Notes about Recipes in this book

• Sweet tart dough

  • Astrid5555 on October 26, 2015

    This is a very quick and easy dough but do not expect to roll it out. It is easier to just press it into the pan as it is very delicate and tears very easily.

• Berry hand pies

  • FunkyViriditas on May 27, 2023

    These are quick and easy. My sister is addicted to them. For me, I'd prefer a little more flavor... Maybe more butter flavor in the crust and more complex flavor in the filling.

• Wild blueberry pie

  • susankay on January 13, 2025

    This blueberry pie is outstanding - sweet and tart with a flaky, delicious all-butter crust. I used frozen wild blueberries, so baking took longer, and the bottom crust browned perfectly. I increased ClearJel by a scant Tbsp. per Gesine’s instructions.

• German apple custard tart

  • Astrid5555 on November 10, 2015

    This is a nice apple tart! When you have leftover sweet pastry as I had it actually is a breeze to make. Apples are sautéd in lemon juice and butter with the leftover juices than being used as the base for the custard.

  • ckbkaddict on August 12, 2017

    I made this on vacation in a limited kitchen and used purchased sweet pastry so can't comment on the recipe version. The filling was easy to make and delicious. The ingredients listed 2 apples on my kindle cookbook which didn't seem right so I used 5 smallish apples and still struggled to fill the tart. Huge hit with the family and will definitely make again but with more apples. Did not have apricot preserve so didn't glaze the pastry bottom before adding the filling but it didn't seem to be a problem.

• Pear and rhubarb cardamom custard pie

  • hillsboroks on May 22, 2014

    The flavor of this pie is sublime! I made it for the first this weekend but was uncertain about the amount of rhubarb. The recipe calls for 6 stalks but has no reference for weight or other measurements. My bunch of rhubarb had some 1/2" diameter stalks and some 1 1/2" diameter stalks so I guessed and used 5 but even so I think I had too much rhubarb and as a result too much liquid from the fruit. To compensate I baked it longer until the custard began to set. When it had cooled to almost room temperature I cut several pieces to share but found it didn't hold together. One piece fell apart completely so I ended up eating it and loved it. When fully chilled the pieces stayed together but the crust became tougher and soggier. Next time maybe less rhubarb and/or some thickening in the rhubarb pear mix? The crust has excellent flavor but was better warm and fresh as was the filling.

• Meyer lemon pudding pie

  • Astrid5555 on October 26, 2015

    The finished pudding pie is sensational and got rave reviews from my guests. While baking the batter separates into two distinct layers, with the bottom layer being a lovely lemon pudding and the top becoming a sponge cake. However, as with several recipes I have made from this author there are many instances when I doubted that the recipe would work. I am an experienced baker but here I even had issues creaming the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Once the eggs were added the batter smoothed out, but after adding lemon zest, juice and buttermilk, the batter was very liquid and only slightly improved after folding in the flour. On top, there was some serious curdling going on, which luckily did not affect the end result in any way. While waiting for the pudding pie to finish I checked several other lemon pudding pie recipes and realized that curdling is normal and cannot be avoided. Despite the issues this recipe will go into the regular Meyer lemon rotation!

• Classic pecan pie

  • harry_14phue on March 29, 2026

    Seriously good pecan pie. I get made fun of for picking perfect halves to put in top, but I stand bye how gorgeous the final products ends up.

• Huffington Post

  Everyone loves a great pie, but so many bakers regard them as intimidating. Gesine Bullock-Prado ... wants to inspire and embolden you, offering many great flavor ideas here to pique your interest...

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• Baking Bites

  ...will give a lot of confidence to any bakers who have had less-than-perfect pie experiences or simply don’t have that much experience with pies. There is a lot of variety ... to keep you inspired

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• Lisa Is Cooking

  This book is as fun to read as her last one, and the lighthearted nature of it makes you want to get baking and enjoy the results.

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• Kitchn

  This book truly takes classic pie recipes and techniques and introduces a modern edge that remains accessible to home bakers. Examples? New ways to go about lattice and cutouts...

  Full review