Duchess at Home

November 1, 2019

Following up Duchess Bake Shop, Courteau, co-owner of several Edmonton, Canada-based eateries, offers a dazzling array of sweet and savory recipes to entice home cooks. Made doubly allluring thanks to great photography, her latest presents both quotidian and celebratory confections. Baking can be intimidating because it is fraught with moments of potential failure, but Courteau provides careful instructions and templates, accompanied by instructional photographs illustrating each step. In a chapter entitled How To Be a Better Baker, Courteau advises readers when to be flexible with ingredients and when substitutions will doom a project. Her main takeaway is to not worry about what the end result looks like, but to enjoy the process and learn along the way. The book includes tips on finding ingredients and ways to equip your kitchen for the best results. VERDICT The distinctly French-Canadian flavor of these recipes, and the challenge they present, will tempt bakers and cooks alike.--Penelope J.M. Klein, Edinburgh, Scotland

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