La Pâtisserie des Rêves is one of the most beautiful cookbooks you will ever encounter.
Is “beauty” a good criterion for a cookbook? Often it is. When a publisher invests in full page four-color photos of every recipe then you know the publisher considers the book to have substance and hopefully a long publishing life.
The book title here literally means Patisserie of Dreams. Here the dreams are the remembrances of classic French patisserie recipes. Co-author Philippe Conticini is the chef half of the team, the very man who invented “verrines,” those vertical towers that delight Parisian diners and that ultimately will make their way around the world [go to Amazon to find book examples; you’ll be intrigued]. And co-author Thierry Teyssier is an advertising guru, the business half of the partnership.
The pair opened their first brick and mortar store in Paris in 2009. Expansion in Paris and then to London followed. Now comes this exceptional book.
Their concept is simple: present the classic French recipes, ones that they have tweaked and perfected. The reviews for their patisseries around Europe are exceptional. People have instantly gravitated to the stores and the treats that are consumed in quantity.
I say the recipes have been tweaked because, as an example, the Pâte Sucrée recipe uses 40% more butter than the standard recipe [but one less egg white and less flour].
And while they present their classic Gateau Saint Honoré, every store in France has their own twist on this recipe. Is there even such a thing as the “authentic” any more. Does it matter, because if you like Vanilla Crème and caramel, this version offers an abundance of both, gracefully atop the entire dessert.
Chapters, with some examples, are devoted to:
- Viennoiseries: Light Kouign-Aman, Brioche Mousseline
- Teatime Treats: Marbled Chocolate and Hazelnut Cake, Dreamy Madeleines
- Salon de Thé: Floating Island, Fruit Tagine
- Biscuits [aka Cookies]: Praline Shortbread, Coconut Snaps
- The Classics: that Saint Honoré, Paris-Brest
- Seasonal Fruit Tarts: Rhubarb Tart, Banana and Coffee Tart
- Freestyle Cakes: Coffee Cake, Goats Cheese Tart with Mango and Avocado
- Confectionary: Caramels [with salted butter], Sweet Chocolate Ice Cream
- Lessons on Taste: basic recipes and techniques with insights into flavor
Unlike most books, the techniques and tools discussion comes right at the end. Open the book, get past the Table of Contents and you are immediately at recipe #1: Light Kouign-Aman. A couple of years ago, few of us knew about this recipe. Now, thanks greatly to Dominique Ansel and his bakery in Soho here in New York City, this Breton sugar specialty is a treat in demand everywhere. I’m not sure why this recipe is called “Light” because the authors don’t skimp on the butter or sugar.
None of the recipes in this book come with explanatory headnotes: there is simply the list of ingredients, the detailed instructions, and the matching full page picture. Yes, a picture can be worth a thousand words.
While these recipes are all classics from the authors’ childhood, several of them are ones where the flavors and the techniques are entirely new to me and possibly to you.
The Banana and Coffee Tart starts with a base of Pâte Sucrée. That foundation is topped with an Almond and Coffee Butter that includes crème patisserie and rum. A layer of fried bananas is applied and itself topped with a hazelnut and brown sugar streusel. The picture makes you think about licking the page. Or buying bananas.
The Coffee Cake is much, much richer and more complex than the American standard. This dish is an assembly of Coffee Sponge Cake, Hazelnut Streusel, Coffee Meringue, and Coffee Cream. Like that banana tart above, this dessert is not a mile-high. Its multiple layers lie snug against the table, but offer burst after burst of deep coffee flavors. It’s a treasure that awaits you.
The recipes here are “doable” by the typical American foodie with a sweet tooth. Some of the more beautiful, and layered deserts, like the Goat Cheese Tart with Mango and Avocado, have multiple components. You may need a dough, a cream, and some caramel or streusel. If you are starting from scratch, then these desserts can consume a long afternoon. It may be wise to divide the dessert preparation over two days, one for dough and crème, and one for other components and assembly.
There are treats, like the dough-centric Light Kouign-Aman, that simply require multiple steps with hours needed in each case for rising and resting. If you want these gems for breakfast, somebody is going to have to follow baker’s hours and rise by 3AM. More likely, you may be serving these for an afternoon tea or a late night dessert treat with coffee. The recipes here are authentic and you will not find “simplifying” or faux ideas. There are no shortcuts to quality.
The message of this book is that the desserts of your dreams are there for you to make real. You just need La Pâtisserie des Rêves, some time, some patience, and a fondness for dough and cream. Your creation may not quite match the beauty displayed in the photos here — the difference between foodie and professional is most evident, not in the taste, but in the visual presentation. I guess the only solution here is to make one, and make it again, and make it again. You will not find that to be onerous at all. Your friends and neighbors will probably want to help.