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Rating: 
Summary: Track this book down if you love baking!
Review: Gaston Lenotre has compiled a mouth-watering book of French pastries that an intermediate or ambitious beginning cook should have no trouble using. The color photographs are gorgeous, although dated in appearance, and the recipes are well-written and easy to follow.The book is laid out as though assuming the reader has no knowledge of pastry baking. The book begins with a compilation of terms and techniques, and procedes to a section of "basic" recipes such as Chantilly Cream, Butter Cream, Dessert Syrup, and Almond Paste. And then the fun begins: brioche, croissants, and pithiviers, working up to Mirabelle Plum Tart, Chocolate-Vanilla Charlotte, soufflees, and Autumn Meringue Cake. The cool-down phase is candy: truffles, chocolate thistles, and carmelized hazelnuts. The Strawberry Cake, deceptively simple in name, is outstanding with its genoise base, buttercream and fresh berry filling, and marzipan top. The Upside Down Orange Cake and the chocolate mousse filled and pleated chocolate ribbon topped Autumn Meringue Cake are also show stoppers. For each recipe, Lenotre supplies preparation time (valid only if you are already familiar with the techniques), baking time, and cookware/utensil needs. The biggest drawback to this cookbook is the constant referral to basic recipes, demanding frequent page flipping as you prepare a pastry. For example, the Strawberry Cake requires one recipe of buttercream filling, one recipe of dessert syrup, one recipe of genoise, one recipe of almond paste in addition to the more specific needs. Of course, the advantage of such shortened ingredient lists is the mistaken belief that the preparation might be simpler than it is. For anyone interested in the art of pastry making, this is a wonderful book.
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