Patisserie: Mastering the Fundamentals of French Pastry - Updated Edition

by Christophe Felder

Newly updated and expanded with 3,500 step-by-step photographs, all the classics of French patisserie are made accessible for the home cook. For every serious home baker, French pastry represents the ultimate achievement. But to master the techniques, a written recipe can take you only so far—what is equally important is to see a professional in action, to learn the nuances of rolling out dough for croissaints or caramelizing apples for a tarte tatin. For each of the 233 recipes here, there are photographs that lead the reader through every step of the instructions. There has never been such a comprehensive primer on patisserie. The important base components—such as crème patisserie, pâte à choux, and chocolate ganache—are presented as stand-alone recipes. Once comfortable with these, the home baker can go on to tackle the famous and more complex creations—such as Éclairs, Saint-Honoré, Opéra—as well as feel empowered to explore new and original combinations. An entire chapter is devoted to decoration as well as sauces, syrups, and fillings. Whether used to develop skills or to refine techniques, to gain or simply broaden a repertoire, Patisserie dispels the mystery around classic French pastries, so that everyone can make them at home.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Cuisine, Nonfiction, Reference

800 pages, Hardcover

First published October 7, 2010

Reviews

[Anna Nesterovich · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a very interesting book of recipes. No matter what I try from it, nothing works! It seems the author writes down something not right in every single recipe, which means only one thing - he does it on purpose. I only tried a few, but all of them were a disaster.

I feel kinda bad for giving such a low rating to a book that everyone else seems to like, but I think I know why it's so frustrating. Maybe it only concerns the American edition, who knows. The author talks a lot about precision and how you have to follow the recipe and measure ingredients out exactly. And then he gives amounts in the recipes in cups, ounces and grams... And 1 pound suddenly becomes 500 g! The very first recipe calls for 9 oz or 250 g of flour. The problem is, I don't know in which units those recipes would work. I prefer grams, but apparently, since they don't work, they were not the original unit.

Those are the recipes I tried several times:

Meringue Mushrooms - The picture in the book is so perfect. My attempt falls squarely into the epic fail category. I don't think I'll trying making those mushrooms again. And there is way too much sugar in the recipe (120 g for 2 eggs?!) I'd prefer it cut by half, or at least a third. I'm giving this three stars for a fresh idea. I've been doing my meringues always the same way, slowly adding sugar while beating the whites. Here you just put them together, but beat warm (at 45-50 C). It's not really faster, but the taste is different.

Double-Chocolate Madeleines - That definitely weren't the best madeleines I've ever made, on the contrary. And I'm usually quite good at making them!

Coconut Macaroons - Supposed to be easy... Easy enough, but they turned out not subject to any shaping. But it makes tasty (in a vary mundane way) blobs, of course.

Anyway, this book is way too heavy to be handy, and I don't like it :)

[Maggie Galbraith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have the original French version of this book and it is nothing short of amazing. Thoroughly researched and tested, this book has never let me down.

[Albertus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kurze, in sich abgeschlossene Episoden, die ein gelungenes großes Ganzes ergeben. Sehr passend illustriert und macht Lust aufs weiterlesen

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's a beautiful book. But like some other reviewers, none of the recipes worked for me. I weighed the ingredients and followed the directions exactly. Could be the U.S. edition.

[Amelie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice book albeit I don’t enjoy all my deserts the way he teaches us. (His pâte feuilletée is a tiny bit overcooked) On a positive note you can easily and pretty quickly master the art of Pastry thanks to his tips

[Claudie D · Rating 4 out of 5]

La pâtisserie en 200 leçons et des poussières. le livre est agréable à lire et les recettes bonnes. Niveau fiabilité, c'est plutôt pas mal dans le genre car j'en suis à la 6ème leçon et il n'y a que la numéro 5 qui n'a rien donné de valable (pâte à beignets trop liquide).
A recommander.

[Dray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite an instructional compilation. There are patisserie I did not know existed. These are recipes that you can’t wing but are well presented. Great book to expand your repetoire.

[Alicia Marquina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super completo, es un verdadero curso de pastelería

[Bea Ruiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book. I have loved it since I got it in 2013. Every recipe works out well. Even when you haven’t baked for months and months. Just follow the steps accurately.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

While it may not have splashy, bling photography that excites so many these days it IS full, comprehend and what's more foolproof pastry cookbook. It's actually more than a cookbook - it's a complete reference on the topic. I know that we "eat with our eyes", but more than a colorful, glam photography cookbook, I value more the ones with the recipes that are actually workable and the result won't disappoint.
Mind you it's not for the faint hearted, but if you're willing to try and really, actually learn a process or technique it's the best book I can recommend.
Tried good few recipes already, and as long as you weight your ingredients carefully and follow the instructions (which are fully supported by many step-by-step photos and are very "user friendly") you're bound to succeed!
You DO NOT have to be a pastry chef to use and enjoy this cookbook!

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not a baker, but my son is. I brought home the book from the library and have been enthralled by the photos and design. He, on the other hand, is mapping out this coming summer vacation as "the season of the French pastries." I couldn't be more satisfied!

Note: the 5 stars are for the design, text, and overall reading experience of this book. We haven't tested the recipes (yet!).

[Adrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just great - complete reference, with pictures, on almost any French pastry recipe you would ever want. Whole large section on Macarons and another on Viennosieries.

[Veronique · Rating 5 out of 5]

He offers excellent instructions with delicious results. The photographic instructions are so useful. Every recipe from this book has been phenomenal, really. We borrowed it from the library to test it out and loved it right away. So happy to have bought it and put it permanently in our cookbook collection.

[Jesse Henning · Rating 4 out of 5]

gorgeous. got it from the library and quickly realized that this is a straight-up project cookbook written for people who want to play at being pro pastry chefs. if it wasn't 60 clams, it'd be on my shelf.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not for the faint-hearted weekend baker, (me) this book has explicit directions but disappointing photography... its pure function and not a pretty, feel happy about baking yummy pastries, type of cookbook.

[emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay - it has all the basic information/instructions for classic french pastries, but I think I was looking for something more than that. I'd trade this for something by Christophe Michalak any day.

[Julielf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Evidemment, j'ai la version française.
Même quand c'est difficile à réaliser, tout est tellement bien expliqué, qu'il est impossible de rater quoi que ce soit.

[Alvina Ledru · Rating 4 out of 5]

Malgré un visuel qui ne fait pas vraiment rêver, cet ouvrage est une bible. Toutes les recettes classiques y sont présentes. Et les explications sont très bonnes.

[Benjfine]

bon

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous photos to show each step in the process, very comprehensive.

[Christine Soudier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this pastry book. Great recipes and well explained.