This fail-safe basic book of pastry making will tempt almost anyone to start baking immediately.  It teaches simplified techniques that work every time and produce exactly the quality results of the older classic methods-or better.  And Helen Fletcher's streamlined procedures also save hours of work.  This s a book for beginners that has a lot to teach the experts. The fundamentals covered in THE NEW PASTRY COOK range from simple pie dough to the the once tricky cake batter for genoise - a dozen in all, including buttercakes, chou paste, meringue, Murbteig, brioche, croissant, puff pastry.  All the basic methods and many special techniques are spelled out in a separate section illustrated with 150 how-to photographs in color.  From these are derived the more than 100 finished cakes, pastries, and cookies in this book and many dozens of variations. What is so new and exciting in Helen Fletcher's work is how she has converted the traditional "handmade" formulas into fast and dependable procedures with the precise use of the food processor, electric mixer and the great secret weapon of pastry making. the freezer.  Now perfect croissants can be made with the processor in 31/2 hours, start to finish, instead of the 18 hours it used to take!  Not only are the tested and retested recipes exceptional in their clarity and detail; the essays on each type of pastry explain the reasons for the methods, making the recipes doubly clear when you use them.  Any enterprising beginner can succeed the first time with the Viennese pastries, old-fashioned lattice-top pies, layer cakes, strudels, tarts, chocolate extravaganzas, petit fours with fondant icing myriad kinds of cookies, and - unusual in a pastry book - savory dishes for appetizers and main courses. THE NEW PASTRY COOK is a teach-yourself book, a reference book, and an original collection of recipes, all in one, and its practical modern methods meet the standards of quality of the best classic baking every time.  Used Book in Good Condition