Image: Marie-Antoine Carême · Public domain
Le Patissier Royal Parisien
- Year
- 1815
- Era
- 19th century
- Origin
- France · Europe
- Language
- French
- Category
- French foundational
Le Patissier Royal Parisien, issued in 1815, is Antonin Carême's systematic treatise on the art of pastry, codifying doughs, creams, entremets, and the elaborate set pieces of the grande cuisine. Its enduring importance rests in part on the architectural plates, engraved tableaux of pavilions, ruins, and temples in sugar and pastry, which fixed the pièce montée as a defining expression of French haute cuisine.
Cooking from this book
Pièce montée
Signature dishThe pièce montée, a towering ornamental confection of pastry, nougat, and spun sugar, is the emblem of this volume. Careme conceived these edible centerpieces as miniature temples, pavilions, and ruins, drawing on classical architecture to elevate the pastry chef to the rank of artist. The engraved plates of soaring sugar structures became the book's signature, fixing in print an ambition that would define grand French patisserie for the century that followed.
An editorial note on a dish associated with this book, written for The Coquinist. It is not a reproduction of the book's recipe.
