Categories Editorial
Ten International Books to Take Your Creativity Further in Desserts and Doughs
Books For Chefs Catalogue David Gil Jesús Escalera Joakim Prat Ksenia Penkina Lenôtre Maxime Frédéric
Author:
Ana Rodríguez
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Books For Chefs Catalogue David Gil Jesús Escalera Joakim Prat Ksenia Penkina Lenôtre Maxime Frédéric
Do you want to expand your knowledge and discover new trends? We’ve selected some of the many new releases arriving in our online bookstore, Books For Chefs, and available in different languages.
These titles are essential not only to delve deeper into certain recipes, but also to continue evolving as pastry and bakery professionals. Below we share ten books to take your éclairs, bûches, nougats, and bread to the next level.
PastryClass. Innovative Pastry Book and Collective
Ksenia Penkina founded PastryClass to guide students from around the world online in the art of pastry. And now, finally, this valuable material is available in a collective book featuring the contributions of 12 world-renowned chefs: Ramon Morató, Cédric Grolet, Jordi Roca, Frank Haasnoot, Pierre Hermé, Toni Rodríguez, Johan Martin, Christophe Adam, Thomas Haas, Ksenia Penkina, and Roxy Mankoo.
To make the techniques understandable, it includes augmented reality video tutorials which are accessible from any smartphone. Essential for taking a step further in chocolates, glazing, vegan pastries, and more.
BRUT by Kevin Lacote. Without Artifice or Colorings
Kevin Lacote works in his Parisian boutique to achieve elegant and refined pastries, which are, above all, with no chemical additives or flavor enhancers. His motto is clear: enhance the true flavor of ingredients using seasonal produce and spices.
In BRUT, his first book, ingredients takes center stage. Over more than 200 pages, the chef shares his philosophy in French through more than 50 classic and signature recipes, structured into thematic families: citrus fruits, exotic fruits, red and black berries, pome fruits, nuts, vanilla, coffee, chocolate, and pastries. Essential to bring out the full flavours of the ingredients without the use of additives.
Joakim Prat’s Signature Éclairs. In Search of the Perfect Éclair
Born in Lyon and raised in Biarritz, a French Basque territory, Joakim Prat took over as head pastry chef at Can Fabes at the age of 25, the first three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Spain. By 29, he had already earned nine Michelin stars, working with some of the world’s best chefs, such as Santi Santamaría and Joël Robuchon. And at 31, he opened his first éclair shop in London.
His first book, Signature Éclairs, is a great opportunity to learn his technique for making the perfect éclair. Written in English, it offers detailed instructions, over 1,000 step-by-step photos, recipes, tricks, tips, and even an entire chapter dedicated to choux pastry. Essential to becoming an éclair specialist.
Plein Coeur by Maxime Frédéric. The Importance of the Producer
Plein Coeur. This is the name of the first book and pastry shop recently opened in Paris by award-winning chef Maxime Frédéric. This chef from Normandy trained at the Hotel Meurice and the Four Seasons George V, before taking over the Cheval Blanc Paris pastry shop, La Samaritaine, and Café Louis Vuitton.
The grandson of a cattle rancher, he is aware of the importance of raw materials and the human story behind each product. That’s why, in this book, written in French, Frédéric wanted to highlight all the producers he works with daily through magnificent articles, 60 recipes, and chapters dedicated to eggs, flours, chocolate, coffee, milk, honey, hazelnuts, rhubarb, orchard fruits, and herbs. A must-have if you love human stories and support local pastries.
Bûches de Lenôtre: Iconic Yule Logs
Christmas is one of the most anticipated times in France for pastry chefs. It’s a time when they can showcase their talents in decoration, chocolate, and sugar, creating exceptional bûches. Hence the importance of this book Bûches, written in French, in which the iconic Maison Lenôtre and chef Guy Krenzer share the secrets of creating their popular yule logs.
Its more than 200 pages include a total of 30 recipes (15 sophisticated signature bûches and 15 more “commercial” ones, designed for bakeries). These recipes combine tradition and modernity, with attention to detail. A must-have if you want to wow your customers this holiday season.
XOK by David Gil and Ingrid Serra. The first and only monograph on turrón
Chefs David Gil and Ingrid Serra, who trained at the Hofmann School and worked for years at Albert Adrià’s elBarri group, demonstrate their talent and inventiveness every day at the I+Desserts gastronomic studio, specializing in innovation and the development of creative projects, ideas, and experiences in the world of sweets.
In 2024, they published the first and only book dedicated to classic and modern turrón: XOK, a bilingual book (Spanish & English) published by Books For Chefs. Here, they not only explore classic varieties but also offer us a universe of fantasy, creativity, excitement, and fun with nougats that take on such unlikely shapes as a panettone, a candle, a star, or a Christmas stocking, or that recreate classic dessert formats such as Saint Honoré, Black Forest, or Lemon Pie. Essential for creating year-round nougats for all types of pastry shops, chocolate shops, and restaurants.
Saint-Honoré by Frédéric Cassel. An emblem of Maison Cassel
After a wonderful experience in Fauchon exploring the paths of haute patisserie with his friend Pierre Hermé, Frédéric Cassel opened Maison Cassel in 1994 in Fontainebleau, where he unleashes his creativity and talent through desserts, cakes, macarons, and more.
One of the icons of his establishment is the seasonal Saint-Honoré, accompanied by chestnuts in the fall, citrus fruits in the winter, and strawberries, peaches, and cherries in the spring and summer.
In 2024, the Maison celebrated its 30th anniversary. And to celebrate, the chef launched the book Saint-Honoré in French, with step-by-step techniques, as well as 30 exclusive recipes (15 originals and 15 from friends and family). A must-have for recreating the Cassel-style Saint-Honoré.
The Elements of Baking by Katarina Cermelj. Recipes for every diet
The Elements of Baking is a fun, English-language cookbook full of helpful tips and rules for quantitative modification, written by Katarina Cermelj, a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry.
Cermelj explains the science behind baking and the ingredients that make it work, and shows how to easily adapt any recipe to your diet and lifestyle (gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, or vegan) to achieve a taste as good as or better than the original. A must-have for learning how to eliminate gluten, eggs, or dairy from any recipe.
Discover The Elements of Baking
The Big Book of Bread by James Morton. Bread from Around the World
James Morton is a general practitioner interested in climate, sustainability, and the health of the planet. He is also an internationally renowned food writer, baker, and brewer.
In The Big Book of Bread, available in English, he shares recipes for recreating bread in many shapes and sizes from around the world, many of them selected by bakers in their countries of origin. A must-have if you want to expand your knowledge of breads from different countries.
Discover The Big Book of Bread
Essence by Jesús Escalera. Flavors applied to ice cream and desserts
In 2024, Jesús Escalera, Best Pastry Chef in Latin America 2018 according to The World’s 50 ranking, the driving force behind pastry making in Guadalajara (Mexico), and the driving force behind the online training center Pastrypedia, presented his first book: Essence. A bilingual book (Spanish/English) that teaches a fascinating creative method, based on the aromatic profile of ingredients, to create desserts and ice creams with surprising flavor combinations.
Published by Books For Chefs, it is structured in two parts, one theoretical and the other practical. In the first, Escalera provides formulation concepts, offers the keys to making good ice cream, and classifies aromas into ten families (green, floral, refreshing, pastry, woody, warm, roasted, animal, chemical, and unpleasant). In the second part, he thoroughly explores his creative process through 45 ice cream recipes with very different aromatic profiles and more than 30 plated desserts. A must-have for exploring a new creative method based on aroma.
