River Cafe Pocket Books: Puddings, Cakes and Ice Creams

by Rose Gray, Ruth Rogers

Rich, indulgent chocolate cake served with an espresso; tangy lemon sorbet, or a creamy pannacotta with rhubarb — just some of the classically Italian choices out of the 100 mouthwatering dessert recipes in this collection.

Genres: Cookbooks

176 pages, Paperback

First published November 2, 2006

About the author

Rose Gray was a celebrated British chef and cookery writer, best known for co-founding The River Café in 1987 with Ruth Rogers. The restaurant, which earned a Michelin star in 1998, became a launchpad for a generation of chefs, including Jamie Oliver, Theo Randall, and April Bloomfield. Rose’s influence on the culinary world was immense, with many of her protégés citing her as a key mentor.
Along with Ruth, she authored several cookbooks, including The River Café Cookbook and River Café Green, which have become classics in Italian cuisine. Gray also shared her love for Italian food with a broader audience through the 1998 Channel 4 series The Italian Kitchen.
Her career was not just defined by her cooking, but by her charitable work as well. Gray became a Breast Cancer Ambassador after her own diagnosis and co-founded the Cooks in Schools charity. She spent part of her life in Tuscany, where her passion for authentic Italian food truly flourished.
Rose’s legacy lives on through her cookbooks, the many chefs she mentored, and the River Café, which continues to be a symbol of culinary excellence.

Reviews

[Vidula Verma]

I have enjoyed many of the recipes in the Pasta book in the same series, however I am wondering if there are some errors in the oven temperature for some of the tarts? Last night I baked the Lemon Apple Tart (recipe #11) and the baking temp was 150deg C. I was somewhat surprised as this is quite a low temperature for baking a tart or a cake but I checked other recipes in the section on tarts and surprisingly most of them eg nos 4 to 7) were all baked at this temp. Since I normally don't tweak a recipe the first time I attempt it I followed it to a T. So the baking time is said to be 45 mins to 1 hour. After 1 hr 40 mins it had finally baked i.e. without being wobbly in the middle. Disappointingly the butter in the dish had pooled at the bottom of the tart, overall a waste of time and ingredients. I hope they correct this temperature?

[Ietrio]

I don't feel this book is as good as others in this series of cook books, but it is still good compared with the regular fare.