A Book About Pastries

The book divides its recipes into three contrasting techniques and historical phases yeast-risen, egg-lightened, and chemically-risen (bicarb and baking powder). 

Robinson leans more to the older ways here and includes a number of recipes with ingredients that wouldn't be out of place in one of Mrs Beeton's Victorian guides.

The book is full of digs at the French and sets the record straight on a number of culinary inventions the French erroneously claim credit for (no, they didn't invent the croissant; it hails from Austria). 

But it's all light-hearted stuff, very much in the tradition of the old rivalry between France and England. Robinson confesses a grudging jealousy for the Gauls, acknowledging that, certainly in the 19th and 20th century, the French "reigned supreme in the European firmament of the culinary arts".

A Book About Pastries is not about French pâtisserie although it will certainly teach you to make Madeleines, Brioche Royale and Mille-feuille. It's about recipes from the broader European tradition, including Robinson's native England (there are recipes for Lardy Cakes, Melton Mowbray Pork Pies, Chelsea Buns and more). 

There are nods to other traditions too. Robinson offers that American favourite, Buttermilk Pancakes (frequently piled high with bacon and maple syrup), a Baked Cheesecake inspired by a 19th century New York recipe and a Brazilian Pão de queijo (a popular cheese bread that put paid to the French claim on choux pastry). 

There's also the South African rusk. The author tells how on his first visit to this country he couldn't fathom this "tooth-breaking dried bread" but, having learnt the art of dipping, is now a convert. 

And finally, towards the close of the book, there's a page on cooking with ganja useful tips and tricks to help you adapt some of the book's recipes to include the famous herb. Robinson says this reflects just how mainstream cannabis edibles have become in Durban.