23 books like Pure Dessert

Stella Parks approaches baking like I want to, but don’t really have the patience for.

She’s meticulous in her experimentation (check out her posts on Serious Eats) and baking science. In BraveTart, she turns her eyes to classic American desserts like Oreos, Fig Newtons, English Muffins and Graham crackers. Her recipes are stellar, and I like that I can enjoy them knowing that they are at least a little better health-wise than the store-bought versions.

I also enjoy reading through the bits of history each of the recipes includes. Having written a cookbook on remade childhood classics myself, I know the work that is involved!

I fell in love with Maurizio’s The Perfect Loaf blog which is dedicated to natural leavened baking well before the Great Pandemic Lockdown Sourdough Extravaganza happened.

His detailed instructions and beautiful photography grabbed me immediately, not to mention his recipes just work. The Perfect Loaf cookbook brings everything from the blog and is much easier to work with in the kitchen when my hands are covered in flour.

I wasn’t very confident in my sourdough skills before this book, but quickly found that I’m able to make impressive loaves, and other baked goodies like amazing sourdough waffles, for my friends and family.

The recipe I’ve probably made most out of anything that I’ve baked originally came from the Macrina cookbook.

It’s the currant anise scone recipe that makes the lightest and fluffiest scones and has pretty much ruined all other scones for me. It’s a scone recipe that makes me think I should go into the bakery business (in some other town than Seattle, which already has Macrina scones).

The book is worth buying just for the look you’ll get when you make these scones for the people you care about. Of course, there are also a lot more amazing recipes in the book, such as the morning buns, a mash up of croissant meets cinnamon roll which take 3 days to make but are worth every minute. This book is a treasure.

I lived in San Francisco for a year, just a few blocks away from Tartine Manufactory. Tartine has a well-deserved cult following for its tangy rustic loaves and baked goods.

I moved last year, and so unfortunately, I can no longer just pop over when I need a fix. Luckily, the Tartine Bread book lets me get very close at home. I love this type of project baking where I really feel accomplished at the end… even if it does take a couple of days to get there.

The book also has a ton of great fancy toast recipes that I can make in the rare case that I haven’t just eaten a whole loaf simply with a slather of butter.

In Good and Sweet, Brian Levy takes a radical approach to preparing delicious desserts – he uses no refined sugar but finds the necessary sweetness of his desserts from fruits (dried, juiced, or fresh), grains, dairy products, and nuts.

Before I tried any of the recipes, I have to admit that I was somewhat skeptical, but one taste of any of the recipes I tried made me realize that there are other ways to sweeten besides refined sugar. My favorites include Blueberry Biscuit Cobbler, Cherry Coconut Clafoutis, Figgy Cheesecake, Rosemary Lemon Shortbread, and Spiced Pumpkin Pie.

Levy also incorporates whole grain flour when appropriate as high-quality flour provides a sweetness of its own.

Maida’s Book of Great Desserts is the first of many books by her, and the one that influenced me very early in my developing love of baking and desserts.

I was privileged to know Maida for the last 25 years of her life and was able to teach several classes with her. Although all her books were masterpieces, she would most often pick recipes from this book to teach. 

Some of my (and Maida’s) favorites include Queen Mother’s Cake (a recipe shared by a musician who claimed to have received it directly from the Queen Mum), East 62nd Street Lemon Cake, Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies (simply delicious), and Black and White Cheesecake. 

Don’t pass this one by!

This was my textbook when I was a baking and pastry major in culinary school. In its third edition, this is the most comprehensive pastry baking book from the country's premier culinary school. I still refer back to it time and again for its reliable recipes and classic techniques. The chapters cover every specialty in pastry baking, including bread, chocolates, confections, wedding cakes, pastries, decorating, mousses, and frozen desserts. This book is well worth its price.

This charmingly compact cookbook is a favorite of mine and never far from my kitchen.

It’s chock full of recipes for old-fashioned, seasonal fruit desserts by the owner of Portland, Oregon’s Baker & Spice. I particularly love the rustic berry crisps, wholesome cakes, and boozy bread puddings inspired by the ingredients of the Pacific Northwest.The Sour Cherry Cobbler is a delightful recipe I come back to again and again.

Organized by season for easy reference, the luscious, up-close photographs are half the appeal. But the recipes for this irresistible assortment of desserts are reliable, unfussy, and delicious, making it my favorite seasonal cookbook of the bunch.

Pastry chef Kate Zuckerman shares her recipes from Chanterelle, the beloved, award-winning New York City restaurant. This book is a beautiful and complete look into a restaurant pastry chef’s world. The recipes cover a full spectrum of desserts from luscious tarts to cakes, cookies, custards, soufflés, and delightful confections. Readers will enjoy in-depth explanations of pastry techniques and the history of ingredients. Two of my favorite recipes in the book are the Roasted Apple Beignets and the Brandied Dried Fig Soufflé.

Before it was a book, Cocolat was a small chain of wildly popular chocolate dessert shops in and around San Francisco. 

Its founder and author, Alice Medrich, had spent some time in France, and had learned some enticingly delicious chocolate recipes there. Back in San Francisco, she started experimenting with quantity baking and the first Cocolat shop was born.  

Chocolate cakes, large and small (and fabulous cupcakes), soft-centered truffles, and individual chocolate pastries, are only part of the picture as there are also detailed instructions for chocolate fans and ruffles, and for sculpting delicate chocolate flowers. 

I’ve long admired Alice’s expertise with chocolate and her example helped me to up my game with that most popular ingredient.