--- title: Pastry & Desserts description: This topic covers the techniques required to create sweet baked goods, custards, and confections. You will understand how to laminate dough, temper chocolate, whip meringues, and construct complex desserts using precise temperature control and decoration methods. category: trades-crafts subcategory: cooking-and-culinary difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced url: /subject/pastry-and-desserts --- # Pastry & Desserts This topic covers the techniques required to create sweet baked goods, custards, and confections. You will understand how to laminate dough, temper chocolate, whip meringues, and construct complex desserts using precise temperature control and decoration methods. ## Available Resources 3 Books • 3 Websites ## Books ### 1. The Pastry Bible **Author:** Rose Levy Beranbaum Comprehensive reference on pies, tarts, puff pastry, croissants, choux, cakes and fillings, with weighed measurements and explanations of why each technique works. Bakers learn to diagnose failures, control dough temperature and lamination, and produce consistent professional-standard pastry at home. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0684813483?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, hospitality-tourism, cooking-culinary ### 2. Tartine **Author:** Elisabeth M. Prueitt, Chad Robertson Recipe collection from San Francisco's Tartine Bakery covering croissants, morning buns, tarts, cakes, cookies, custards and puddings, with detailed method notes. Bakers learn bakery-style laminated doughs, pastry creams and tart shells, and how small technique changes affect texture and flavour. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0811851508?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, hospitality-tourism, cooking-culinary ### 3. Baking with Julia **Author:** Dorie Greenspan Companion book to Julia Child's PBS series, presenting recipes from leading American pastry chefs and bakers for breads, tarts, cakes, cookies and plated desserts. Each recipe is broken into stepwise technique notes, so readers learn professional methods adapted for a home kitchen. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0688146570?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, hospitality-tourism, cooking-culinary ## Websites ### 1. serious-eats.com Serious Eats is a food site featuring chef-tested recipes, cooking techniques, and culinary science explainers. For knife skills, it offers step-by-step tutorials on grip and handling, basic cuts (dice, julienne, brunoise), safety tips, and sharpening guidance, often with photos and videos. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://serious-eats.com **Tags:** websites, hospitality-tourism, cooking-culinary ### 2. rouxbe.com Rouxbe is an online culinary school that delivers professional-grade cooking training through step-by-step video lessons and guided practice. It features a comprehensive knife skills course along with other foundational techniques and certification options. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://rouxbe.com **Tags:** websites, hospitality-tourism, cooking-culinary ### 3. The Kitchn Home-cooking site from Apartment Therapy Media with step-by-step technique guides, recipes, ingredient explainers, kitchen tips and equipment advice, written by a staff of home cooks to help beginners prepare everyday meals and build confidence with basic kitchen methods. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://thekitchn.com **Tags:** home-cooking, cooking-techniques, recipes, kitchen-basics --- *This content is part of Dantes.io - Your Treasure Map to Knowledge* *Curated by humans at Dantes.io. Personal study use welcome; republishing this curation requires permission (team@dantes.io).* View this page online: https://dantes.io/subject/pastry-and-desserts