Nancy Silvertons Pastries from the La Brea Bakery

The pastries we make are deliciously simple and rustic and never too sweet. Woven into many of them are my favorite flavors: butter, cinnamon, nuts, and fruit. Theyre familiar, uncomplicated, and satisfying. One taste and youre instantly comforted. Inspired by a sweet memory from childhood, a European classic, or a timehonored bakeshop standard, they are flavors you never tire of. Like my bread, these are pastries you want to eat every day. from the IntroductionWhen celebrated pastry chef and baker Nancy Silverton decided to add sweets to the La Brea Bakerys shelves of artisanal breads, she knew that they couldnt be just any sweets. Instead of baking fastidious and overelaborate desserts, she creates deliciously simple, rustic pastries, full of texture and flavor, that complement perfectly her hearty, countrystyle breads and have people lining up morning after morning. Now, in Pastries from the La Brea Bakery, Silverton shares her passion and expertise in more than 150 recipes of her most scrumptious favoritesvirtually every pastry in the La Brea Bakerys impressive repertoire.Silverton distills years of experimentation and innovation into simple and accessible directions. Many of her recipes are surprisingly quick and easynot to mention incredibly tastylike her crisps, cobblers, and crumbles, and her everpopular scones, which run the gamut from ChocolateWalnut to Ginger to MushroomOnion. Her muffins are moist and distinctive, from the healthful Bran to the rich Crotin de Chocolat. She offers an array of quickbreads and quickcakes for all tastes (including Madeleines, Canells, and CranberryAlmond Tea Bread), and her tarts bring out the best qualities of the finest ingredients, from the intense, fresh fruit of her Cherry Bundles to her elegant Triple Almond Tart. Beautiful cookies, such as Almond Sunflowers, Nuns Breasts, and Swedish Ginger Wafers, are centerpiece desserts on their own. Silverton also deftly teaches the delicate art of confectionshere youll find Almond Bark, English Toffee, and Lollipopsand demystifies the sometimes intimidating technique of doughnut making.The crowning touch is her detailed section on Morning Pastries, where she guides us to mastery of the classic doughs: the quick and rich bobka, the finetextured traditional brioche, the famous and flexible croissant, and the pice de rsistance: puff pastry.An important book from a baking and pastry icon, Pastries from the La Brea Bakery, like Nancy Silvertons acclaimed Breads from the La Brea Bakery, is a bible of the craft for bakers everywhere.A selection of recipes fromNancy Silvertons Pastries from the La Brea BakeryApple Fritters * AsparagusEgg Pie with Potato Crust * Black Currant Silk TartBlueberryAlmond Muffins * Brownies with Irish Whiskey and Currants * CanellsCaramel Candy Kisses * Cheese Croissants * ChocolateWalnut Scones * Cinnamon Custard Tart Country Feta Pies * Crme Frache Coffee Cake * Croissants * Crotin de Chocolat Espresso Wheels * Everyones Mothers Berry Cobbler * Ginger Scones * HazelnutBanana Tart Iced Raisin Squares * Jelly Doughnuts * Lemon Turnovers * Madeleines * Moravian Ginger Snaps NectarineGinger Crisp * Nuns Breasts * Parma Braids * Pecan Sticky Buns * Ricotta Muffins Rosemary Corncakes * Rugelach * SesamePumpkin Seed Brittle Sticky Toffee Pudding * Viennese Cream Brioche