Simple French Desserts

It is hard to believe that the words "Simple" and "French Desserts" can be spoken in the same sentence, but Jill O'Connor shows you in her new book Simple French Desserts that it can. Simple French Desserts is a wonderful book for anyone who has longed to learn the art of French pastry, but has avoided it assuming that it is only for the more advanced cook or the professional pastry chef. Clearly, Jill O'Connor dispels the myth that only a talented pastry chef or serious gourmet can prepare great French desserts with a minimum amount of toil and sweat.

If you have ever been to France and strolled through the literally hundreds of pastry shops, you will find that while each of them is fantastic, each of them seems to have a specialty. In writing her new book, Jill O'Connor took the time to explore as many of the French pastry shops as she could to uncover the very best recipe for each dessert that is in her new book. Her efforts are well received, as each recipe in this book is simple in preparation, excellent in flavor, and clearly explained.

Following cookbook protocol, O'Connor covers the basics of what you will need to prepare each recipe, tools, ingredients, etc. After the basics, she dives right into some classic French cookies and cakes such as Sables, Tuiles, and Florentines to name a few. One particular feature that I especially liked in how she assembled her book is the cooking tips that are placed in each section of the book. If a recipe calls for toasted nuts, you will find a whole page of information about how to properly toast various nuts for baking purposes. The author assumes nothing, and walks you through each preparation as if it were your first time. Towards the end of the book, you find an excellent section on the building blocks of French pastry. Here, O'Connor gives in-depth explanations and recipes for each of the famous key components of French desserts such as Creme Chantilly, Creme Fraiche, Pastry Cream, and Creme Anglaise.

As a chef who worked in a patisserie shop in Geneve Switzerland, I know all to well how intimidating French desserts can be. Jill O'Conner has done a superb job of bringing the lofty French pastries down to a level that anyone can grasp. Hats off to her on such a fantastic book!

 

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