The cake is very easy to make. The only problematic part is after you remove it from the oven, the recipe instructs you to lay down another piece of parchment paper, liberally dust it with powdered sugar, then invert the cake onto it.

The problem is that the pan is very hot - it just came out of the oven. So inverting it in the pan is tough. But if you just lift the cake out with the parchment paper it was baked it, and try to invert it that way, you risk tearing the cake. Also, "liberally dusting with powdered sugar" means you end up with powdered sugar all over your kitchen (ask me how I know?).

Instead, lift your cake using the parchment paper it was baked in, and put it right back down in a different, cool sheet pan. Lightly sprinkle the top of the cake with powdered sugar, then lay another piece of parchment paper on top. Holding it all together at the sides, flip the entire thing over and lay it down on your work surface. Lift off the pan. Carefully peel away the parchment paper it was baked in.

Voila! Cake with no tears. Minimal powdered sugar on your kitchen counters.

This recipe is for a Chocolate and Hazelnut flavored cake. You can easily customize the flavor to your preference by substituting the liquor in the syrup and the paste in the frosting (instead of praline paste, any nut butter will work, almond paste, poppy seed filling, etc.).

This is actually very easy to make - just VERY time-consuming. The first step consists of cooking the sugar, egg whites and water over a double-boiler until it reaches 160 degrees. This took me over 45 minutes and in fact, never quite reached 160 (I gave up at 158).

Firstly, you will need a lot more than the 1/2" of water in the pan that is specified in the recipe. Mine evaporated when I wasn't even halfway there. Secondly, you don't need to keep it at a low simmer, as instructed. Once it's good and warm, you can turn the heat up (watching carefully, of course). I had mine turned all the way up to high, trying to get it to come to temperature, and it all worked out fine.

These are also very easy, as long as your chocolate is tempered properly. Detailed instructions on tempering are included in the book (or you google it and find instructions all over the place). Basically, you just need to be patient and have a good instant-read thermometer.