I Love Desserts: Indulge, 100 Perfect Desserts

the appetizer:

Make restaurant-quality desserts at home with Indulge by Claire Clark, including recipes for Almond Roches, Hibiscus Jellies with Red Berries, and Black Forest Trifle; plus tips and techniques like Tempering Chocolate.

Indulge
100 Perfect Desserts

by Claire Clark

Click to Buy Indulge

Claire Clark may be one of the world's most talented pastry chefs. Her incredible skill on the sweet frontier has led Clark to helm the dessert section at America's renowned restaurant, The French Laundry. Located in the Napa Valley and owned by chef Thomas Keller, the French Laundry is celebrated for its innovative, creative menu. Now, you don't have to make the trip to California to sample the style and secrets of master patissier Clark, you can re-create it at home with her new cookbook Indulge: 100 Perfect Desserts.

In Indulge, this pastry virtuoso walks you through recipes that range from the deceptively simple to the more exotic. Clark's down-to-earth language and easy-to-read layout demystify desserts like:

Red Wine and Chocolate Cake

Bitter Chocolate, Praline Brulée and Espresso Torte

Orange and Pistaschio Semolina Cake

Fig and Blueberry and Crème Fraîche Tart

Rich Chocolate Ganache Tart with Salted Caramel and Candied Peanuts

Chocolate Soufflé with Cointreau-soaked Biscuit Collier

Tropical Fruit Pavlova

Mango, Ginger and Lime Sorbet

Along with the recipes in Indulge, Clark includes invaluable tips from the trade she's learned from over two decades as a pastry chef. Sprinkled with fascinating tidbits, historical facts and tales about the recipes and ingredients it uses, Indulge includes sections on:

Biscuits and Cookies
Cakes
Pastry
Puddings
Desserts
Meringues
Custards and Creams
Mousses and Jellies
Ices
Petits Fours

About the Author

Claire Clark is currently the Executive Pastry Chef at the renowned Napa Valley restaurant The French Laundry.

Claire began her professional cooking career as a grill chef at the age of seventeen, and later learned her craft under legendary Swiss patissiers Ernest Bachmann and John Huber.

Claire has worked for several top British restaurants, including The Ritz Hotel, The Intercontinental at Hyde Park Corner, and Sir Terence Conran's Bluebird Restaurant on Kings Road. She has also taught at Le Cordon Bleu, helped plan and set up the pastry department at The House of Commons, and headed the pastry kitchen at the Claridge's Hotel in London, where she became the only female recipient of the "Meilleur Ouvrier de la Grande-Bretagne" (MOGB) or Best Crafts Worker of Great Britain.

Claire also helped open the Wolseley, a famous Piccadilly restaurant and considered one of the top 50 restaurants in the world by Restaurant Magazine. Claire was later chosen as "Best Pastry Chef for 2005" by the same publication.