The Pastry Queen: Royally Good Recipes from the Texas Hill Country's Rather Sweet Bakery and Cafe [a Baking Book]

I collect cookbooks that are from small local bakeries. This on is full of lovely recipes.

Yahoo!! A Texas-size book with Texas-size desserts, all on account of one powerhouse lady. Reading her story in the Introduction of the book was as sweet as the recipes that she shares with you. A surprise and humble beginning in the baking world turned into a top rate career for Ms. Rather, and you feel the joy along with her, as you delve further into the sweet-laden pages. You begin to think that you could just pick up and move on over to Fredericks, Texas and feel like you've been there all along. The casual and comfortable style of writing of both Rebecca Rather, and writer, Alison Oresman, as well as the incredibly delicious recipes, make you want to get started on any page in this heavy, welcoming, and beautifully photographed cookbook. At the same time, Ms. Rather encourages you to play with and modify anything that would suit your tastebuds. There is nothing pretentious or difficult to accomplish in her directions; she pretty much makes you feel at ease, and more importantly, that she is next to you, sharing her knowledge. There are 8 sections in this tome of Southern baking and each chapter introduction has a little insight as to how everything was chosen for the section: BREAKFAST EATS, MUFFINS, and SCONES: Jailhouse Potato-Cinnamon Rolls (great little story to these) Fresh Ginger-Pear Quick Bread Eddie's Autumn Pumpkin Bread w/ Pecan Streusel Topping Jonnie's Breakfast Granola Kolaches Mother's Day Pancakes (and her mom seemed to be a great lady too) Individual Baked Omelets Creme Brulee French Toast Banana Bran Muffins Peach Jam Scones Chocolate Chip Scones Apple-Smoked Bacon and Cheddar Scones Essence of Orange Muffins Whole Lemon Muffins PIES and TARTS: Texas Big Hairs Lemon-Lime Meringue Tarts (the name and recipe is great!) Texas Big Hairs Chocolate-Hazelnut Meringue Tarts Bourbon Pumpkin Tart with Struesel Topping Fredericksburg Peach Cream Cheese tart Frangelico-Hazelnut Fruit Tart Black and White Cranberry Tarts Buttermilk Pecan Pie Fourth of July Fried Pies Aunt Mollie's Coconut Cream Pie Chef M:ark's Southern Comfort Apple Pie Silken Chocolate-Walnut Tart Grasshopper Pie EVERYDAY DESSERTS and CANDIES: Emergency Fruit Crostatas Petite Pavlovas with Lemon Cream and Fresh Fruit Hill Country Peach Cobbler Individual Pear-Maple Cobblers Mexican Chocolate Fudge-Pecan Cake Mahogony Cake Orange-Date Bundt Cake Totally Rummy Pound Cake Glazed Lemon-Cranberry Leaf Cake Oatmeal Crisps Cappuccino Cheesecakes Mrs. Chisholm's Divinity Coconut Cream Flan Texas Pralines DESSERTS for SPECIAL OCCASIONS and HOLIDAYS: American Beauty Cake Tuxedo Cake Larger-Than-Life Praline Cheesecake Bananas Foster Shortcakes Strawberry Ricotta Cake Peach Queen Cake with Dulce de Leche Buttercream Frosting Cream-Filled Pumpkin Roll Mini Apple-Cinnamon Loaves with Calvados Glaze Espresso Creme Burlee Toffee Bar Brownie Torte Tiramisu with Homemade Ladyfingers Dulce de Leche-Arborio Rice Pudding Muchas Leches Cake with Sugared Almonds Almond Bliss Germ

Having eaten at Rather Sweet many times over the years, I was excited to get this book last year so that I could showcase some of Rebecca's wonderful desserts at dinner parties. While I was sad to see that some of my favorites were not in the book (she makes the best egg salad I've ever had, and the wonderfully fluffy focaccia on which she serves her sandwiches is out of this world), there are so many wonderful recipes that it really doesn't matter. I made the White-on-White Buttermilk Cake with Jack Daniel's Buttercream for my husband's birthday. I've never been a fan of white cake, but this one is divine. One suggestion I would make is to decrease the amount of butter in the buttercream -- it seemed to be a bit over the top. The Tuxedo Cake is incredible. The rich, dark chocolate cake is a wonderful compliment to the simple whipped cream frosting. Not to mention, the cake is beautiful -- it stands at about 10 inches tall when made with the three layers. Thanks to the other reviewers for pointing out the recipes they've tried and loved -- there are so many wonderful recipes that it's helpful to have a little push on which one to try next. While I haven't tried the recipes for the Triple Threat Chocolate cookies, any of the muffins, or the Texas Pecan Pie Bars, I've had them in the bakery, and they are all wonderful. My mom was a huge fan of the pecan pie bars, and Rebecca astutely uses brown sugar (as did my grandmother) instead of corn syrup which adds extra flavor and allows the bars to set up nicely. My all-time favorite item is the Mexican Chocolate Fudge-Pecan Cake. In the bakery, she makes them in individual bundt shapes, and they have just the right amount of cinnamon mixed in with the chocolate cake batter to impart that delightful flavor of the hot chocolate one would drink in Mexico. Kudos to Rebecca -- her bakery, restaurant, and cookbook provide perfect examples of the simple, yet wonderful desserts made in the south and in Texas.

I've collected cookbooks for years -- serious cookbooks. As in, IACP Cookbook Award winners. And many of these cookbooks I have loved, but none as much as I love "The Pastry Queen: Royally Good Recipes from the Texas Hill Country's Rather Sweet Bakery and Cafe' ". Cookbooks tend to become a favorite based on their teaching the why behind tools, ingredients and techniques, as well as a "heads and shoulders above the rest" recipe or two. _Every_ recipe in this cookbook, however, is above and beyond others I've collected. They range in difficulty, but levels of mastery are perfect when a cook is going from familiarity, to proficiency, to mastery. A cook can navigate through all these stages and stick with the same cookbook. Guests just rave over the recipes, too. There's a balance between those requiring more exotic ingredients (defined as those that I don't already have in stock, such as apple-smoked bacon) to those always kept on hand. Heaven forbid a housefire, but after my children and my pets, I'd grab this cookbook.

Texan lady makes good with her passion for baking and doing other good cooking Texas style. Such passion becomes infectious evidently from the following she has developed for your bakery and recipes. This passion continues to ooze out in this delightful cookbook from TenSpeed Press. I've come to realize and trust that if TenSpeed published it, it will have great photos on nice layout with exceptional and exciting food. This volume continues in that fine train. Rebecca is really into it, and continues to refine and develop new exciting recipes, some her take on old favorites such as King Ranch Casserole and Big Hair Lemon-Lime Meringue Tarts. This over 150 recipe offering has mostly baked goods, but as her bakery began offering lunch and dinner fare, they are included here as well: Caesar Salad Pizza; All Sold-Out Chicken Pot Pies; Savory Crab and Shrimp Casserole; Nuevo Texas Waldorf Salad. Savor the baked delights here for us: Triple Threat Chocolate Chip Cookies (three types chocolate);Chef Mark's Southern Comfort Apple Pie; Buttermilk Pecan Pie; Frangelico-Hazelnut Fruit Tart. There is so much fun Tex-Mex-Germanfood done beautifully for us home cooks to try. The recipes don't call for wild, hard-to-find ingredients nor are any of the techniques that complicated or intimidating. Just wonderful food with clear instructions and suggestions. Fine, worthy addition to one's collection.

This book is incredible. Since it has arrived, I have made three recipes and they all have been awesome. The recipes are easy to read and understand, and are organized so that no steps are omitted. I especially appreciate notations indicating that mistakes can be made in this step and what to do if it occurs. The Triple Threat Chocolate Chip Cookies are the best I've ever made or tasted. And the Omelette Kolache recipe is worth the price of the book if you ever have to make breakfast for a buffet. Overall if you are new to pastry and want a word class book with fairly simple and uncomplicated recipes - this is it. What Rather's recipes miss from traditional pastry books that resemble art work, she makes up in wholesome goodness and taste that will make this a kitchen page turner. Great job!