Product Description

Chanterelle is a beloved, award-winning New York City restaurant that has been critically acclaimed since its founding 25 years ago. A great part of a perfect meal is one of the truly spectacular--yet comforting--desserts.Kate Zuckerman, Chanterelle's pastry chef, creates exquisite treats that draw upon her culinary travels all over the world and her vast experience as a four-star pastry chef in Boston, San Francisco, and New York. The Sweet Life offers not only detailed, delicious recipes for every kind of dessert from tarts and cakes to custards, souffl+s, and frozen desserts, but also in-depth explanations of methods and of chemical changes that occur in baking, along with fascinating histories and descriptions of key ingredients. Zuckerman possesses the remarkable ability to create gourmet desserts that home cooks can actually craft in their own kitchens. Her warm, accessible tone will appeal to both the beginner and the advanced pastry cook. So whether making the Crispy, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies or the Cardamom and Honey Pistachio Nougat Glac+, readers will know they are in good, capable hands.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #165333 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-18
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Zuckerman, pastry chef at New York's famed Chanterelle restaurant, combines aesthetics and science in this appetizing look at the hows and whys of baking. Providing detailed instruction throughout, she guides the cook through the process of creating the dessert while explaining the chemical reactions taking place when ingredients interact. Zuckerman details the intricacies of tart making, offering a variety of standard recipes such as hazelnut, sweet and flaky. Her selections of cakes are enticing, with her Goat Cheesecake Enrobed in Hazelnut Brittle bordering on the sublime. Throughout, she elucidates the basics—e.g., why some cookie recipes require additional baking soda and how an acid aids in the foaming of egg whites. Zuckerman also offers a wealth of cookie recipes and a mouth-watering array of custards, puddings, crèmes and mousses. Soufflé-making techniques are explained so simply that even the baking novice will feel empowered to make an attempt. Zuckerman also devotes sections to ice creams and frozen desserts, roasted fruits and edible garnishes. Highly recommended for all skill levels, this collection is a must-have for anyone who cooks. 70 photos. (Sept.)
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About the Author
Kate Zuckerman is the pastry chef at Chanterelle in New York City. She has also been the pastry chef at Picholine in New York, Biba in Boston, and Firefly in San Francisco. Zuckerman's flavor-focused desserts have been featured in major publications, such as The New York Times, The New York Daily News, and Food & Wine.

Customer Reviews

Great book
I bought this book for my 8 year old daughter and I to bake together. The pictures are great. She can pick out the picture and title and read the ingredients off. I just help with the mixing order. They turn out wonderful. It is our family dessert book. The recipes are easy to understand! and taste fabulous.

One you'll actually use
I love cookbooks, and my husband and I have tons of them that we mainly read and then occasionally consult for a particular recipe, but there are few that we really use. This will be one of them. It is not only a great and informative book to read, but it has a large collection of recipes that are easy to make even though the author cooks at Chanterelle -- a haute cuisine restaurant if there ever was one. I made the sour cream spiced apple cake this morning to bring to a New Year's Day lunch, and it came out perfectly with nary a hitch. This is one of the best dessert books that I have ever used. I am thrilled to add it to my collection and it will live in the kitchen, not on the bookshelf!

A wonderful book
We've been using this book since we attended Kate's demo at the New York Chocolate Show. The recipes work perfectly and the scientific explanations are fun. I've made everything that my wife will let a man with high cholesterol cook. I would particularly recommend the various sorbets with fruit and herbs, but it all works! Thank you Kate!