Patisserie: A Masterclass in Classic and Contemporary Patisserie

'Patisserie' is truly inspirational: the photography stunning; and the writing clear and concise. The format and layout of the book is as exquisite as the delicacies within. A keen baker, but with no practical experience of patisserie, I am astounded at what I have achieved using this book. Initially somewhat daunted by the more decadent dishes, I was surprised by how doable they are: complex confections are broken down in to clear stages; the instructions succinct, and accompanied by invaluable step by step photos. Clearly cross referenced throughout, the book is a joy to use. Much more than a recipe book, Patisserie includes interesting historical information, and really practical advice on ingredients, equipment, and 'basic' techniques. Particularly useful is the reference section detailing suppliers for some of the more specialist equipment and ingredients. The dishes are so varied, both in palate and complexity, yet the approach so comprehensive that this book is relevant for all levels of interest and experience, from keen amateurs to professionals alike. I cannot recommend this book highly enough, and look forward to taking a class at their Belgravia Boutique, to experience baking in a fully equipped kitchen!

Note: this book is for people who are serious in baking and perfecting their skills. Yes, anyone can follow most of the book (minus the chocolate art) and is a great read for ideas. Personally I love it and can easily do most just by understanding your own version (a real chef/ baker and home cook should never copy recipes but use them as a guide). Will yours be this perfect?.... no, unless you are in a decent restaurant. However this is great for anyone wanting to understand higher quality baking to increase their skills. No book is perfect and everyone has different skill levels but if you are full keen on been a better baker then please try this book or something similar. I have been in the fine dining business for 1-2 years and this years and this is the route I want to take, I have tried 3 unique recipes so far and they came out better then I thought as I didn't have the chocolate spirals but know how to do them.

I love it but whether or not I will actually make any of the recipes is another matter. They look delicious and have plenty of clear instructions and illustrations. The recipes range from relatively straightforward to really quite complex so building your confidence on the foundation recipes seems essential - even if you use the result for something other than one of the book's recipes. Also you may find you need equipment which you never previously knew existed - pomponette moulds for example - and which may not be that simple to find as from my research it appears they are mainly aimed at professional kitchens. The first section has all the essential recipes for various types of pastry, sponges, meringues, creams, pralines, caramel, custards, syrups, decorations, mousse and so on. These recipes are then used in the ensuing more complex recipes and are referred to as, for example, 1 quantity biscuit joconde, 1 quantity alcohol syrup and so forth. Each recipe does set out what ingredients you will need (although you may have to refer to previous foundation recipes) and will also tell you what special equipment you need eg numbers and/or sizes of tart rings, entrement rings, pomponette moulds, piping nozzles, cutters etc. I think it will require some dedication on my part to start doing some of these recipes and I hope I will actually make them.

Perfect patisserie book. The first part is dedicated to all the techniques and their variations (for example, all the different kind of meringue) in a very step-by-step approach. It also explains on some cases what can goes wrong and why it went wrong this way (too hot, beating too long,...). The fact that all those basics are shown side by side highlights the differences between one another. It also gives really good basics for people who wants to start decorating cakes with colors and chocolate elements. The second part is about recipes, there is a good mix from "simple" viennoiserie to more complicated cakes as seen on the cover. There are not many but I think the philosophy of the book is really a starting point to create your own cakes with their own decorations, hence it gives you those few recipes as examples of how to combine flavours and apply the technics and then off you go for your own adventure. I also appreciated the introduction pages that present you the various ingredients and the material available on the market nowadays, the pros and the cons of each. For example: copper moulds, silicon moulds, glucose and other sugars available for deocration,...

This is not a recipe book for the faint hearted... this is for people who wants to challenge themselves and dedicate lots of time to creating beautiful and tasty desserts. I like the step by step guide and the fact that a very large proportion of the book covers the different techniques/basics of patisserie - very useful for a beginner like me. I've learnt a hell of a lot from the one entremet recipe I tried, all of which will help me when I make my next attempt. I think my best bit of advice for those who've just bought this is to read over the recipes in their entirety several times and do make the double quantity it suggests, you don't have to make 2 you can just freeze what's leftover... the recipes are timely and require lots of different parts so much easier if the next time around you already have a couple leftover joconde sponges sitting in the freezer! :).

Beautiful cook book, though a lot of the recipes are for advanced (or challenge loving) bakers. It was bought as a gift and I'm hoping I'll get to sample some of the cakes. On a side note a lot of the recipes contain gelatin so not an ideal book for vegetarians.

Ce livre a fait un bon et beau cadeau très apprécié. Richement illustré et plein d'informations indispensables pour patisser comme un pro.

Absolutely wonderful. It is now 2022 and this cookbook is in keeping with all that you need to know to achieve beautiful, high-end, delicious, desserts. Yes, you must buy the tools you will need and that is as it should be for this level of high end desserts. The cook book is brilliantly meticulous in organization, comprehensive directions regarding recipes and tips. The images are of the highest quality your eyes can partake of in a cookbook. The images are a valuable aid in achieving excellence with each dessert. So glad I am the owner of this high end, exquisite cookbook. Happy New Year!

Es un libro excelente, tiene desde recomendaciones y consejos hasta procedimientos con una excelente explicación de cada una de las recetas. Recomendado al cien por ciento.

Non ho provato nulla ancora da questo libro ma anche solo a guardare le immagini me ne innamoro sempre di più. E' decisamente un libro per amatori esperti della pasticceria. Anche se è scritto in inglese le ricette sono comprensibilissime e ogni ricetta è corredata di foto. Pierre hermé però non è uno degli autori del libro è sua solo la presentazione.

My copy was an older edition and had a different cover to the one shown, but that aside, the contents are identical. The patisserie techniques described are quite advanced and quite daunting to be honest. You also need quite a lot of new equipment to make some of these amazing patisserie creations, including some unique molds, this will require quite a large expense (or investment, depending on how you look at it), so be prepared for that, as well as the steep learning curve needed to master some of these techniques. Remember, to get to William Curley's level of skill requires many years of training and practice. I'm still giving it five stars, if only because as a reference it's very useful, even though I probably won't make most of the creations shown.