Room For Dessert : 110 Recipes for
Cakes, Custards, Souffles, Tarts,
Pies, Cobblers, Sorbets, Sherbets,
Ice Creams, Cookies, Candies, and
Cordials by David Lebovitz
The Gooiest Book In My Kitchen
Baking books abound, but none presents a more mouthwatering selection
of contemporary sweets than David Lebovitzs Room for Dessert. A
former pastry cook at Chez Panisse in California, Lebovitz offers more
than 110 recipes for cakes, curds, soufflés, tarts, pies, cobblers, ice
creams, cookies, and more, beautifully depicted by color photos. He also
manages, as few other baking book authors do, to provide lucid technical
guidance, so even novice bakers should have success with his recipes.
Readers searching for a solid collection of doable desserts, from homey to
dress-up (but never too bedecked) will find the book is just what theyre
looking for. Featured are a number of Lebovitzs most acclaimed desserts,

including Meyer Lemon Semifreddo, Butternut Squash Pie, and Orange
Almond Bread Pudding. Readers will also want to try his modernized
Marjolaine (chocolate-covered layers of vanilla and praline creams
sandwiched between crisp nut meringues), Fresh Ginger Cake, Mexican
Chocolate Ice Cream, and Brown Sugar-Pecan Shortbread, among
others. With a chapter on liqueurs and preserves--theres a recipe for a
luscious pineapple ginger marmalade, for example--and a presentation of
basic formulas that includes dessert sauces (Lebovitzs soft-candied citrus
peel topping is a standout), the book, wide in scope yet straightforward in
detail, delivers. --Arthur Boehm
Personal Review: Room For Dessert : 110 Recipes for Cakes,
Custards, Souffles, Tarts, Pies, Cobblers, Sorbets, Sherbets, Ice
Creams, Cookies, Candies, and Cordials by David Lebovitz
This is David Lebovitz' first of two books on desserts. The second is
devoted entirely to desserts made with fruits. This volume is more general,
including recipes for just about every different type of dessert you may
think of. The collection is weighted in favor of recipes which would work
well in a restaurant, so the number of recipes typical to the home are less
common than you may find in a more general book on dessert baking.
That is not to say this is a poor book. In fact, I am happy I reviewed
Lebovitz' more recent book first, so I was able to appreciate the virtues of
this book which were missing from the second volume.Lebovitz'
introductory chapter on `Essentials' is divided into three sections, each an
extremely useful tool to the home baker. First, is a discussion of
equipment, which seems to me to be one of the best around for baking
tools. The ingredients section is similarly useful, although I wish the author,
who is so careful to be precise about other items would avoid the
descriptions of `bittersweet' or `semisweet' for chocolate and use, instead
the percent cocoa grades as used by Vahlrona, a brand which Lebovitz
endorses. The third section of essentials on Fruits is the star of this part of
the book. The author not only gives the best season and the best
properties and uses for a large number of fruits, he also supplies an
extremely useful picture of each and every fruit, although the picture for
coconuts is a bit puzzling. There must be varieties of coconut I have never
seen in the very untropical northeast.Lebovitz must be especially fond of
fruits, as this general book has a very large portion of its pages devoted to
fruit, with a wealth of interesting information on various varieties. I was
especially surprised to learn that the grapefruit is a human invention
developed by crossing the pomelo with the orange. Who know. Lebovitz is
true to the traditions of current and former Chez Panisse writers such as
Alice Waters and Jeremiah Tower in that he is especially careful to note
the variety names of various fruits and sometimes, like both Alice and
Jeremiah, go so far as to specify the botanical species names. This is all
very good, except that few markets distinguish types of fruits beyond
apples and pears. I have never, ever seen any peaches labeled Carnival,
Suncrest, Elegant Lady, Elberta, Flamecrest, or Cal Red. More importantly,
I have never seen persimmons distinguished by variety, even though
persimmon variety is much more important to the way it is used than with

most types of peaches. But all of this is not a reflection on the book, only
on the author's access to better than average greengrocers. Bottom line is
that the pages on fruits in this book are worth the price of admission.The
various types of desserts discussed, each in their own chapter, are:Cakes
Custards and Souffles
Fruit Desserts
Sorbets, Sherbets, Ice Creams, and Gelees
Cookies and Candies
Liqueurs and PreservesAs noted above, the author is positively in love with
fruits, as they appear in virtually every type of dessert in every chapter.
The chapter dedicated to fruit desserts has an especially good discussion
on how to make fruit compotes. I confess the author has endeared himself
to me by pointedly avoiding the pairing of fruit and chocolate. I have never
liked the popular raspberry and chocolate combination, as all those gritty
little seeds just seems to spoil the chocolate experience. Lebovitz does
cross the line just once in combining blueberries with white chocolate in a
tart. I'm good with that.The book ends with a very worthy chapter on basics
which includes separate recipes for tarts, pies, and galettes where many
other authors would simply give you a single recipe for all three. As other
authors such as Wayne Harley Brachman point out, these three pastries
simply have different requirements from their doughs. The basics also
includes a section on caramelization guidelines. As this is an extremely
scary topic for anyone like myself who has seen just enough Food Network
shows to know what can go wrong, this section is invaluable. The book's
list of sources for equipment is better than average as it gives web sites,
telephone numbers, and addresses, plus a detailing of what the
organization supplies. The photographs are competent and add to the
attractiveness of the book. The color scheme is much better than the
glaring pink and orange used in the later book. The Bibliography is a
delightful addition. I wish every cookbook had one. The entries point to
many titles familiar to me and many which are not, which is even better.
This book is strongly recommended, especially for folks who are looking
for new desserts for entertaining.
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