A book good enough to eat, Grace Bauer's Los Angeles Classic Desserts, with photographs by her daughter, Allison Meyerson, is a culinary tour of the city's 50 best sweet treats. Bauer, a Cordon Bleu graduate who has authored similar cookbooks on Houston and her native New Orleans, gathers restaurant and bakery recipes from now-defunct old haunts, such as the Brown Derby (grapefruit cake) and Chasen's (banana shortcake), as well as from newer eateries, like Border Grill (Mexican chocolate cream pie) and Xiomara (frozen Key lime souffle). And these aren't your average cakes and pies: Chances are, you've never taken a crack at making briouats (fried Moroccan pastries from Hollywood's Dar Maghreb) or a chocolate Cabernet tart (from Toluca Lake's Chez Nous). Bauer signs at Loteria Grill, 6333 W. Third St., L.A.; Wed., Oct. 20, 5:30-7 p.m.; also at Porto's Bakery — known for its guava and cheese strudels and cakes that command very long lines, as well as other places featured in the book. 3614 W. Magnolia Blvd., Burbank; Sat., Oct. 16, 9:30-11 a.m. losangelesclassicdesserts.com.

Wed., Oct. 20, 5:30 p.m., 2010

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