Desserts by Pierre Herme [Rilegato]

After reading all the other reviewers who either gushed over or maligned this book, I felt compelled to give yet another opinion which I hope will clarify the polarized opinions on this cookbook.
First, if you are looking to find a cookbook on comfort food or "the-way-Mom-used-to-make-it-desert" for your next family gathering, DON'T GET THIS ONE. Also, if you're on a frugal budget or a time crunch, again, LOOK ELSWHERE. This is one of the GREATEST patisserie chefs in the world. And he gives us in his cookbook all the extravagance, style, taste and showmanship that title carries. The recipes are expensive, time consuming and sometimes tricky. They contain specialty ingredients and use specialty tools. Any substitutions based on economy or convenience will probably result in failure.
On the other hand, if you long to create something really extraordinary and impressive and have the time and pocketbook to match don't hesitate to get this. Although some ingredients are special, they are not so hard to obtain. If you can read and write, you can cook from this. Both experienced and beginner cooks. I can't account for a previous reviewer who complained about confusing directions. All I can say about that is some people don't bother reading directions thoroughly, make a mess, and then blame the directions. I have baked time and again from this book, from the simple and delicious coconut pound cake to the spectacular and complex "Melody," and never a glitch in the preparation. I have to tell my guests that I made it. They always just assume its created by a professional chef and ask me for his number.
So there you have it. Know yourself before you decide to spend the money on this one. Definetely for the serious cook only.

This is a long review, in which I relate in detail my experience with one basic recipe which illustrates my overall impression of the book. Sometimes the method is unusual and produces fantastic results but ONLY AFTER you've made the first, experimental batch that might go to waste. I want to preface the review by saying that I have been baking for years, am familiar with all the basic techniques and have experience making complicated cakes and pastries that require multiple steps. And while some things I am better at (nut meringue anyone? the prefect choux paste?) than others (oh, not another curdled custard @@#%$), the one thing I am truly good at is following the instructions, to the letter. SO here goes:

This book is not for a beginner. If you don't have any other books on baking in your collection, don't make this the first one because some recipes need to be compared with those in other books.

Case in point: BUTTER CREAM
I bought special European butter and fresh eggs from the local farm. I followed instructions to the letter even though one part of the recipe really went against my instincts and previous experience with butter cream: the amount of sugar. The recipe calls for 3 CUPS OF SUGAR for 7 EGG Yolks and about a POUND OF BUTTER. Now, 3 cups sounded way too much for the amount of other ingredients but I went ahead anyway. Well it turned out that 7 yolks cannot absorb this much sugar syrup, and instead of acquiring the lovely marshmallow texture while being beaten and cooling with the syrup, they turn into dry powdery mixture. Even though they did not look right, I went ahead and added all the crazily expensive butter to it. In the end, the cream looked all right, but the texture was all wrong: it left a powdery trace on the tongue as if it was made with confectioner's sugar. And even aside from the texture imperfections, the cream was just TOO SWEET.
The cream could not be used. It was a waste of time and money.

I looked in Baking with Julia to check the proportions. And of course: 2 CUPS OF SUGAR for 16 yolks and 2 POUNDS of BUTTER - LESS SUGAR for TWICE the quantity of other ingredients.

In the end I made the butter cream with 1.5 cups of sugar (and water amount reduced accordingly) and then it was lovely. The technique - adding butter to the yolks and beating with a whisk instead of paddle attachment - produces a superbly light and satiny cream.

Another point about the butter cream. The temperature for the sugar syrup is given at 145F. Be ware, the syrup begins to caramelize at 140 F. At 145 it is almost at hard ball stage and cannot be incorporated into the yolks. Again, checking in Baking with Julia, you'll find that the syrup is ready at 139 F, which really is the perfect point.

Bottom line for this recipe: fantastic method but the proportions are definitely not right.

The lemon cream, on the other hand, is SUPREME. I've read the reviews where people complained about it being like lemon butter, but I suspect that they did not follow through with the crucial step of mixing it in a blender. Or maybe they did not follow the temperature instructions. If you do follow the instructions, the result is sublime. I could just eat the whole thing right out of the blender. It sets beautifully in the fridge.

Another great tip from the book: mixing several types of cream together to produce a divinely light filling. I mixed some of the lemon cream with the adjusted butter cream and then folded in some whipped heavy cream - TO DIE FOR.

But don't grow too confident. Try the coconut cake. Yes, it is fabulous. But the amount of milk did not work for me: too much. The cake had to bake for almost two hours ( I even bought an oven thermometer after this to make sure my oven is well calibrated; it is) and still did not bake through (although it still tasted delicious). I will make the recipe again, but will add less milk. Again, if you check similar recipes in other books, you will see that they use less liquid.

BOTTOM LINE: You need experience before attempting recipes from this book. Some of the recipes may not come out right on the first try, but if you tweak them, the result might be out of this world. But the learning experience might cost you a lot of time and money. Some recipes contain curious glitches. Do not follow all the recipes blindly. Use your common sense, previous experience and another trusty source. With these reservations in mind, I believe the book is worth the money. Even if not all the recipes work on first attempt, the innovative techniques and combinations of flavors are well worth the expense and time ( and the inevitable mistakes).

UPDATE: One of recipes I've used again and again from this book is The Perfect Tart Dough. It makes a large quantity, but you can freeze what you don't use; it is going to be as good 2 months later from the freezer as on the first day. This is absolutely the BEST tart dough i've ever tasted. It is tender; crumbly; takes any kind of filling without getting soggy; use it pre-baked or as is according to recipes.

I was surprised to see a reader's diasppointment with a book I love. Desserts by Pierre Herme is an accurate and faithful rendering of the work of France's most celebreated pastry chef by an author well accustomed to translating the work of professionals into consumer terms. And despite the reader's disappointment with the lack of weights provided for the ingredients, the recipes work well -- I know, since I have tried many of them.

About measuring: There are accurate and inaccurate methods of measuring, both by weight and volume. The right way to measure by volume is to gently spoon dry ingredients into a dry measure cup ans level off with the back of a knife or spatula. The right way to measure by weight is to use an accurate scale. Many scales made for home use are not particularly sensetive and will yeild no better results than by volume measure. To say nothing of the fact that every day, millions of people follow volume-measure recipes with good results -- what's the problem?

Some authors do include weights for ingredients -- I did so in my first book, Perfect Pastry -- I no longer do, because I don't consider it important. Neither does Maida Heatter -- is there a more successful and accuracy-based author than Maida? I don't think so.

Nick Malgieri