So French So Sweet: Delectable Cakes, Tarts, Crèmes and Desserts

Gaté, a French-born chef with more than 23 cookbooks published in his adopted country of Australia, here presents inspired takes on classics. He encourages the reader to head straight to the kitchen and start creating his delicious-sounding recipes; however, the book contains a few recipes that weren’t fully adjusted for American kitchens. A raspberry and passionfruit tart, for example, calls for caster sugar and a type of thick cream that are difficult to find in the U.S. That said, readers’ persistence is rewarded with Gaté’s inventive recipes, such as for a banana bread made with olive oil, a Black Forest roulade, and a pie made with apples and Calvados, an apple liquor from Normandy. Unusual flavor combinations can be found throughout, such as in a mandarin mousse with black-currant coulis, a coffee and Grand Marnier parfait with walnuts, and a persimmon and raspberry mousse. This is a solid cookbook for experienced home chefs who can make the appropriate adjustments of ingredients. (May)