I immediately purchased this book for myself as everything looked SO GOOD. The things I've made from this were so delicious, and I'm now telling all my friends about it. I'm really excited to keep baking through this book. Excellent!

I adored this. Loved it so much I ended up buying a copy for my sister. I tend to prefer photos over illustrations in my cookbooks, especially with how lovely these cakes all sounded. But she liked the lovely watercolor-esque illustrations.

I bookmarked a few myself for us to try.

It's a cute cookbook with recipes that are accessible for bakers at every level. A very "something for everyone" kind of cookbook. Highly recommend. Thanks muchly to NetFalley and Scribner for a copy in exchange for an honest review!

Gateau details the simplicity of the French cake while demonstrating why French cakes seem so decadent. Each recipe is imbued with fun anecdotes, history and various alternatives to make these recipes your favorite just as they are the author's favorites. These are loving and thoughtfully put together and I enjoyed every moment of reading through these recipes. I will highly recommend it and am on my way to purchasing a hard copy for myself so I can go test all of these out myself.

Gateau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes
Author: Aleksandra Crapanzano
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What a wonderful cookbook! The variety of recipes are well-written and easy to follow and are accompanied with lovely illustrations. I will say it would be nice to have actual photographs for reference but understand that it would probably take away from the charm of the book. I think this would make a great addition or gift for both beginner and advanced bakers.

Thanks to NetGalley, Scribner, and Aleksandra Crapanzano for an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts in this review are my own.

This is a wonderful volume of simple French cakes. There aren’t pictures, but charming illustrations and lovely recipes. I’m receiving a copy for my personal cookbook library as these are the exact kind of recipes I like to bake.

Love to bake cakes? Then you’ll want to pick up Gateau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes by award winning author Aleksandra Crapanzano. This excellent cookbook has dozens of great recipes for cakes – both sweet and savory, as well as toppings and fillings. The names of the recipes are in French (as well as English), which makes them sound much more fancy and romantic than regular titles. At the beginning of each recipe, there is a paragraph or two giving information about the origin of the recipe, vignettes, stories, etc. The prose is very well-written and interesting; surely this cookbook is one that can be taken to a warm corner and read cover to cover.

The recipes are easy-to-follow; there are excellent instructions to insure perfect results. The variety is excellent so that anyone who wants to bake a cake and is looking for something specific will find it in this cookbook. Some of the recipes are a bit involved – these aren’t particularly quick or easy – but the end results will be spectacular. This will become a go-to cookbook because cake is just one of those things that belongs at meals, whether fancy for company or just for everyday.

The only unfortunate drawback is that there are no photographs of the finished cakes. While there are nice illustrations, they don’t inspire like a beautiful photograph. Nevertheless, Crapanzano knows her subject and is an excellent writer. Everyone will be able to find a good cake recipe (the savory ones are especially enticing) for any occasion.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

I loved this book -- not only for the wonderful recipes, but also for the delightful illustrations as well as the narratives that Aleksandra Crapanzano writes before each recipe. It came as news to me how much the French love to bake at home and that their baking is more simple -- they leave the "grand" and intricate cakes to the patissiers and patissieres who have gone through long apprenticeships.

According to Crapanzano, the French master the classics and always have "an arsenal of recipes that, once learned, become mere blueprints, allowing for myriad variations, depending on what's in season and what's in the cupboard." And Crapanzano fills her book with a lot of these variations, so much so, that those "blueprint" cakes will take on many changes.

Crapanzano's recipes go from simple cakes to chocolate cakes, to layer cakes, as well as so much more to include holiday as well as savory cakes.

This is a delightful book and one that I know will be a staple in my kitchen. A huge thank you to #NetGalley and Scribner for this ARC of #Gateau.

Equally inspiring and daunting.
I loved the introductions to each section. Bakers will appreciate the standard recipes and the author's customizations.
Some of the ingredients will be a little hard to procure--I probably have to drive 35 miles to find a vanilla bean, further for French butter--but the simpler recipes should work for almost everyone.
I also admire the inclusion of savory cakes.

An amazing and delightful book about the often-overlooked types of French "cakes" that are both easy to make and delicious to eat.

The author obviously knows how to develop recipes, which are written in both U.S. volume and metric measurements. The recipes are accompanied by beautiful watercolors of the cakes (no photography).

Contents include "The Simplest of the Classics" such as Yogurt cakes, and go on to cakes that are layered, Regional Classics, Nut or Fruit cakes, Savory "cakes", Madeleines, Buche de Noel, and even a section about sauces, icings, fillings, and glazes.

Most of these are not typical "American" style layer cakes, but rather baked goods meant to be thrown together for a dinner party along with a cup of tea or coffee. They are not super-sweet but rather sweet with another flavor dominating, which is more European in style.

Many of the recipes offer various adaptations such as the inclusion of other flavors like nuts, chocolate, citrus, spices, or fruits.

This book would make a wonderful gift for a baker or as a wedding gift as it is lovely to look at.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced electronic review copy of this fantastic book! I really enjoyed the journey into the world of French cakes and pastries. I loved a story behind each and every recipe as well as the straightforward directions. Can’t wait to try some of the recipes!

I love baking, but French baking has always felt waaaaay out of my league: too much finicky-ness, too many ingredients. This book really broke things down in a way that felt both accessible and exciting-- it made me want to bake! Easily my favorite part was the introduction, where Crapanzano reviews just about EVERY ingredient/tool/technique you'll need to approach French baking.

Gateau by Aleksandra Crapanzano was not quite the cookbook I expected as I have prepared recipes from The Way to Cook or my old Gourmet cookbooks (which had a good selection of French recipes) and the recipes were a bit different than what I found in Gateau which is a good thing. Gateau's recipes seem updated and have a fresh approach to French baking. I liked how the author discussed the cooking techniques and ingredients as her writing helped explain how to use both in her recipes. Some of the recipes you'll find include:

Yogurt Cake
Pound Cake
Chocolate Orange Marble Cake
Strawberry Cake
Charlotte with Chocolate Mousse and Chestnut Cream
Pistachio Roulade with White Chocolate Cream and Raspberries
Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil Savory Loaf

Note: I used English recipe names for ease of writing. The book contains both French and English recipe names.

Recommend.

Review written after downloading a galley from NetGalley.

A beautiful, detailed, and comprehensive book of French cakes. The book covers equipment, ingredients, spirits, and a cheat sheet giving specifics about ingredients used (i.e. style of butter, etc.) The recipes are in chapters: The Simplest of the Classics; Cakes with Fruit; Regional Classics; Nut Cakes and Tortes; Chocolate Cakes; Cakes to Layer; The Chic, Delicious and Playful; Madeleines, Financiers and Visitandines; Holiday Cakes; Savory Cakes; and the last chapter is on all sorts of soaks/fillings/glazes/etc.
Each recipe starts with some introductory paragraphs - an explanation, history, or other info. Some of the recipes include variations of technique or flavors, and some have info on using alternate pans. The book has charming color illustrations rather than photographs. I love them, but I wish there were one on each recipe and that they were larger. Especially for the cake styles I am unfamiliar with, I prefer to see what it should look like as completed. There are a lot of different flavors and cake styles covered in here.
Overall, this is a delightful book, and I appreciate the author's approach to make French desserts accessible to home bakers.

This cookbook should be a staple in every kitchen! The point of the book is to show that French cakes and desserts aren’t all ornate and complicated. Simple, delicious and I look forward to baking everything inside. Would make a fun group event at the bookstore.

A beautiful cookbook cover, very cute with drawings that emphasize the French baking theme. The cookbook's is format very traditional, but I wish there were photographs of the recipes. All the ingredients are both in grams and cups which I prefer, grams being more exact. I loved that there was a section just for chocolate cake! Te most intriguing recipe was Moelleux Chocolat Framboise (Molten Chocolate Raspberry Cake). The recipes are so decadent and exotic and provide a new challenge for the average baker.

A must read for those of us who enjoy baking. I adore the illustrations throughout the book which really add to its character. The recipes are concise and easy to follow. I especially appreciate the variations of the recipes Crapanzano adds often. For instance, there's a recipe for pound cake with fifty variations. How great is that! This would make a beautiful gift for the baker in your life.

Many thanks to Scribner and NetGalley for an ARC.

This wonderful comprehensive look at French cakes will send you rushing to the kitchen to try out some of these recipes! Some of the recipes are quite simple and others more complicated but each has ideas for changing the recipe, so once you've mastered one cake, you'll actually have ideas for how to make dozens of different kinds of cakes to feed to your family and friends.

I fully admin I am intimidated by most recipes in this book (just seeing the French names along), yet I'm not one to shy from a challenge (especially with instructions that are not numbered). I've been fortunate to visit France yet never indulged (gasp) in the beautiful French baked goods as I should have. Though a regret, one I intent to rectify by attempting the recipes in Gateau. With lovely illustrations, stories from the author, I will be dedicating much time baking and trying Les Classiques. Oddly terrifying. I'll always consider myself a basic baker yet I have hope, especially with books like Gateau. The author also includes great tips and tricks (I'd not think to use Mike's Hot Honey for Madeleines au Miel Epice. Or make it in general. Maybe I needed the terrifying experience the author had).

I like how the author entwines a little history or tidbit behind each recipe or ingredient in the recipe. Each recipe has story behind it; which is nice. I also like some recipes have various add ins to change the cake flavors. There are so many great recipes to pick from. There are the famous French dessert and pastry recipes one thinks of French classics but there are also little gems tucked between the pages of this book.

Gateau is a great book for simple but delicious cakes. I was swept up in the name of the book thinking totally of France and these recipes did not disappoint. A lovely insight into how the French can whip up a lovely treat for coffee get togethers or for after dinner. Meant for both novice and more skilled bakers, a worthwhile addition to anyone's cookbook collection. Thank you #NetGalley for this ARC.