Pastry chef David Lebovitz is known for creating desserts with bold and high-impact flavor, not fussy, complicated presentations. Lucky for us, this translates into showstopping sweets that bakers of all skill levels can master. In Ready for Dessert, elegant finales such as Gâteau Victoire, Black Currant Tea Crème Brûlée, and Anise-Orange Ice Cream Profiteroles with Chocolate Sauce are as easy to prepare as comfort foods such as Plum-Blueberry Upside-Down Cake, Creamy Rice Pudding, and Cheesecake Brownies.
 
With his unique brand of humor—and a fondness for desserts with “screaming chocolate intensity”—David serves up a tantalizing array of more than 170 recipes for cakes, pies, tarts, crisps, cobblers, custards, soufflés, puddings, ice creams, sherbets, sorbets, cookies, candies, dessert sauces, fruit preserves, and even homemade liqueurs. David reveals his three favorites: a deeply spiced Fresh Ginger Cake; the bracing and beautiful Champagne Gelée with Kumquats, Grapefruits, and Blood Oranges; and his chunky and chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. His trademark friendly guidance, as well as suggestions, storage advice, flavor variations, and tips will help ensure success every time.
 
Accompanied with stunning photos by award-winning photographer Maren Caruso, this new compilation of David’s best recipes to date will inspire you to pull out your sugar bin and get baking or churn up a batch of homemade ice cream. So if you’re ready for dessert (and who isn’t?), you’ll be happy to have this collection of sweet indulgences on your kitchen shelf—and your guests will be overjoyed, too.

""Lebovitz's chatty, down-to-earth tone is sure to steady any rattled nerves as you turn the oven on and get the measuring cups out. And for seasoned cooks and bakers, Lebovitz's recipes are classics worth revisiting.""
—Epicurious.com, The Best Cookbooks of 2010: Best Dessert

“David Lebovitz, blogging phenom and former pastry chef at Chez Panisse has written several cookbooks, but this might be his best yet. It's a compilation of all his favorites--from ice cream to cookies to cake and fruit desserts. You will also enjoy the notes with each recipe that tell stories, share tips and often produce giggles. Why? You've read his blog, and probably tried his recipes for free. Now it's time to pay the man!”
—Cooking with Amy, Top Cookbooks 2010, 12/18/10

“If there's one person you can trust to write a good recipe, it's David. My copy of Ready for Dessert is already dogeared and vandalized with all manner of sweet ingredients. His chocolate chip cookies are my go-to and his ice creams, for which he is well-known, are all outstanding. The man worked as as a pastry chef at Chez Panisse then moved to Paris. Need I say more?”
—TheKitchn.com, Favorite Baking Books of 2010, 12/16/10

“And finally, I want to mention a book from earlier in the year, highly recommended if you’re looking for a sweets book: Ready For Dessert: My Best Recipes by David Lebovitz who writes the excellent and popular blog, “Living the Sweet Life in Paris” at DavidLebovitz.com. This is a compendium of his favorite recipes that he’s reworked and rewritten.  As ever, superb and recommended.”
—Michael Ruhlman, Books for the Holidays, 12/13/10

“You'll want to make everything in this book.”
—Washington Post's Top Cookbooks of 2010, 11/30/10

""An elegantly-composed collection of classics and contemporary riffs, former Chez Panisse pastry chef David Lebovitz's (The Perfect Scoop) latest effort hits the sweet spot. Artfully balancing accessible recipes for novices (the simple four-ingredient Chocolate Orbit Cake, the three-ingredient Peaches in Red Wine and Pistachio, Almond and Dried Cherry Bark) with ambitious-but -worth-it desserts like Banana Cake with Mocha Frosting and Salted Candied Peanuts and White Nectarine Sorbet with Blackberries in Five-Spice Cookie Cups, Lebovitz truly has something for everyone. Can't-miss combinations like Guinness-Gingerbread Cupcakes, Cherry-Almond Cobbler, and Orange-Almond Bread Pudding are sure to inspire a trip to the market, and riffs on classics like a French apple galette (updated here with frangipane, a rich almond pastry cream) and a lush Fresh Ginger Cake will appeal to bakers whose bookshelves are already groaning with cookbooks. The inclusion of Coconut Layer Cake, Vanilla Ice Cream, Meyer Lemon Sorbet, Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Cookies, and Gingersnaps (including a fat-free variety) shows that Lebovitz also knows when not to mess with a good thing. Given its breadth, depth, and accessibility, readers with a passion for baking will be hard pressed to find a better guide to desserts this year. Photos. (May)""
—Publishers Weekly, Web-Exclusive Reviews, STARRED REVIEW, 6/14/10

""Each section is more of a collection of surprises than a tour of the usual baking suspects you might find in a greatest hits sort of book by another author (cheesecake, muffins, angel cake etc.).  There are unusual flavour combinations as well as intriguing takes on classic desserts.""
—Cookbooker.com, 6/2/10

""Lebovitz brings his writing to life with wit and humor and offers expert advice on everything from cake to cutting boards. Plus, his recipes have that irresistible combination of simplicity and elegance.""
—Portland Oregonian, 6/1/10

“Life is short, always eat dessert first.” If you’re a follower of that profound precept or just the owner of an active sweet tooth, David Lebovitz’s Ready for Dessert is a must. . . . His header notes are chatty, his directions thorough and supportive and his take on the sweet side of life inspired and inspiring.""
—BookPage, Cookbook of the Month, May 2010

""Here's what I love about this book. Lebovitz has gathered a selection of 170 recipes that is both complete and eclectic, including classics and innovations. David's voice is candid, sometimes conspiratorial, often funny, and always enabling. It's the same authentic voice that has made his blog one of the most popular food sites on the web. Enjoy the sweetness.""
—The City Cook, 5/27/10

""Ready for Dessert promises visceral satisfaction starting with the cover, which invites you to drag a greedy finger through a cake's thick chocolate icing.""
—Associated Press, 5/17/10

""You know the real reason I love David Lebovitz so much and tell you about him over and over again? Because he's a baking god. David's new book, Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes is his best yet. . . . Now, I know that we'll have this book in our house for decades, until the spine falls apart and we have to put it together with duct tape. I'm never letting go of this baking book because every single recipe works. It is one of the few baking books I will keep forever in our home. This is my baking bible now. You should buy it too.""
—Gluten-Free Girl, 5/11/10

""This is recipe writing at its best my friends.""
—In Jennie's Kitchen, 5/4/10

"" I have a sweet tooth for Lebovitz, a terrific writer and dessert whiz who has updated his favorite recipes for this lavish book. If you bake, do yourself a favor and buy this book.""
—Houston Chronicle, 5/4/10

""Lebovitz has outdone himself with his latest recipe collection, offering readers the very best of his best.""
—FineCooking.com, 5/3/10

""If you're looking for a new best friend in the kitchen, one that'll stay a best friend for life, Ready for Dessert might just be the one for you.""
—Epicurious.com, 4/30/10

""Part of David's genius is the way he delivers the goods. He's clench-your-legs