Dessert Person: Recipes and Guidance for Baking with Confidence
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- Create Date：2021-05-11 08:55:23
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Claire Saffitz
- ISBN：1984826964
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Summary
In her first cookbook， Bon Appétit and YouTube star of the show Gourmet Makes offers wisdom， problem-solving strategies， and more than 100 meticulously tested， creative， and inspiring recipes。
Claire Saffitz is a baking hero for a new generation。 In Dessert Person， fans will find Claire's signature spin on sweet and savory recipes like Babkallah （a babka-Challah mashup）， Apple and Concord Grape Crumble Pie， Strawberry-Cornmeal Layer Cake， Crispy Mushroom Galette， and Malted Forever Brownies。 She outlines the problems and solutions for each recipe--like what to do if your pie dough for Sour Cherry Pie cracks （patch it with dough or a quiche flour paste！）--as well as practical do's and don'ts， skill level， prep and bake time， and foundational know-how。 With Claire at your side， everyone can be a dessert person。
Claire Saffitz is a baking hero for a new generation。 In Dessert Person， fans will find Claire's signature spin on sweet and savory recipes like Babkallah （a babka-Challah mashup）， Apple and Concord Grape Crumble Pie， Strawberry-Cornmeal Layer Cake， Crispy Mushroom Galette， and Malted Forever Brownies。 She outlines the problems and solutions for each recipe--like what to do if your pie dough for Sour Cherry Pie cracks （patch it with dough or a quiche flour paste！）--as well as practical do's and don'ts， skill level， prep and bake time， and foundational know-how。 With Claire at your side， everyone can be a dessert person。
Reviews
Thibaut Nicodème
，
I've been baking basically since I could walk， and now that I've had the time to try a bunch of recipes from this， let me tell you: this is the best baking recipe book you could have on hand。There's a difficulty/time matrix so you can see which recipes are harder/take longer to make， pictures to help through difficult/technical steps， the instructions are always clear and adaptable （for instance: don't trust recipes that only give you a time in the oven; what you need is recipes that tell you wh I've been baking basically since I could walk， and now that I've had the time to try a bunch of recipes from this， let me tell you: this is the best baking recipe book you could have on hand。There's a difficulty/time matrix so you can see which recipes are harder/take longer to make， pictures to help through difficult/technical steps， the instructions are always clear and adaptable （for instance: don't trust recipes that only give you a time in the oven; what you need is recipes that tell you what to look for to know it's finished， which this book always does）。 Plus the fact that quantities are all converted into metric is nice， as a non-American。It's also good that this book has a solid balance of classics vs innovative stuff。 I was delighted， for instance， to finally have an alternative to the galette des rois， since we celebrate the holiday here in Belgium but i don't like the classic almond-based recipe （and the only alternative in stores is apple， which is fine but also just not as satisfying）。 But at the same time， every time I've had a classic requested to me？ I found it in here too。 。。。more
Maria González
，
Great book， it has very advanced recipes but they include great explanations to really execute the recipes like Claire herself-
Michelle
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Not for me。
meghan
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4。5i only made one recipe lol before having to return to the library but super pretty and the cake was yummy
Elaine
，
Interesting dessert recipes。 I’m also a huge fan of desserts but I guess my tastes generally run to simpler fare。 There are， for me， some very shining stars in this collection but there are very few recipes that I would use。
Laurie
，
Almost all the sweet recipes can have the sugar reduced by half or further and still be plenty sweet。 The recipes halve or third pretty well， with a few exceptions， though I find her use of springform pans vs traditional pans occasionally arbitrary。
Shipshapeeatworthy
，
Baking， like anything else in life， is a skill acquired and developed through practice。 I used to say when asked， "I can cook but I'm definitely not a baker！" because it always seemed that it was a binary thing， either a person was a baker or wasn't。 But what I've come to understand over the past few years is that baking has rules and， if you learn them then you can bake pretty much anything （side convo: it also doesn't hurt to have a scale and use weighted measures when they're given）。 So， when Baking， like anything else in life， is a skill acquired and developed through practice。 I used to say when asked， "I can cook but I'm definitely not a baker！" because it always seemed that it was a binary thing， either a person was a baker or wasn't。 But what I've come to understand over the past few years is that baking has rules and， if you learn them then you can bake pretty much anything （side convo: it also doesn't hurt to have a scale and use weighted measures when they're given）。 So， when I was sent a copy of Claire Saffitz's Dessert Person， I knew that Saffitz's goal was to help home cooks realize their potential as bakers。Dessert Person offers a tangible way to learn how to bake or how to become a better baker by adding to their repertoire of skills and techniques。 I think one of the most useful parts of the book is the Recipe Matrix which presents recipes in terms of level of difficulty and the amount of time you'll need to spend making it。 Having this information so usefully laid out is a great tool for the reader because it gives different entry points -- almost like a choose your own baking adventure。 The Recipe Matrix also provides another way to organize the recipes within the cookbook。 Either way， I appreciate these types of infographics in cookbooks。It's clear after reading through the introduction that Saffitz has a passion for baking -The recipes are organized into 7 chapters: Loaf Cakes + Single Layer Cakes， Pies + Tarts， Bars + Cookies， Layer Cakes + Fancy Desserts， Breakfast + Brunch， Breads + Savory Baking， and Foundation Recipes。 She pays particular attention to what ingredients she uses -- working in the test kitchen at Bon Appetite Saffitz learned the realities facing home cooks， "It requires time and money to shop for ingredients。"（12） There is a preference given to seasonal produce and， what she strives for in her recipes is balance between finding the right combination of flavours and textures。 So， while the book is full of common recipes such as cakes， pies， cookies， breads， Saffitz has used flavour and texture to create recipes that are uniquely hers。 One of the things I love to bake are scones and biscuits （extra points if the recipe contains buttermilk！） because creating the flaky layers of either of these delightful treats isn't that hard but the end results always make me feel like I've really accomplished something special。 With Saffitz's Miso Buttermilk Biscuits， she has found a way to enhance the savouriness with the addition of miso （which also lends a slightly cheesy flavour）。 I loved how she directs the home baker to make biscuits that are so flaky with so many layers。 So， while this was not my first time making biscuits， I appreciated Saffitz's instructions。 Even though I have methods that work for me， I'm never averse to learning others！The Buckwheat Blueberry Skillet Pancake is another example of how Saffitz takes a familiar recipe （the Dutch Baby pancake） and gives it a bit more flavour and texture。 One of life's great wonders: how the batter creeps up and puffs out of the skillet while it bakes away in the oven。 So， with the skillet pancake （a close relative to the Dutch Baby）， while it puffs and browns in the oven， it takes texture cues from custardy clafoutis。 Not overly sweet， the brown butter， buckwheat flour， and blueberries offer something much more interesting in terms of both flavour and texture than what the run-of-the-mill pancake or plain Dutch Baby offer。 There is this feeling with baking that it must be magic， that anyone who creates something lovely and delicious from flour， butter， and sugar must know the secrets of the universe。 But as Claire Saffitz would tell you: it's all about practice and patience。 It's also about persevering even when things aren't turning out how you'd like them to or how you think they should。 Things that don't work or fail offer a learning experience。 Like when I was baking the Pistachio Pinwheels from Dessert Person。 Pistachios are a pricy ingredient so when I noticed that my pistachios weren't as green （more of a murky brown） after being pulsed in the food processor I felt annoyed。 The whole point of using the pistachios is for the vibrant green they produce so that the pinwheels look even more striking。 The green also offers a visual cue as to what the flavour of the swirl in the pinwheel cookie might be。 I even tried buying a different type of pistachio to see if this would work but， in the end， I added a neon green food colouring so that I could have a lush green swirl in my cookie。 The cookies turned out fine and I added them to my holiday cookie boxes。Another thing I baked from Dessert Person that I shared with my neighbours was the Coffee Coffee Cake。 I took Saffitz's recipe notes to heart and really took my time creaming the sugar， butter， and oil together because I wanted to achieve the fluffiness that she describes。 It was during the five minutes while I creamed these ingredients together that I realized that I probably haven't been properly creaming anything together， maybe ever。 In setting a timer for 5 minutes， I could see that 5 minutes felt like an eternity and without Saffitz's instruction to do so， I'm not sure if I would have lasted even a minute before feeling as though I'd done enough。 Claire Saffitz's Dessert Person offers an opportunity to home bakers to build their confidence by baking delicious recipes。 With this cookbook Saffitz has struck an even balance between teaching methods and techniques and giving the home baker a range of different recipes to try。 From very simple to more elaborate and for any occasion， the recipes within Dessert Person offer a scaffolded approach to learning and practicing the art of baking。 As Saffitz tell us: "I am a dessert person， and we are all dessert people。"Please note that this is an excerpt of a longer review posted to www。shipshapeeatworthy。wordpress。comI would like to take this opportunity to thank Penguin Random House Canada / Clarkson Potter Publishers for providing me with a free， review copy of this book。 I did not receive monetary compensation for my post， and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own。 。。。more
Donna
，
Im from SEAsia and a lot of the good looking desserts from the book are pretty much impossible for me to make。 We dont have rhubarb， kumquats， ricotta （or if we do， its a very hard find）， etc here。 The rhubarb cake looked really good but its sad knowing that i cant ever make it。 :（ there also arent many （or any that i could remember） suggestions for substitutions。Im glad she added weight measurements but i wish she also had celsius equivalents for the temperatures。Its a beautiful book nonetheles Im from SEAsia and a lot of the good looking desserts from the book are pretty much impossible for me to make。 We dont have rhubarb， kumquats， ricotta （or if we do， its a very hard find）， etc here。 The rhubarb cake looked really good but its sad knowing that i cant ever make it。 :（ there also arent many （or any that i could remember） suggestions for substitutions。Im glad she added weight measurements but i wish she also had celsius equivalents for the temperatures。Its a beautiful book nonetheless， i love that all the recipes have pictures of the end product。 And I love how Claire wrote it。 Straight forward recipes with very helpful notes that come with it。 The basic how-to's were also a great touch。 Its just that if youre like me， who lives outside the US， the recipes may seem limiting。 。。。more
Correna Dillon
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After making six recipes I feel like I can safely vouch for this cookbook as being amazing！！ Sweet and savory baking all recipes delicious！！
Georgia Papakirk
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Claire Saffitz has meticulously developed these recipes。 It is one of the best luxury dessert cookbooks of our time。 The best recipe is the foccacia， and I love her pistachio pinwheel cookies。 While technique and specific ingredients are required， there are lots of work arounds。 I still love Claire and this book she is an icon。
Rachel Heinrich
，
I liked the recipe matrix at the beginning， but the book went downhill for me from there。 These are what I call “big city” recipes; I would not be able to find ingredients locally for many included recipes。 Also， too much name dropping。。。 again， not my thing。 As are the favorite tastes of the author。。。hard to warm up to a baking book that includes a ton of fruit that I can’t buy locally。 And， then what’s with the last section of random recipes。。。they aren’t savories to use as a round to finish o I liked the recipe matrix at the beginning， but the book went downhill for me from there。 These are what I call “big city” recipes; I would not be able to find ingredients locally for many included recipes。 Also， too much name dropping。。。 again， not my thing。 As are the favorite tastes of the author。。。hard to warm up to a baking book that includes a ton of fruit that I can’t buy locally。 And， then what’s with the last section of random recipes。。。they aren’t savories to use as a round to finish out a meal， they aren’t sweets to enjoy at other times， it feels like they are just some favorites that the author stuck in because she wasn’t confident that she would get another book to save them for。 。。。more
Margaret Gerberding
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The picture on the cover did it for me。 I want to bake that cake！
Kate
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Made the chocolate chip cookies， blueberry buckwheat skillet cake， and rice pudding cake with mango caramel。 I had heard that the recipes in this were finicky and had too many extra steps， but I found them pretty doable。 The rice pudding cake took forever， but the other two were easy。 Obviously I didn’t pick the harder recipes though （not a baker）。 Anyway， fun book， wish I could have tried other recipes but I had to return to the library。
Claire
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Diverse mix of elevated everyday recipes and special-occasion bakes。 I'll definitely revisit this one for inspiration in the future。Baked: rhubarb loaf cake， miso biscuits， pistachio pinwheelsWant to make soon: cardamom brioche twists Diverse mix of elevated everyday recipes and special-occasion bakes。 I'll definitely revisit this one for inspiration in the future。Baked: rhubarb loaf cake， miso biscuits， pistachio pinwheelsWant to make soon: cardamom brioche twists 。。。more
Betsy
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The oatmeal pecan brittle cookies are fantastic and the kabocha squash bread was delicious as well。 I appreciate the detail and attention to instructions for individual recipes and baking in general。 I look forward to making the preserved lemon meringue cake next。
Tiffiny
，
This is a great book！ It has recipes for the beginner and the experienced baker， it even someone who wants a bit of a challenge。I want to make every recipe up to the 'breads and savory baking' section， save the goat cheese cake with honey and figs。 I don't do goat cheese。The Bread and Savory Baking section is not my favorite， that's why the book gets four stars from me。 I know for a fact that most people would enjoy this section。。。 While there are several recipes in this section I want to try， t This is a great book！ It has recipes for the beginner and the experienced baker， it even someone who wants a bit of a challenge。I want to make every recipe up to the 'breads and savory baking' section， save the goat cheese cake with honey and figs。 I don't do goat cheese。The Bread and Savory Baking section is not my favorite， that's why the book gets four stars from me。 I know for a fact that most people would enjoy this section。。。 While there are several recipes in this section I want to try， there are many that I don't。 A no for me。。。 Tomato tart， creamy greens pie with baked eggs， clam and fennel pizza， ricotta and broccoli race pie， deep-dish quiche。The foundational recipes section is a great resource for all levels of bakers！I really like the matrix at the front of the book， because it lays out all of the recipes on a graph of sorts。 They are organized by level of difficulty and time it would take to complete the recipe。 A great thing to have， so you don't choose something that is going to take 12 hours， when you only have time to make something that takes two。 。。。more
Beka
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Some very decided opinions and tasty looking recipes， but nothing that stuck out to me。
Luca Tanaka
，
- best English muffin recipe I've tried！ （have to confess this is the main reason I bought the book， but I'm excited to explore the rest of it too） amazing， delicious， well-explained， no complaints。 - the recipe matrix up front is a very cool concept and I like it as a visual and a reference。 - I like the note on seasonality and sustainability as well， and Saffitz's hacks like using beans in lieu of blind bake pebbles。- my mouth waters at the idea of miso buttermilk biscuits， so I think that is - best English muffin recipe I've tried！ （have to confess this is the main reason I bought the book， but I'm excited to explore the rest of it too） amazing， delicious， well-explained， no complaints。 - the recipe matrix up front is a very cool concept and I like it as a visual and a reference。 - I like the note on seasonality and sustainability as well， and Saffitz's hacks like using beans in lieu of blind bake pebbles。- my mouth waters at the idea of miso buttermilk biscuits， so I think that is next up to try！ 。。。more
Joy
，
So far I have only made one- the preserved lemon cake。 And because I was lazy I only made a third of the cake （which amounted to 1 8-inch cake） and no lemon curd and no meringue。 But I still am giving it an excellent review because it is in my top 5 best cakes of this year （and I have been baking a lot）。 I have decided I will invest in doing the whole shebang for my birthday in May。 The cake is light and the lemon flavor is complex- lemony but not just sour。 It’s really hard to describe。 It leav So far I have only made one- the preserved lemon cake。 And because I was lazy I only made a third of the cake （which amounted to 1 8-inch cake） and no lemon curd and no meringue。 But I still am giving it an excellent review because it is in my top 5 best cakes of this year （and I have been baking a lot）。 I have decided I will invest in doing the whole shebang for my birthday in May。 The cake is light and the lemon flavor is complex- lemony but not just sour。 It’s really hard to describe。 It leaves you wanting more。 A tiny bit on the dry side all by itself， but I can see how it would be perfect with layers of lemon curd。 As it is， my house has been eating it every day for the last three days and I’m still looking forward to eating more。 Oh and I did reduce the sugar by 10% because I don’t like anything too sweet- and I found the balance perfect。 。。。more
Barbara
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Interesting orgnization， so you know the degree of difficulty for each recipe。I found 3 recipes to try soon。
Jessie
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I bought this as a Christmas gift for my boyfriend because he has been getting more into baking （I'm the cook） and Claire is our imaginary internet foodie dream gf。So far we have made two recipes: Mushroom Galette and Brown Butter Corn Muffins。 Both came out INCREDIBLE。 （One of the other reviews of this cookbook mentioned that nothing would be lost if you removed the non-dessert recipes and I am going to have to disagree HARD with that。）I know this cookbook is called Dessert Person， but we haven I bought this as a Christmas gift for my boyfriend because he has been getting more into baking （I'm the cook） and Claire is our imaginary internet foodie dream gf。So far we have made two recipes: Mushroom Galette and Brown Butter Corn Muffins。 Both came out INCREDIBLE。 （One of the other reviews of this cookbook mentioned that nothing would be lost if you removed the non-dessert recipes and I am going to have to disagree HARD with that。）I know this cookbook is called Dessert Person， but we haven't actually made any of the desserts （yet）。 Have plenty of them ear-marked， though！The recipe matrix is really helpful as a ballpark range for difficulty。 Sometimes you don't know how difficult a recipe is going to be until you start doing it and you're like "oh shit I do not actually have the time/energy for this but it's too late to stop。"The one thing I wish this had was an index or something for all the different breads/crusts/frostings recipes and what other recipes they are used for。 Like "Flaky Puff Pastry （used for recipes on pages blah blah blah）" We made a double batch of the olive oil dough for the galette and it would be really nice to know what other thing we could make with it without needing to go page by page to search the recipes。 。。。more
Chang Ohana
，
The book is beautiful and was obviously a passion project。 There was so much detail and thought put into not only the large array of recipes but how they would be organized， cross referenced and curated as a complete work。 As a fan of her YouTube channel， I can see how her love for complex flavors and finding the best way to do something translates to her book。 For my skill level and kitchen pantry stockpile， this book is far above where I am。 The recipes have suggestions based on skill level an The book is beautiful and was obviously a passion project。 There was so much detail and thought put into not only the large array of recipes but how they would be organized， cross referenced and curated as a complete work。 As a fan of her YouTube channel， I can see how her love for complex flavors and finding the best way to do something translates to her book。 For my skill level and kitchen pantry stockpile， this book is far above where I am。 The recipes have suggestions based on skill level and time and that was a good starting place for me。 Unfortunately， going through the book， there wasn't much that I could try based on ingredients I already own。 I will continue to try and grow as a baker and try some of the more challenging recipes when I am in the mood for some project baking and can plan ahead for what will be needed。 。。。more
Mariko
，
Excellent instructions， some of the best I've ever read。 Very detailed and helpful。 Most recipes have fruit， which I'm not a big fan of。 There's only 3 I want to try。 Her matrix is genius though。 Excellent instructions， some of the best I've ever read。 Very detailed and helpful。 Most recipes have fruit， which I'm not a big fan of。 There's only 3 I want to try。 Her matrix is genius though。 。。。more
Stephanie Heinrich
，
I’ve loved Claire and her work since the early days of Gourmet Makes on YouTube。 I loved every page of this， and I’m so excited to try so many of these recipes！ The detail of the book is incredible， and the photos were stunning。 Naturally， Claire makes everything looks beautiful and easy。 If you love to bake， I highly recommend this book！
Jacqueline
，
Absolutely 100% the very best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made or eaten in my life。 Coffee cake also received rave reviews。 The recipes are clear and the photos are lovely。 Reading the little recipe intros is like having a chat with a friend， and all the recipes actually seem like something I will make。
Aurore
，
Even better than I thought it would be！ I love how inventive Claire is when it comes to updating classics and making them possibly even tastier， how clear her explanations， and even her way of helping you set expectations as to how much you will enjoy the outcome of a specific dish -as if she was respectful of your time and efforts in the kitchen。 It's an extremely well thought-out cookbook， with precise but concise directions and yummy pictures， and I can't wait to try all of her recipes！ My ma Even better than I thought it would be！ I love how inventive Claire is when it comes to updating classics and making them possibly even tastier， how clear her explanations， and even her way of helping you set expectations as to how much you will enjoy the outcome of a specific dish -as if she was respectful of your time and efforts in the kitchen。 It's an extremely well thought-out cookbook， with precise but concise directions and yummy pictures， and I can't wait to try all of her recipes！ My main problem from here is to decide where to start， as there as SO MANY I want to make！ How does she come up with all these ideas anyway？ Malted brownies？ Rice pudding cake？ Peach Melba Tart？ These all sound （and look） to me like they should have been culinary classics for ages， yet I'd never heard of them before！ I think the girl is a food genius。 。。。more
Patti Flanagin
，
In this book， recipes give measurements in cups/ounces/grams。 I typically bake using grams。 After an unsatisfactory first result， I measured ingredients in both cups and grams for the next recipe。 The measurements for cups/grams did not correspond to my measurements。 Grams resulted in a greater amount than the listed amount when transferred to measuring cups。 （This explains the issue with the first recipe I made using grams only: too much flour。） Perhaps results would have been better if I had m In this book， recipes give measurements in cups/ounces/grams。 I typically bake using grams。 After an unsatisfactory first result， I measured ingredients in both cups and grams for the next recipe。 The measurements for cups/grams did not correspond to my measurements。 Grams resulted in a greater amount than the listed amount when transferred to measuring cups。 （This explains the issue with the first recipe I made using grams only: too much flour。） Perhaps results would have been better if I had measured everything in cups。Although I found many of the recipes appealing， I decided to give up and return the book to the library， and not purchase my own copy。 。。。more
Elaine
，
There is a ton to love in this satisfying thick cookbook - tons of tips， superb preparation guidance， and a nice blend of tips and ideas。 Claire Saffitz it an absolute delight in her youtube series and probably is single-handedly responsible for a boost in moving baking away from something that your grandmother does， to something that educated and interesting millenials are perfecting。 Someday I suspect that she will be viewed in the same class as Martha Stewart in terms of her recipe creation a There is a ton to love in this satisfying thick cookbook - tons of tips， superb preparation guidance， and a nice blend of tips and ideas。 Claire Saffitz it an absolute delight in her youtube series and probably is single-handedly responsible for a boost in moving baking away from something that your grandmother does， to something that educated and interesting millenials are perfecting。 Someday I suspect that she will be viewed in the same class as Martha Stewart in terms of her recipe creation and her dedication to her brand。My only concerns fall into two categories。 The first is that the recipes are presented in TINY font， which makes the recipes more than challenging to read， and almost impossible for those of us who lack crystal clear vision。 In addition， the sheer volume of the cookbook creates a daunting environment。 Fewer recipes， with better editing and attention to font size， would be greatly appreciated the next time around。 。。。more
Kate Buttner
，
Loved it！ Great that it includes different flours and fruits！
Sharrice
，