Partial Contents: Ingredients, Equipment & Conversion Tables; Basic Doughs; Torts; Cakes; Ice Cream, and more. This is an appetizing compendium of 400 recipes. 100 line drawings.

Average Customer Review: ( 26 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.

This is an awesome book. It costs twice as much as any other book, but it's worth it. This book gives you the hows,whys, and principles of everything which is nice. For example it has a chart showing how creme caramel, creme brule, pastry cream, sabayon, pots de creme are all just modified creme anglais. However it does assume that you know a little bit, so for a first book "the cake bible" "the pie/pastry bible" or "baking with julia" might be more suitable. You know that all of the recipes are tested. There are a few things to look out for however. The first is that you will have to scale down all of the recipes - they are written for bulk. The second is that the photos and recipes aren't put together or indexed well - you have to hunt for the recipe for a particular photo. But all in all, a terrific book, definitely worth the price.

15 of 15 found the following review helpful:

Excellent instruction plus a fun read:-)Jul 09, 2001
By Melanie
I'm not a pastry chef but still have a love of intricate baking. I really enjoyed Mr. Friberg's explanatory paragraphs prior to each recipe...he has a wonderful sense of humour and is very articulate. I agree the book is geared toward the professional pastry chef (of course, look at the book's title!) but the average baker can make some of the beautiful presentations in the book because of the author's detailed explanations and directions. Intricate chapters on doughs, bread/roll baking, cookies, tarts, LOTS of cakes, pastries, etc. as well as how to present the finished products. Some of the work such as with pulled and blown sugar should be attempted only with instruction and proper equipment because of the hot sugar involved...but let's face it...nothing in the book is rocket science and is "do-able" with lots of practice. Classes would be a plus...such as in the sugar work. Beautiful pictures and an entertaining, as well as highly instructional, book. Mr. Friberg comes across as quite friendly and willing to teach/share his wonderful recipes and methods. A far cry from some of the condescending books I have read from this field. This is not the "Cake Mix Doctor" so be prepared to spend time (and money) on the recipes but it is highly worth it in terms of quality and enjoyment.

15 of 15 found the following review helpful:

Great, Informative reference toolNov 05, 1999

I use this book as a reference tool in my baking. I think people giving it a poor review did not note the title...Professional Pastry Chef. It is not geared towards the home cook as the title states and I for one am pleased to see a pastry book geared towards professionals. There are all too many cook books from great pastry chefs geared towards the home cook. We need more professional oriented books. Thank you!

12 of 12 found the following review helpful:

THIS IS ONE INCREDIBLE BOOKJun 30, 2000
By Wendy-Benicia Cake Company
Now, I must tell you that this book is well worth every penny. It is so huge and heavy, every bit of it is complete and full of interesting recipes to exciting and irresistable creations. This is another book I spend lots of time with. Even if I dont have to use it I still enjoy looking through it. There are over one thousand incredible recipes in this book. Bo Friberg is an exceptional Pastry Chef. He shares his techniques and you can even make up your own as well. If you are a serious Pastry Chef and you dont have this book....then get it. It is worth it and you will be so happy you did. Everyone who bakes should have this book. Recipes range from simple breads to cakes, cookies, mousses, ice creams, sorbets, candies...the list goes on. You will just have to see when you get it. Another thing I like about this book is that it teaches you how to make things such as Mascarpone cheese and Ricotta cheese. I could go on forever. Buy it. Use it. Love it.

13 of 14 found the following review helpful:

An Inspirational Compendium of Breads and DesertsSep 29, 1998

I purchased this book a couple of years ago and have used it for baking everything from dog biscuits and breads to sponge cakes and pastry cream. Although I am only an avid amateur, I find the recipes easy to follow and easy to convert for use in the home kitchen. The Author has included equivalency tables in the back of the book (ingredients are listed by weight rather than volume measures).

I have given away many of my other pastry and desert books since purchasing this book since everything that I could possible dream of is covered in this book

I would strongly recommend this to anyone who enjoys baking and aspires to create something outside the ordinary, regardless of skill level.

See all 26 customer reviews on Amazon.com