bon appétit magazine has been seducing readers with to-die-for desserts for more than fifty years. From quick home-style cookies such as double lemon bars to unforgettable special-occasion finales such as a spiced chocolate torte wrapped in chocolate ribbons, Bon Appétit makes it a point in every issue to showcase desserts that make a delicious impression, no matter what the occasion.Culled from Bon Appétit magazine’s extensive archives and including some never-before-published recipes, the Bon Appétit Desserts cookbook is a comprehensive guide to all things sweet and wonderful, designed to inspire both experienced home cooks and those just starting out in the kitchen. This collection of more than six hundred recipes features every kind of dessert: cakes (from layer cakes to coffee cakes, cheesecakes to cupcakes), pies, tarts, candies, puddings, soufflés, shortcakes, fruit desserts, ice cream, cookies, holiday desserts, and much, much more. In trademark Bon Appétit style, the book is rich with resources designed to make the dessert prep process as easy and as accessible as possible, including more than fifty inspiring full-color photographs, dozens of step-by-step illustrations, and tips straight from the Bon Appétit test kitchen. Sidebars in each chapter offer shortcuts, invaluable ingredient and equipment information, and options for adapting the recipes, including ingredient substitutions, suggestions on other uses for recipe components, and of course, plenty of do-ahead tips. Each recipe is also given a “whisk rating” from one to four to indicate the level of difficulty.So what is it exactly that makes Bon Appétit desserts so special? Their proven combination of delicious new twists on classic recipes, each presented in a clear, easy-to-read format, means that Bon Appétit desserts have an appeal that feels both fresh and timeless. And Bon Appétit is a brand that has been trusted and respected for more than half a century. The delicious recipes in Bon Appétit Desserts have been meticulously tested by the magazine’s test kitchen so that each one turns out perfectly—every time.
Bon Appétit Desserts text copyright © 2010 by Condé Nast Publications. Photographs © 2010 by Con Poulos. Illustrations © 2010 by Arthur Mount Illustration. All rights reserved. Printed in China. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of reprints in the context of reviews. For information, write Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC, an Andrews McMeel Universal company, 1130 Walnut Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64106.
E-ISBN: 978-1-4494-0200-6
Library of Congress Control Number: 2010924505
www.andrewsmcmeel.com
Cover design: Leslie Barry and Jennifer Barry, Jennifer Barry Design, Fairfax, California
Cover photography: Con Poulos
Photographs by Con Poulos
Food Styling by Susie Theodorou
Illustrations by Arthur Mount Illustration
Design by Jennifer Barry Design, Fairfax, California
Layout Production by Kristen Hall and Layla Bockhorst
www.bonappetit.com
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contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 The Desserts Pantry
2 Equipment: The Basics
3 Techniques: The Basics
4 Cakes
5 Cheesecakes
6 Pies, Tarts & Pastries
7 Custards & Puddings
8 Fruit Desserts
9 Frozen Desserts
10 Cookies
11 Bar Cookies & Brownies
12 Candy
Online & Mail-Order Sources
Metric Conversions & Equivalents
Contributors
acknowledgments
What kind of people would take on the crazy challenge of creating three huge—and I do mean huge—cookbooks in the space of about five years?
Well, I guess that would be us.
But, really, the topic at hand is a natural. For more than fifty years, Bon Appétit has been creating the most luscious cakes, cheesecakes, pies, puddings, frozen desserts, candies, and cookies on the planet. Our commitment to dessert recipes is unparalleled in magazine history. The hard part was trimming the list down to “only” 650 recipes … or a few more (we couldn’t help ourselves).
Of course, I turned to senior food editor Sarah Tenaglia and associate food editor Lena Birnbaum for the monumental task of selecting the recipes that would best represent the fantastic scope and delicious diversity of our acclaimed desserts. And that’s just what they did—incorporating everything from a simple, classic vanilla ice cream to a showstopping three-tiered wedding cake. Then they and food department colleagues Janet McCracken and Selma Morrow evaluated every recipe to make sure each was up to date. They retested some (not many needed it) and even created a few brand-new ones just for this book. Then our longtime food editor Kristine Kidd evaluated the recipes and assigned each a “whisk rating” to let you know at a glance the difficulty level of those Old-Fashioned Brownies (one whisk) or the Profiteroles with Caramel Sauce (four whisks).
Because we also wanted this to be the definitive guide to dessert preparation, we included extensive recipe headnotes, tips, sidebars, and chapters on stocking your dessert pantry, buying the proper equipment, and mastering baking techniques. These were researched and written by an expert group of Bon Appétit staffers and contributors: Amy Albert, Nina Elder, Camille Hahn, Jeanne Thiel Kelley, Janet McCracken, and Rochelle Palermo. And on pages 636-37, you’ll find the names of the dozens of men and women who made this book what it is by creating and testing recipes, copyediting and proofreading, and checking every fact. I’m grateful to all of them for their commitment to Bon Appétit’s legendary quality and exacting standards.
Executive editor Victoria von Biel saw from the beginning what this book could and should be—not just a compendium of delicious recipes, but the comprehensive desserts cookbook everyone would want to keep, and use repeatedly. Victoria—herself an enthusiastic and expert dessert maker who gets an eager assist in the kitchen from her two daughters—oversaw the book’s creation and made sure that every aspect was considered from the point of view of the cook at home, whether that meant offering detailed instructions on beating egg whites or defining culinary terms we sometimes take for granted.
Needless to say, the logistics involved in putting together a book like this are daunting, and I’m beyond grateful to editorial business director Marcy MacDonald for handling with her usual aplomb the tasks of clearing rights to every recipe, obtaining permissions, shepherding the contract process, working with our colleagues at Andrews McMeel, and coordinating all the in-house business matters (which are endless and vital). Many thanks as well to Marcy’s assistant, Zoë Alexander, and to my assistant, Marcia Hartmann Lewis, who did double duty: managing my insane schedule and working with Zoë to secure and give proper credit for each of the recipes in the book. Frederika Brookfield lent her considerable expertise to the publicity and public relations aspects.