The Art of the Confectioner: Sugarwork and Pastillage

Confectioner was used as a textbook in a college course for aspiring pastry chefs, focusing on sugar art and pastillage. The content is highly professional, with techniques thoroughly explained — from foundational skills to advanced applications. The section on the structural assembly of pastillage, along with the delicate detailing of flowers and lacework, is particularly impressive. These techniques are not only beautiful but directly applicable to real-world production and competition-level work. The book features an abundance of photographs and clear diagrams, making it easy to follow the steps visually. This visual clarity is a great asset, especially during hands-on practice. Beyond its practical value, Confectioner is simply beautiful to look at. The sugar art showcased is so artistic and refined that browsing through the pages feels like viewing a gallery of edible masterpieces. While beginners might find some sections challenging, this book is an exceptional resource for anyone aiming to master sugar art at a professional level or prepare for high-level competitions.

This is a master class w detailed instructions n excellent photos that guide you step by step It’s super comprehensive n very professional Going through this book truly is like taking a class by the best sugar artist Not a beginners book too complicated CON: this author does NOT include a resource guide at all There r so many different tools ingredients speciality products etc that not having a resource is truly disappointing n definitely frustrating to say the least Highly recommend I would have given it 5 stars but not having a resource guide is a definite disappointment

Ewald Notter's book is so hard to find, let alone at a reasonable price. Thank you Amazon! For anyone interested in learning the art of sugar pulling, blowing and design, this book is the bible of sugar work. Beautiful illustrations and directions. I won't lie, it's not an easy craft, but this book surely helps to teach you what you need to now to at least start. It goes from beginner to advanced. Love it!

In addition to detailed explanations for pulled and blown sugar, sugar casting and pastillage work, it has some new techniques that I haven't seen anywhere else, like cracked sugar spheres, sugar geodes etc. Can't wait to try out those. Also sugar rocks by simple heating of pastillage in a microwave. My only complaint is just giving Baume reading for sugar syrup. I intend to try it out using conversion table in Advanced Pastry Chef book by Bo Friberg, which simply gives you weight of water and weight of sugar which you need to bring to boil and cool down to get desired Baume reading at room temperature. That is quite useful to know.

I blog and make videos on cake decorating at CakePlayGround.com. I bought this book to learn more about sugar art for use on cake design. The pictures were lush and gave me ideas for sugar to dream on. However, the book was probably a little above my sugar skill level. I am going to try some of the simpler techniques shown in the book so that I can continue to improve my sugar skills. Who knows? Maybe I can become a sugar master too in time. I would have to recommend the book but it is definitely not for beginners in sugar art. I definitely think that it would be a great inspiration and resource for those that have some skill in pastry, cake or other sugar crafts that want to take their skills up a notch. For those that are looking for something a little easier, come check out my videos at CakePlayGround.com where we use some silicone molds and pre-cooked isomalt sticks to craft some pretty great looking sugar decorations.

The contents of this book are all-encompassing. While I feel that some of the projects in this book are definitely for the more advanced chef, it is a one-of-a-kind resource for working with sugar for sculpture. Beautiful photographs, detailed recipes and tips, and superior organization make this book a master accomplishment. You would be hard-pressed to find another book on this subject done so well. Well done, Chef Notter!

Chef Notter is a great Artist and teacher. I have had the pleasure of taking classes and Seminars with Chef Notter and this book and his book on Chocolate work are well written and very informative with excellent pictures and diagrams are excellent. This is a professional level book and very well worth it. It is the kind to save for years to come.

My business partener and I went to Florida and took a class from Ewald. We have been awaiting the release of this book. It is a tremendous book both for the beginner as well as the skilled decorator who wants to learn more about pulled and blown sugar as well as working with pastillage. There are pictures and the instructions are very well done to allow anyone to understand and follow along. The completed pieces in this book are breathtaking. I highly recommend this book for those who cannot go and take a sugar class from the Master who brought these techniques to the United States.

Love this book. Not for the faint of heart or beginner. Still, buy it anyways. It's inspiring.

Was listed as new but had gouge on inside of book. Content on sugar excellent. Seller promptly replaced book at no extra cost.

Mr Notter I salute you once again: The Art of the Confectioner- Sugarwork and Pastillage is meant for professional Sweet and pastry makers, but it also disects the techniques enough so it can be followed by the serious home cooks who wants to try something new and exciting. Sugar is one of the most exciting mediums for Sculpting & crafting. The structure of it allows glass like manipulation to create amazing sculptural pieces. There are recipes for each technique, as well as lots of photographs to assist in explaining each step. This book is over 300 pages of well written and photographed instructions, recipes and tips. It's a comprehensive course in itself. The book starts with the basic tools you'll need, Please Note that some of the tools are specific to techniques also look at the technique you want and then see the tools you'll need for that project. The different categories are: A. Pastillage- this is something like a sugar clay that can be worked much like polymer, it's allowed to air dry and can be airbrushed with food safe colors. It can be rolled and sculpted. B. Sugar casting works to create solid transparent pieces. It's similar to any hard candy you may have made. C. Sugar pulling- this is the method that created the gorgeous candy ribbons on the cover. It's also ideal for flowers. D. Blown Sugar- like blown glass, this creates delicate hollow ornaments and sculpture, and also uses the most specialized tools E. There are also newer effects like net which creates lacy patterns in a sheet and pressed sugar which is the same way sugar eggs or sugar skulls are made. Each technique has projects shown with step-by-step instructions. You will learn how to make molds for casting, how to texture pastillage, and how to blow shapes like doves for an incredibly lovely cake topper. There are also tips for painting the finished pieces. While some of the ingredients will have to be purchased online or at a specialty store, it's worth it. There are lots of photographs which show the range of this medium. Fish swimming in coral, abstract works of art that look like glass and ornaments that look like vintage German glass. I really do recommend it, and think that sugar sculpting may be a micro-trend soon in food crafting. Go on you know you want to.....Enjoy

What a wonderful book, amazing photos, easy step by step instructions

Great pictures, step by step. Recipes. The works. Love this book. Something to treasure.