Art Of The Cake [Hardcover]

French cakes comprise a luscious repertoire. From the simplest pound and sponge cakes to more elaborate confections like the Délicieux (génoise layers filled with Grand Marnier-flavored buttercream and topped with a dark chocolate glaze) or the Moka (vanilla cake brushed with espresso, layered with coffee buttercream, and capped with roasted almonds), each gâteau is heaven to eat.

But how to reproduce these marvels at home? Recognizing the need for a technically comprehensive yet approachable introduction to French cake making for the home baker, cooking-school owner Bruce Healy and French pastry chef Paul Bugat have created a true teaching book. The Art of the Cake will appeal to anyone interested in French cake making, but will be of particular importance to serious bakers who have, perhaps, sought just this kind of work.

In the first of three parts, the book explores plain cakes, sponge and nut-meringue gâteaux, bavarians, charlottes, mousse cakes, logs, loaves, and more. Healy and Bugnat then offer more than 40 recipes for fillings, frostings, and finishes; notes on ingredients and equipment; a discussion of general techniques; and source listings. More than 400 step-by-step illustrations help readers assemble a sponge log or pipe meringues, for example, and 32 pages of color photos reveal the finished products in all their platonic glory. The authors occasionally overdilate on procedures and other matters, but in general provide just the right balance of detail and concision. Dipping into this near-encyclopedic but seductive guide, it would be difficult not to feel the call of the gâteaux and make a beeline for the kitchen. --Arthur Boehm

This compendium of French classics presents plenty of challenges for even the most practiced baker, but is thorough enough to successfully guide the novice cook. Authors Healy and Bugat (who co-authored Mastering the Art of French Pastry) devote a large section of the book to instructions on techniques (everything from separating eggs to selecting a tube for a pastry bag) as well as equipment and ingredient glossaries. In an informative discussion of the various flours available, the authors suggest all-purpose rather than cake flour. Recipes are complex, but always sensible. Chapters are arranged by type of cake (e.g., meringue, mousse cake), and most of the recipes rely on several components, cross-referenced throughout. For example, the Blueberry Mousse Log calls for individual recipes of a raspberry jam sandwich, joconde and cr?me anglaise. The authors emphasize the decorative: the clever Fromage with g?noise, pralin? buttercream and heavy syrup looks like a wheel of camembert, and the ?b?niste sports a faux wood-grain top made with dark and white chocolate. These cakes are projectsAmost require a great deal of timeAbut the results are impressive. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Healy, who has a cooking school in Boulder, CO, and Bugat, a highly regarded Parisian pastry chef, are also the authors of Mastering the Art of French Pastry and The French Cookie Book. Like those, their cake book is a painstakingly detailed cookbook/reference; there are more than 400 step-by-step illustrations (by Bugat), as well as a 32-page color insert. The authors have updated some techniques, but most of the cakes are from the classic French pastry repertoire, and the headnotes include a good deal of culinary history. Instructions are impressively thorough, and there is a separate technique section offering even more guidance, as well as lengthy ingredients and equipment sections. For serious bakers, this is recommended for all pastry collections.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Desserts have always striven to be a meal's most visually striking element. It's the chef's chance to be whimsical, to create with a full palette of colors, and to use chocolate. The Art of the Cake inventories the full panoply of classic French cakes currently produced in Parisian bakeries. As the authors point out, the enormous range of French cakes is a result of just a few basic products and processes being taken apart and reassembled in myriad variations. Unfortunately, not all cakes taste as inspired as they appear. Healy and Bugat avoid that trap through liberal use of extracts and liqueurs to infuse cakes with intense flavors and to keep them pleasingly moist. Instructions are thorough and well organized. Some of the chefs' creations require specialized baking pans and other seldom used equipment, but competent cooks will find many inspiring recipes here to challenge their creative urges and impress their guests. Mark Knoblauch

French cakes are among the most luscious and spectacular in the pantheon of cake baking. In The Art of the Cake, authors Healy and Bugat simplify the art form and bring together more than 100 classic cakes, from the Marquis (kirsch-soaked chocolate genoise cake rounds stuffed with ripe peaches and whipped cream) to the Moka, made from vanilla genoise brushed with espresso, filled with coffee buttercream, and topped with chopped roasted almonds.

There are recipes for poundcake-, spongecake-, and meringue-based gbteaux,in addition to bavarians, charlottes, mousse cakes, and loaf and log cakes (like the classic Chocolate Yule Log). There are also over 40 recipes for frostings, glazes, sauces, and fillings. In addition, there are detailed ingredient and equipment sections, and comprehensive instructions on general baking techniques--everything from separating and whipping eggs to working with a pastry tube to the correct way to temper chocolate. The more than 400 step-by-step illustrations (penned by Paul Bugat) that accompany the recipes and the 32 pages of color photographs of these magnificent cakes will be enough to tempt any baker, amateur or pro, into the kitchen.

Bruce Healy, a former theoretical physicist, left that career path to pursue his passion for French food, particularly French pastry. He lives in Boulder, Colorado, where he runs the Healy-Lucullus School of French Cooking. Bruce and paul Bugat are also the authors of Mastering the Art of French Pastry andThe French Cookie Book.