"Kitty" > wrote in message
om...

> I think the $50 books focused more on how
> to make each kind of squiggly, crosshatch, etc.
> designs wrapped around the outside or laid on
> the top of various cakes. I'm not that far yet.
> I'd be happy with learning how to properly assemble
> these things. I'm a little tired of "layers" and "assembly"
> meaning that I spread buttercream or jelly between
> pan-cake layers.

Well, buttercream (or some filling/frosting/icing equivalent) is very
often what holds desserts together. I have two suggestions, one
general and one specific: First, go to your largest local public
library and browse through the cookbook section. You'll more than
likely find something which will meet your needs. Second, I highly
recommend Bo Friberg's book "The Professional Pastry Chef." Yes, it's
another "$50" book, but it's a very valuable reference tool -- look
for it on sale, join a cookbook club and get it free as a dividend (I
think that's how I got my copy), or borrow it at the library, but
browse through it. It's a good one.

Other books which may be helpful are the "New Professional Chef" from
the Culinary Institute of America and "La Varenne Pratique" -- both
big, expensive, and very useful tools. Smaller books which are
interesting are Alice Medrich's "Cocolate" and Robert Lambert's
"Fantasy Chocolate Desserts."

-j