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Dessert Person: Recipes and Guidance for Baking with Confidence: A Baking Book

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Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In her first cookbook, Bon Appétit and YouTube star of the show Gourmet Makes offers wisdom, problem-solving strategies, and more than 100 meticulously tested, creative, and inspiring recipes. IACP AWARD WINNER • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • Bon Appétit • NPR • The Atlanta Journal-Constitution • Salon • Epicurious “There are no ‘just cooks’ out there, only bakers who haven't yet been converted. I am a dessert person, and we are all dessert people.”—Claire Saffitz Claire Saffitz is a baking hero for a new generation. In Dessert Person, fans will find Claire’s signature spin on sweet and savory recipes like Babkallah (a babka-Challah mashup), Apple and Concord Grape Crumble Pie, Strawberry-Cornmeal Layer Cake, Crispy Mushroom Galette, and Malted Forever Brownies. She outlines the problems and solutions for each recipe—like what to do if your pie dough for Sour Cherry Pie cracks (patch it with dough or a quiche flour paste!)—as well as practical do’s and don’ts, skill level, prep and bake time, step-by-step photography, and foundational know-how. With her trademark warmth and superpower ability to explain anything baking related, Claire is ready to make everyone a dessert person. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Clarkson Potter


Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 20, 2020


Edition ‏ : ‎ Illustrated


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Print length ‏ : ‎ 368 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1984826964


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 61


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.4 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.39 x 1.1 x 11.3 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #4,765 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #15 in Christmas Cooking #18 in Dessert Baking (Books) #25 in Baking (Books)


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Top Amazon Reviews


  • Best cookbook I’ve ever owned. Best cookbook I’ve ever owned.
Format: Hardcover
I read a lot of reviews before I bought this book. Another reviewer said that the reviews by people who got a free copy were fake because it had only been out for a month or so. Well, I got this book less than 7 weeks ago (I paid for it myself) and I’ve made over a dozen recipes (!) since then, and ~5 of them multiple times. I’ve been joking that it’s the best book I’ve ever owned and with each recipe, that declaration is less of a joke.... it’s just that amazing. The almond poppyseed cake is the one I’ve made the most, and I will say I add more powdered sugar to the glaze so it sets thicker. But mostly I’ve made everything by the book. The recipe matrix at the front of the book really *is* amazing, but my favorite part of the book is the recipe descriptions. They are so well written. I’ve made the following recipes: brioche + brioche pigs in a blanket, almond poppyseed bundt cake, kabocha turmeric tea cake, seedy maple breakfast muffins (I call them Birdseed Muffins), the oat pecan brittle cookies, chocolate chip cookies, focaccia, malted brownies, rough puff pastry, palmiers, buttered pie dough, creamy greens & baked eggs pie, skillet buckwheat blueberry pancake, classic birthday cake, cream cheese frosting, miso buttermilk biscuits, and rice pudding cake with mango caramel. My favorites have been the almond poppyseed cake. seriously, it’s SO good.... I’ve given whole ones to loved ones as well as slices of it, and everyone who tries it is obsessed with it. I had to buy some sturdy cake rounds & boxes because I know I will be giving this cake to so many people this year! Okay, back to the list of standouts— I also loved the pecan oat brittle cookies (quite a few steps but one of the best cookies I’ve ever had), the rice pudding cake with mango caramel (one of the best desserts I’ve had since my last trip to France a few years ago- I cooked it and baked it a bit longer than the recipe), the brioche pigs in a blanket, and the buckwheat blueberry skillet pancake. Only a few were so-so, and no total flops (at least not yet— I’m more of a beginner at baking so I’m sure I’ll encounter some flops at some point). Most recipes do take at least a few hours from start to finish, but she often calls for ingredients to rest in the fridge at different points, so that contributes to a lot of the time. Some are pretty quick and easy though! It’s fun to try new techniques because her instructions are usually very thorough. And I like the ability to plan out making different parts of a recipe across a few days. After getting the book I discovered I her YouTube channel where she makes different recipes from the book, it’s been awesome to use as a reference for the recipes I also made. Trust the reviews from the people who got the book for free for their reviews. This really is good enough that you will want to make recipes from it as often as possible. There are so many more recipes I’m excited to try- the flourless wave cake, tarte tropezienne, carrot cake, thrice baked rye cookies, gateau basque, clam and fennel pizza..... every recipe looks incredible. I’m just sad I didn’t know about it until ~4 months after it was released!!!! Honestly, I could probably write a few thousand more words about why I love this cookbook but instead I am going to go make another recipe from the book (her lemon tart!). Update: in the time it took amazon to approve my review, I made another recipe (which was technically three recipes?)- the lemon tart. Sweet tart dough, lemon curd, then the lemon tart recipe itself. It’s amazing and another standout. I love the layer of jam in between the tart shell and curd! And I love how tart the lemon curd is. Another win!!! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2021 Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2021 by E P

  • Survey course from a master baker
Format: Hardcover
“Baking with confidence” is an unexpected subtitle. Saffitz has an engaging camera presence precisely because of her humility; her anxieties and doubts in the kitchen are relatable. Of course she’s prepared to troubleshoot her mistakes— she’s a French-trained pastry chef, and a highly capable and resourceful educator. Where this book shines is where she gets to present recipes that she’s proud to have mastered— ones which meant something to her growing up, or in her culinary training, or in her efforts at recipe development at Bon Appetit and beyond. She’s the kind of author who will title a recipe “Foolproof Tarte Tatin” and then promptly undercut her own accomplishment (“Is this 100% foolproof? Probably not”). So what do we get? There’s an emphasis on fruit pies and tarts, which the author acknowledges are her favorites, with a variety of seasonal fruits, flavors and presentations. Several cakes. Several interesting cookie recipes, a brownie recipe or two (included, it would seem, because an editor felt a brownie recipe was necessary). It’s not just desserts, either; savory items include quick and yeasted breads (including a workhorse of a focaccia recipe, with several variations for toppings). Most are targeted at a motivated home cook, with a minimum amount of equipment and ingredients but perhaps a surplus of time in the kitchen (helpful recommendations are provided in the introduction, and the more time-consuming elements of recipes are clearly marked and organized). At the higher end of difficulty are French pastries— croissant, kouign-amann, croquembouche— which I’m not sure she expects many home cooks to succeed at, let alone attempt? Regardless, given the instructions in this book I could probably manage pastry cream and choux for cream puffs, or puff pastry for the palmiers. All steps in assembly, including those for several “foundational” recipes, are well-described and carefully, legibly photographed, with footnotes highlighting tips, tricks, and pitfalls to avoid. I’m pleasantly surprised by the representation of Jewish holiday desserts here: mondelbread, a honey cake, a flourless chocolate cake, hamentaschen. Babka, challah, and a third “babkallah” recipe which she developed for BA that sits somewhere in between; more basic recipes for bagels and bialys. There’s a gooey butter cake from St. Louis. This isn’t a gluten-free cookbook, but there are a few recipes here that are and would do. Special mention is deserved for the food styling and for Alex Lau’s photography; presentation overall is first-rate. I’m looking forward to taking on some new challenges from this book. Highly recommended. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2020 by Yet Another Premed

  • Yes, it’s a great book if you enjoy to challenge yourself a bit Yes, it’s a great book if you enjoy to challenge yourself a bit
Format: Hardcover
The directions are very clear and straightforward, and the ingredients are easy to find. I have very little experience in baking yet I baked a few things which I would feel comfortable to give out to family and friends. However there are times that the results are not as good as expected, and I learned that I need to follow all the steps thoroughly and the goal is still achievable. I am currently challenging myself to bake stuff that are “moderately” difficult according to the book, 3/5, with 5 being the very challenging level. Some recipes are very involved and took me many hours to work on, but the outcome is very rewarding. I still can’t make a lemon tart pie that can stay its shape after being cut, but the flavor is still great. I spent almost five hours on the babka recipe yesterday but it is literally the best bread I have had for a while. I bought a food processor and a Kitchen Aid mixer after I got this book. There are many many recipes in the book that needs these tools. There are desert that you can make without them, but they are mostly very basic (seedy breakfast muffins, pancakes, banana bread, chocolate chip cookies, etc). Don’t get me wrong, they are still great deserts, but this book can take you much further than that. If you are satisfied with those store mixes, and don’t like to get into much details, this book may not be a good choice for you. The author has a YouTube channel for this book that everyone can follow, if you are not sure about this book you can check out the video and get a feel of what you are getting into. I like Claire(the author)’s way of explaining things and not being too wordy, and I love her for being so simple yet being so articulate about every recipe. My husband’s only complaint about this book is he’s getting chubbier because he can’t stop eating the dessert I made. Lol. Update: I still love this book after 2 years. I have tried many more recipes since 2020, and there are still many more to try out. What I really love about the book is that it covers a wide variety of desserts from different regions of the world, like St. Louis butter cake, some Jewish recipes, some Italian recipes, and French recipes. I never failed any recipe I tried, because they are all tested by Claire before she put them in the book. The book holds up well after frequent use. I only wish the font could be bigger because even with my 20/20 vision sometimes I have to get really close to the book to make sure I’m reading it right. But I understand with all the instructions every recipe contains it’s hard to make the font bigger. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2021 Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2021 by Liv Martin

  • IWDFCFTBATK
Format: Hardcover
I'm sure there are tons and tons of reviews here echoing the same thing -- Claire is fantastic and this book is undoubtedly an extension of all her life's work. I'm an ambitious home cook and a novice baker who is still trying to expand my skill set. I will readily admit that this cookbook presents a good number of recipes that I'll likely never attempt, but that doesn't mean that it isn't good; just that I can't see myself dedicating so much time and effort for something that (likely) only my wife and I will eat half of. A lot of stuff in this book can get pretty fancy and involved. I'm a lot more of a cake, cookie, brownie kind of dessert guy. The recipes are well written, easy-to-understand, and there aren't any wasted words. Claire does a great job of explaining how and why things are done the way she prescribes them. She uses easy-to-understand indicators of doneness and describes what things should look like along the way. I really appreciate that she lists both volumetric and weight measurements for all the ingredients. I've gotten accustomed to measuring with weight when baking so it's nice to see that every ingredient has an equivalent in both systems. If you don't live near a very-well stocked grocery store some of the ingredients might seem a bit exotic. Some I've never even heard of. I'm sure a lot of stuff can be ordered right here on Amazon (and I've done just that). I have so far only baked 3 items from the book, but all have turned out really well. The brownies in particular are ON POINT. It might be worth buying this book just for the brownie recipe -- it's absolutely perfect. A side-note: you should totally subscribe to her Dessert Person x Claire Saffitz YouTube channel. She makes a recipe from the book about once a week in a very similar format to her... other show that we won't talk about anymore. Plus you get to see her cats. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2021 by Christopher Lang

  • Bought for the carrot cake recipe, stayed for many more
Format: Hardcover
First off, you'll need your reading glasses, perhaps even your magnifying glass, to read the print in this cookbook. But don't let that persuade you from the great content in this baking book. I saw a video by Claire Saffitz where she gave concise instructions for making a carrot cake. I wanted the recipe. It's in this book. The conciseness of her video is reflected in the details in the recipes in this book. There is a lot of instruction, but she doesn't overdo it at all. Regardless of your level of expertise, you're likely to become a better baker with this book. Most recipes are more than one page because they include a picture and ample instruction to achieve the results. As I paged through the book, I found many recipes that I want to try. There are a wide variety, recipes that I haven't necessarily seen another cookbooks, but none so out of the ordinary that I'd question "Why?" Bottom line, I'd recommend this cookbook for the carrot cake, the many other mouth watering recipes, and the well-done instruction. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2024 by Mitch

  • Claire Made a Good One!
Format: Hardcover
When I found out Claire Saffitz was creating this book, I knew it would be a must-have. It lived up to (and exceeded) all of my expectations and perfectly conveys the kind of baker Claire is: meticulous and articulate. She has included so many details, footnotes, photos, and explanations of how to make every single item in the book. Even some of the most difficult recipes in the book (Kouign-Amann and Danishes) came out successful on the first try because of the thorough explanations and well-shot graphics. I got this book in February and have attempted about 10 of the recipes. Everything came out great (with the exception of the focaccia because I used the wrong flour - my mistake entirely) and the book is still in perfect condition. I will attach some photos of the goodies I have made (I am in the midst of creating the Meyer Lemon Tart) so you can see just how incredible the recipes are. If you like to bake or are interested in getting started, this will be a guaranteed benefit to your collection. All kinds of desserts, all levels of difficulty - and *all* well-explained. Buy a copy - you won't regret it! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2021 by Peggy

  • Wonderful addition to my cookbook collection.
Format: Hardcover
I absolutely love to bake and I enjoyed Claire Saffitz's Bon Appetit videos. I had been hoping she'd put out a cookbook. The pictures in this are lovely, and the instructions are thorough and easy to follow. I would definitely call myself an experienced home baker so I have not struggled with following the recipes so far. I have made the focaccia, the speculoos babka, and the almond poppy seed cake. Honestly I thought I'd be making the cookies and brownies first since that's what I usually bake but there is a Dessert Person YouTube channel and I decided to try the focaccia (which is something I have never made before) and the cake after watching the videos. My husband absolutely loved the focaccia so I know I'll be making that again. The cake turned out really good and stayed moist so that is probably going to be a regular bake as well. I've lately been obsessed with trying new kinds of babka so I had to try this one. It's really good, not too sweet and freezes incredibly well. The cake recipe is very simple. The other recipes require more time than expertise but were pretty easy to make as well. I am looking forward to trying as many recipes in the book as I can. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2021 by Ann Onymous

  • Best Baking Cookbook!
Format: Hardcover
This is an extremely well organized cookbook. There is a very helpful matrix at the beginning of the book that shows graphically the time and difficulty of each recipe in the book. As others have noted, this is a book for people who want to learn and push their baking to the next level. Just reading through the book there are multiple new skills being taught that the average Joe or Jane baker probably does not know, and there are good explanations of why you want to employ these skills. There certainly are easier recipes, but even the easier recipes are more exacting than many recipes you just google on the internet. It is evident that Claire's background is in recipe testing. I really appreciate the detailed instructions and very good step-by-step pictures. I have baked four different recipes from four different parts of the books and each recipe has turned out better even better than expected. You can also watch Claire bake several of the recipes from the book on Youtube, which has been helpful. Also, there are a number of other bakers that have made videos reviewing the book and various recipes. This even more helpful since they are just home bakers like me baking for fun, and they are turning out great results too, which also speaks highly about the book. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2021 by lmb25

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