The pastry chef's guide - Ravneet Gill

Pastry is an art but it is also food so remember to stay in touch with your ingredients, reflect the seasons in your food and, for the love of God, don't use strawberries in December. - Ravneet Gill

This is a book aimed at chefs and home bakers alike who FEAR baking.

The message: pastry is easy.

Written by pastry chef extraordinaire, Observer Food Monthly 50 and Code Hospitality 30 Under 30, Ravneet Gill, this is a straight-talking no-nonsense manual - THE baking reference book for any cookery shelf. This is the written embodiment of Ravneet's very special expertise as a patisserie chef filled with the natural flair and razor-sharp wit that gives her such enormous appeal.

Starting with a manifesto for pastry chefs, Ravneet then swiftly moves onto The Basics where she explains the principles of patisserie, which of ingredients you just need to know (gelatine, fresh and dried yeast, flours, sugar, chocolate, cream and butter), how to line your tins, understanding fat content, what equipment you really need, oven temperatures and variables to watch out for. This section alone will give the reader enough knowledge of baking to avoid the pitfalls so many of us take when baking. Chapters are then organised by type of patisserie: Sugar, Custards, Chocolate, Pastry, Biscuits, Cakes and Puddings.

So whether you want to make a lighter-than-air birthday cake, flaky breakfast pastries, smooth and rich ice creams, parfaits, macarons or meringues, Ravneet will offer just the right advice to make it all seem easy.