Product Description

The prize-winning author of Baking with Julia (more than 350,000 copies sold), among other cookbook classics, celebrates the sweet life with recipes and lore from Paris's finest patisseries.

Like most lovers of pastry and Paris, Dorie Greenspan has always marveled at the jewel-like creations displayed in bakery windows throughout the City of Light. Now, in a charmingly illustrated tribute to the capital of sweets, Greenspan presents a splendid assortment of recipes from Paris’s foremost pastry chefs in a book that is as transporting to read as it is easy to use.

From classic recipes, some centuries old, to updated innovations, Paris Sweets provides a sumptuous guide to creating cookies, from the fabled madeleine to simple, ultra-buttery sables; tarts, from the famous Tatin, which began its life as an upside-down error, to a delightful strawberry tart embellished with homemade strawberry marshmallows; and a glorious range of cakes–lemon-drenched "weekend cake," fudge cake, and the show-stopping Opera. Paris Sweets brims with assorted temptations that even a novice can prepare, such as coffee éclairs, rum-soaked babas, and meringue puffs. Evocative portraits of the pastry shops and chefs, as well as information on authentic French ingredients, make this a truly comprehensive tour.

An elegant gift for Francophiles, armchair travelers, bakers of all skill levels, and certainly for oneself, Paris Sweets brings home a taste of enchantment.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26117 in Books
• Published on: 2002-11-12
• Released on: 2002-11-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

Amazon.com Review
Dorie Greenspan's most vivid memory of her first trip to Paris doesn't have anything to do with the Eiffel Tower, but rather a heavenly strawberry tartlet. Overwhelmed by its extraordinary flavor, texture, and appearance, Greenspan was "hooked on Paris and hooked on the city's sweets." Paris Sweets is the result of 30 years of searching for the most delectable, delicious, awe-inspiring pastries she could find, and then convincing their creators to part with the recipes.

Scattered throughout this delightful book are whimsical illustrations and beautifully written stories about each of Greenspan's favorite pastry shops and the chefs who created them. Some of their recipes, such as Boulangerie Poilane's sweet, buttery, bite-size cookies called Punishments, are quick and easy enough for even a novice baker. And with Greenspan's clear, step-by-step, detailed instructions, Robert Linxe's Grandmother's Creamy Chocolate Cake, an elegant fudgy decadence, and Poujauran's rich, nutty-flavored Financiers, become child's play. Greenspan manages to demystify even the complicated multilayered Opera Cake from Dalloyau.

From the most perfect Crème Brulee and Coffee Eclairs to the stunning Fresh Strawberry and Marshmallow Tart, made with homemade strawberry marshmallows, Greenspan will have you torn between making Paris Sweets at home and going there yourself. And in case you can do both, she's included all the addresses you need. --Leora Y. Bloom

From Publishers Weekly
Greenspan, the author of Baking with Julia and a frequent contributor to the food pages of the New York Times, here compiles recipes from "les bonnes adresses," collecting secrets for perfect madeleines, macaroons, apple tarts and other classic French desserts. She embellishes her cookbook with anecdotes and histories, explaining that, for example, crème brulee is actually a Spanish invention (known there as crema catalana) and that Saint-Honoré is the patron saint of pastry chefs. Greenspan also includes descriptions of some of her favorite Parisian bakeries, introducing American readers to the pleasures of Laduree and La Maison du Chocolat. The recipes themselves often involve numerous steps and a certain amount of technique; although Greenspan writes with a reassuring tone, most of this cookbook is not for beginners. Even the "simple cakes" require practice to perfect. But even if you don't intend to concoct a twelve-step cake called "Bacchus" ("it could send a hedonist's heart racing into overDrive") any time soon, simply reading Greenspan's transporting cookbook might be the next best thing to dessert.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Inside Flap
The prize-winning author of Baking with Julia (more than 350,000 copies sold), among other cookbook classics, celebrates the sweet life with recipes and lore from Paris's finest patisseries.

Like most lovers of pastry and Paris, Dorie Greenspan has always marveled at the jewel-like creations displayed in bakery windows throughout the City of Light. Now, in a charmingly illustrated tribute to the capital of sweets, Greenspan presents a splendid assortment of recipes from Paris?s foremost pastry chefs in a book that is as transporting to read as it is easy to use.

From classic recipes, some centuries old, to updated innovations, Paris Sweets provides a sumptuous guide to creating cookies, from the fabled madeleine to simple, ultra-buttery sables; tarts, from the famous Tatin, which began its life as an upside-down error, to a delightful strawberry tart embellished with homemade strawberry marshmallows; and a glorious range of cakes?lemon-drenched "weekend cake," fudge cake, and the show-stopping Opera. Paris Sweets brims with assorted temptations that even a novice can prepare, such as coffee éclairs, rum-soaked babas, and meringue puffs. Evocative portraits of the pastry shops and chefs, as well as information on authentic French ingredients, make this a truly comprehensive tour.

An elegant gift for Francophiles, armchair travelers, bakers of all skill levels, and certainly for oneself, Paris Sweets brings home a taste of enchantment.

Customer Reviews

Job well done, but could be better
Being a big fan of Dorie Greenspan, I bought the book with great expectations. Dorie managed to tell great stories of these Parisian pastry creations at the same time tell her readers how to recreate those experiences.

As usual, the recipes are very detailed with step by step instructions, with pointers following each recipe to make it more unique. I tried many of them, and I'm definitely happy with the end results.

I only wish that there are pictures in the book, helping readers to envision how the end results would be. It'll also help giving pointers on judging whether the results are favorable. I mean, if I had not tasted a Madeleine in my entire life, how can I tell the difference between the real ones with a hump, and those flat ones from Starbucks?

Paris Sweets
Paris Sweets: Great Desserts From the City's Best Pastry Shops We have been searching and searching for a recipe for Parisian Flan, and in this book we finally found the taste and texture we had been searching for! What a great compilation of Paris delicacies, easy to make and so delicious. Thanks, Doris!!!

Vive la France, vive le chocolat!
Dorie Greenspan's delightful, mouthwatering tour of Paris's patisseries in Paris Sweets: Great Desserts from the City's Best Pastry Shops is a gastronomic tour though the tempting varieties of French desserts, including cookies, simple cakes, tarts, pastries, more elaborate cakes, and base recipes.

Illustrated with charming pen-and-ink drawings (no photos of finished desserts, unfortunately), Dorie's fascinating backstories on the numerous Parisian bakeries and their signature recipes make for an enjoyable read. Dorie's familiarity with these cafes really lends her an air of authority when discussing the finer points of pastries and ingredients, as does the fact that she's a resident of Paris and not merely a visitor.

The selection of cookies includes delicate hints of citrus and spices such as anise, ground nuts, and classic cookies such as financiers and madeleines. For fans of chocolate, there are several chocolate cakes (pound cake, chocolate almond cake, Grandmother's creamy chocolate cake) and more unusual selections such as the Alsatian Kouglof (the original inspiration for the Bundt pan) and flan.

When I think of Parisian desserts, my first vision is an elegant tart, and Paris Sweets doesn't disappoint. Included are several chocolate tarts, one garnished with apricot jam and ripe bananas, a baked apple tart, and an unusual tea-flavored Tarte Tatin from Mariage Freres. Also included are the custardy fruit tarts, originally from Limousin, known as clafoutis, a whole-lemon tart, a fig-and-citrus tart, and unusual variations such as coffee, strawberry and marshmallow, and darjeeling tarts.

Perhaps the most emblematic of Paris's desserts are its pastries: creme brulee, chocolate mousse, chocolate bread pudding, ali-babas, coffee eclairs, and sumptuous hot chocolate thousands of miles above and beyond lame American Swiss Miss powder imitations. Simple yet elegant, these are described in exacting detail so that even a beginning home cook should feel confident enough to attempt them.

The last section, grand gateaux, covers elaborate, time-consuming cake creations such as Bacchus (golden raisins soaked in rum, three moist, chewy almond and cocoa cake layers, slabs of mousse-like ganache, and a dark chocolate glaze), Opera cake (three layers of almond cake soaked in coffee syrup, a layer of espresso buttercream, a layer of bittersweet chocolate ganache, and topped with chocolate glaze), Chocolate Temptation (a layer cake made from cocoa cake saturated with chocolate syrup and spread with raspberry jam and covered with a bittersweet ganache), Blanc-manger, Kings' Cake (yes, this is probably the origin of the N'Awlins Mardis Gras King Cake since it was served at Epiphany and similarly contains a hidden trinket), and Mille-feuille (layered puff pastry filled with pastry cream).

Base recipes include pastry creams (almond, vanilla), pate sucree (sweet tart dough), and puff pastry. Also included is a brief source guide (snail mail and URLs) and the addresses of all cafes and patisseries mentioned in Paris Sweets. Thoughtfully, recipes are given in Imperial and Metric measurements (supplies, ingredients, and oven temperatures). Most include ingredients that are easy enough to find if you happen to live near a well-stocked grocery store, or better yet, a Williams-Sonoma. Like with any dessert, you will want to use the best chocolate you can afford (Cluizel is always a solid choice), since baking won't improve the quality of the raw ingredients.

The end result of Paris Sweets are deceptively simple desserts that will transport you to the narrow streets and aged facades of Paris's historic patisseries. Even if you never make a single recipe, Dorie's writing is a rewarding journey by itself, especially with a steaming bowl of cafe au lait as you flip through this gem of a cookbook.