TRADE secrets are usually well guarded but Daniel Tay, owner of Bakerzin, a chain of dessert cafes, has chosen to share his recipes in his first cookbook, Just Desserts.

'It's every pastry chef's dream to publish a cookbook because it's a mark of one's legacy but I never thought the opportunity would come my way,' he says.

Publisher Marshall Cavendish, however, approached him three years ago and he immediately said yes.

Tay, 38, started Bakerzin in 1998 and it has since grown to six outlets here and another 11 in Malaysia, Indonesia and China.

"I'm a pastry chef, not a writer" - Daniel Tay, owner of Bakerzin, on why his cookbook took three years to complete.

On why the book took three years to complete, he says he was busy with his expanding business.

He adds: 'I'm a pastry chef, not a writer, so it took quite a while for me to pen the instructions and keep them straightforward.'

The 143-page glossy book is filled with luscious pictures of baked goods and includes 57 recipes for biscuits, cakes, tarts, puddings and ice cream.

Among the recipes are those for macarons, creme brulee and chocolate souffle, which Bakerzin is famous for.

With an initial print of 10,000 copies, the book is targeted at everyone from professionals to eager home bakers.

Hence, more challenging recipes for breads are found alongside simple-to-make cakes.

When quizzed on why the book might be handy for a trained baker, he says: 'The climate here is different from Europe and atmospheric differences affect the baking process.

'So a patissier trained in the West who is having trouble perfecting certain pastry dough here will find a recipe in the book that works at our humidity and temperature levels.'

A stickler for using quality ingredients, he made sure that the chocolate called for in the recipes is the Valrhona brand from France, and specifies the percentage of cocoa in the chocolate.

On whether this exacting requirement might frighten away new home bakers, he says: 'Valrhona chocolate is available here at speciality food stores and there's no reason why home bakers should not aim to make the best cake with the best ingredients.'

Just Desserts by Daniel Tay is selling for $37 (before GST) in major bookstores and Bakerzin outlets.

This article was first published in The Sunday Times on Mar 9, 2008.