagrams/drawings are super cute and helpful. The recipes are relatively difficult but laid out in step-by-step instructions making them a bit easier. Hoping more like this will be published!

Superbe livre, surtout pour les pros.

The book is top notch and I gladly give it 5 stars! However, I have one criticism: In my eyes, it is not clearly understandable which 2016 edition uses which measurement system (grams versus ounces). As a European, I would have liked to read the recipes in metric. However, the book I bought now has imperial system. This criticism does not change the quality of the book, but is a hint to other buyers to be mindful here. I also find it confusing that there are several spin-offs of chapters as separate books and it is not presented exactly what the reader will find in them.