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Customer Reviews (1)

THE FAIR WORLD OF CHOCOLATE
Did you know that many of the cultivators of Cocoa have never tasted chocolate?! I didn't until I read this book. And I must say it made me feel ashamed, not only as a human being, but because I am a pastry chef/baker and I use the 'black/brown queen' almost daily. Never before did I suspect what games and exploitation take place for me to have this vital ingredient in my workshop.
This is a recipe book with a statement. It promotes chocolate cooking and chocolate conscience.
The book takes the reader/user/cook on a journey to some of the countries and communities cultivating the cocoa tree ('theobroma cacao' in Greek, or 'food of the Gods'). On this journey we become familiar with the growers, the trees, the commerce, the pesticides (or lack thereof), the cocoa products, production, the history and the future of chocolate, while all the way 'sampling' different recipes.
The recipes range from savory (chocolate and cocoa where used in savory cooking many years before they were used in sweet. As a matter of fact chocolate has been sweetened for only about 200 years.), sweet and drinks.
The savory recipes include: Chilli con carne with chocolate, Chicken chocolate mole, Turkey and bean chocolate chilli.
There are a few vegan recipes in the book including: Vegan chocolate cake, chocolate sponge cake, chocolate carrot cake
The other recipes include: Marble chocolate cake, fruitcake with chocolate, chocolate raspberry shortcakes, oatmeal chocolate cake, dark chocolate brownies, chocolate sorbet, chocolate pecan tarts, truffles, biscotti, fruit and chocolate bars.
I must admit that the recipes are not the strongpoint of the book for me. There are not many that can be used in a pastry shop. Most of the sweets are homely (and look it) and geared towards the home cook. That does not mean they are not good of course. They will greatly appeal to amateurs and home cooks alike. They are very easy to make and some need no cooking or baking at all.
All recipes are in Metric and Volume measurements (cups and spoons) and temperatures are in both Celsius and Fahrenheit. There's an introduction to each recipe and yield, preparation and baking time are stated for each product.
At this price this is a good recipe book to have, but it is an even better social and history book concerning chocolate. ... Read more

Product Description
A guide to chocolate includes the history of chocolate throughout the world, innovative ideas for cooking chocolate, and entrees that include chocolate, as well as delectable desserts, cookies, candies, and cocoas. 25,000 first printing."Amazon.com Review
Okay, we know you only read The Chocolate Bible for the articles, but will your friends believe you?After all, this stunning book is so overflowing with luscious photographs of chocolate in all its delectable varieties, shapes, and forms that it's hard to believe one could get any reading done under the circumstances. Still, if you can tear your eyes away from the illustrations, the text in this beautiful reference work is well worth perusing. From the history of chocolate in the first chapter to the recipes featuring a savory rather than sweet version of the bean in the last, The Chocolate Bible lives up to its name as the definitive resource.

Consider unusual dishes such as Noodles with Chocolate or Mexico's wondrous combination of chiles and chocolate to make Mole sauce; how about a recipe for modeling chocolate--a substance you're meant to play with, not eat--The Chocolate Bible has them all. Recipes for macaroons and tortes, wafers and candies, cakes, fillings, and beverages are at the heart of the book, but even if you never attempt a single one, you'll still get hours of pleasure just leafing through the pages--reading the articles, of course. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

My daughter's FAVORITE !!!

I've been mailing a cookbook to my daughter about once a month.....sort of like "Christmas around the year" to avoid the terrible rush in December.I ordered this from Amazon.com and had it shipped directly to California without seeing it myself, so I was a little apprehensive about the quality and content.I was thrilled to learn that this is now my daughter's F-A-V-O-R-I-T-E cookbook.(She called me, raving about it!)She has already made the "cover cake" which took a lot of time but was not too difficult for a non-professional cook.The book is filled with beautiful photos and incredible recipes.

Glucose: Not so hard to find.
I just purchased this book. I find it excellent. Although I am a professional chef I think this book is very user friendly for the home cook. An earlier reviewer said they couldn't find glucose syrup. You can buy it in most super markets they just call it corn syrup. Use the white variety if available. It's also good for making sponge toffee.

Worst choIcolate pecan pie on the planet
I just finished tearing out the pages of this worthless book and sending them to recycling, while throwing the binder into the trash compactor with the dreadful chocolate pecan pie it spawned.Never have I seen such a degradation of Valrohna chocolate, Normandy butter, free range eggs and a great deal of time.What a dreadful, dry, disgustging mess this recipie is!Do not waste your time on it.

A Visual Delight!
What a treasure of a book. Not only visually delightful it is very educational as well. Makes you drool just seeing it on the table, thus it is dangerous to diets.

Chocolate Heaven
My job is to sell chocolate - when it comes to finding a decent book on the subject, nobody knows the truffles I've seen. This book will be a gift to many of my customers who want to create decadent desserts as well as know some of the basics around chocolate and cocoa.

If you want to learn more about chocolate, buy this book. If you want to taste some of the best chocolate made in America... ... Read more

Product Description
Interspersed with Forrest Gump's unique reminiscences and observations, a collection of sixty mouth-watering chocolate recipes includes such scrumptious treats as Groovy Grasshopper Pie and Chocolate Ping Pong Pound Cake. 200,000 first printing. IP. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Forrest Gump - My Favorite Chocolate Recipes
A few years back, I donated my copy of this book to my granddaughter's Pre-K class for a chocolate theme basket.Time for replacing it came and went until I was lucky enough to spot this one through Amazon.It arrived ahead of schedule, in pristine condition.Thanks!!!

Amazing Dessert Cookbook
This coobook is fantastic!!!I've had it for years and every time I want to bake something, I go to this cookbook.The recipes are easy to follow and always turn out delicious.The "Triple-Decker Brownie" is to die for.There are recipes that take mere minutes to prepare and others that take hours.You have the perfect blend of easy to create and delicious, challenging recipes as well.You can't go wrong with this dessert cookbook.

A Great Book, NOT for beginers
I have made many for the items in the book, including the cake on the cover. I loved ALL OF THEM. This is not a book for beginers...

milkin' it
Good Grief.
Chocolate? From Alabama?
Next thing you know we'll get a Star Wars chocolate book.
Should've stuck to possum and poke salad. What? You say they don't eat that stuff there anymore? MacDonalds. That's why Alabama tops out in obesity.
Hey, what about moonshine and roadkill? As long as it sells books. Or maybe a movie this time.

A valuable little cookbook!
This is a great dessert cookbook for chocolate lovers.There is a nice range of recipes from basic cookies and bars to elaborate cakes.The recipes are clearly written and can create impressive results for bakers of all levels.

The pictures really inspire the reader to pick up a mixer and try the recipes.It is also fun for fans of Forrest Gump to read the little side bars.

This is a great compact cookbook that has a lot to offer! ... Read more

Product Description

For the chocolate lover, there is nothing like biting into a rich, dark slice of chocolate cake. More than a mouthful of something wonderful, it's a chocolate celebration. And nobody knows how to celebrate chocolate cakes better than the "guru of ganache," chef Marcel Desaulniers.

In Death by Chocolate Cakes, Marcel serves up some of his most inventive, most sinful, most seductive chocolate creations ever. His Chocolate Heart of Darkness cakes are the ultimate cupcakes. The secret--a melted chocolate truffle center. For an unforgettable birthday cake, serve the one he created for Julia Child: a ganache-covered chocolate almond cake with red raspberry mousse.

Have the desire for something that towers over ordinary chocolate desserts? Look up Excessively Expressive Espresso Ecstasy or Chocolate Strawberry Teardrop Cake. These are exactly the things when "over the top" is what you want. And for an elegant taste of Paris, try Marcel's Chocolate Pistachio Madeleines.

When you just can't wait for that chocolate fix, Marcel has plenty of quick-and-easy recipes, some of which come from Marcel's mom's circle of chocolate-lover friends. Pour yourself a cold glass of milk and dig into Margie's Golden Raisin Heavy Fudge Cake, Virginia's Cocoa Pound Cake with Warm Buttered Brandy Berries, or Mimi Montano's Chocolate Zucchini Cake. As a bonus, there is a collection of ice creams, sauces, beverages, and other delectables that are the perfect partners to Marcel's creations and an informative section on equipment, ingredients, and techniques.

Death by Chocolate Cakes truly takes the cake and then takes it to where it's never been before.

Desaulniers divides his recipes into chapters such as "Baby Cakes,""Mom's Cakes," "Celebration Cakes," and "Sky-High Cakes." This portioningis somewhat arbitrary as the drill is usually a lusciously filled andtopped layer cake. Delicious exceptions include My Little Kumquat Cake andUncle Sam's in the Black Cake. If Desaulniers is given to a jokeycuteness (as evidenced by the above recipe titles), and neglects sometimes to describe his cakes so readers can make informed baking choices, he is careful to provide illuminating tips on equipment and techniques throughout. With 50 mouth-watering color photos, the book should bring greatpleasure to all chocolate lovers, on the page and at meal's end. --Arthur Boehm ... Read more

Customer Reviews (28)

A Stunning Book
I'm sorry to say that I owned this book for years before I actually tried to make one of the recipes in it. I purchased the book, and then, as with many other cake books, was put off by the seeming difficulty of the recipes. Here's where this book differs from the rest: The instructions for making the cakes and assembling them are painstakingly clear. (The author even offers advice about not eating too much of the ganache so that enough is left over for the cake.) Of course, as with any recipe, you should read the entire recipe before beginning. The photographs are stunning, and the recipes are inventive and original. I will continue to make my way through Death by Chocolate Cakes with confidence that the end result will be a cake that wins raves and resembles the one in the beautiful photograph that accompanies the recipe.

A very sad update.
I loved Mr. Desaulniers Death by Chocolate, frankly it's my chocolate bible always winning me heaps of praise.Thinking that this newer improved book would be better I was shocked how wrong I was.Most of the recipes are nearly the same yet lacked the wow factor.Rather than having that classic boulangerie look to the chocolate cakes, cookies ect..It had a new unappealing/modern look.Frankly most of it looked so bad I wouldn't served it if you paid me.Most of the recipes had changed but none for the better.The only "new" recipe I could find in the book that wasn't 85% something in Death by Chocolate was good.That said, it wasn't worth the price of the book for one recipe.Stick to "Death by Chocolate" and you'll be happier!

Wonderful!!!!
This is the best book on chocolate cakes. When I am entertaining I reach for this book. The directions are many but they are helpful. It is well written, funny, and the recipes are wonderful!!! The pictures are great too!!

Delicious but difficult for beginners
The recipes are outstanding, and include a large variety of desserts beyond chocolate.The book presumes that basic cake baking techniques are understood.Although not a problem for any seasoned baker, a beginner will likely make errors.Now that I have learned more (from other sources) this book will be an excellent source for phenomenal recipes.Good luck.

The most luscious cakes you'll ever taste!
Marcel Desaulniers is the most consistently amazing dessert cookbook author I've ever come across. Take, for example, Martha's Chocolate Freckles Fresh Blueberry Ice Cream Cake. It's based in a "Chocolate Freckles Cake," which is a non-chocolate cake with finely-chopped or grated chocolate mixed into the batter. A homemade blueberry ice cream fills the space between the layers - this is honestly one of the best ice creams I've ever had, with a tart flavor created by the sour cream, cream cheese, and lemon juice. The topping is sweetened, vanilla-flavored whipped cream, and further fresh blueberries are ringed around the top.

Next we made Marcel's First Birthday Chocolate High and Fluffy-on-Top Cake. This is a chocolate cake with a vanilla frosting. It sounds so simple, but it's so delightful! This is truly the ultimate icing: sweet, not too buttery, and remarkably fluffy. I have never had such a fantastic icing before, and intend to use it on cake after cake in the future.

You'll find everything in here from Chocolate Rocky Road, to Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cake, Chocolate Caraway On-the-Rocks Trifles, Chocolate-Dipped Orange Fry Cakes with Coffee and Cream, Uncle Sam's in the Black Cake (with a toasted oatmeal raising topping), Chocolate Tender Passion, and much more! Each recipe comes with a gorgeous picture. The recipes are inventive and of consistently excellent quality; the directions are thorough without being labyrinthine. They're several pages long for each recipe, but I never feel lost. Marcel repeats the amounts of the ingredients in the instructions so you don't have to flip back and forth to the ingredient amounts.

You'll probably not want to get this book unless you have a stand mixer--the key to many of these delights is loooong mixing times, sometimes of stiff batters. Other than that, however, Marcel tries to limit himself to common household equipment and time-scales. In short, if you like to cook and love chocolate cakes, buy this cookbook! ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
Find foolproof tips and techniques for working with chocolate

"Dessert-lovers rejoice! Another great chocolate book from the authority."
—Lora Brody, author of Basic Baking

Looking for tempting but easy ways to indulge your passion for chocolate? In this book, you’ll find everything you need to make delectable chocolate desserts that will wow everyone – including yourself! Fun recipes for goodies like cookies, cakes, brownies, ice cream, sauces, candies, and even a chocolate soufflé give you dozens of ways to reach chocolate nirvana. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Simply The Best!
This is a great book for anyone who loves chocolate. The author clearly explains how to choose and use chocolate to make great desserts. There are recipes from simple to sublime with something for everyone. If you love chocolate (and who doesn't???) this is a MUST have. Highly recommended! ... Read more

Product Description
Chocolate is universally prized by serious foodies, health-minded dieters, discerning hedonists--and by every woman who ever breathed. CHOCOLATE BLISS is a celebration of all things chocolate: every type and flavor, its health and beauty benefits, origins and ecological influences, and tasting, gifting, and baking. Recipes, resources, and luscious photos entice readers to give in to their cravings without guilt. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A cute and yummy book
Don't you sometimes love chocolate so much you could practically soak in it? Well enter Chocolate Bliss: Sensuous recipes, Spa Treatments, and other Divine Indulgences.This sweet little book not only teaches you how to host a chocolate tasting while dishing out great recipes along the way, but how to make skin care products as well. Chocolate massage oil, anyone?

The book is small but mighty, packed with cool facts about "the third largest commodity on the global exchange" (behind sugar and coffee) and everything else you ever wanted to know about chocolate. For example, did you know that white chocolate is not really chocolate at all? It's made with cocoa butter, sugar, milk powder and a few flavorings, but because the butter comes from cocoa beans, it has that slight taste of chocolate. Go on, tell your friends. I guarantee* you'll be a hit at the next party. (*No, not really.)

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A masterpiece
If you feel like exploring indulgence and flirting with danger and sin--without taking too many risks--chocolate is the thing for you. This book tells you how to get the most out of it. It's also beautifully produced and makes a great gift. This book made my Christmas--

A Blissful Book
It's wonderful to see chocolate treated as comprehensively as Susie Norris treats it here--as a time-honored, cross-cultural food staple that is also a special and complicated pleasure for us aficionados, and--surprise!--good for us in many ways. This is a beautiful book that offers devotees even more opportunities to work chocolate into their lives. Chocolate as beauty product? Who knew! Whether you're someone who indulges regularly or suffers from fear-of-chocolate and refrains, Chocolate Bliss will give you the information you need to feel good about your habit, or to cultivate it less guiltily!

Wonderful Book!
This book was a delight to read and full of information about chocolate, its magical (and healthful properties) and its bizarre history. Wonderful and fun.Great, easy to understand recipes for the wannabe chocolatier.Highly, highlyrecommended. ... Read more

Product Description
In their second collaboration, the award-winning duo of Pierre Hermé and Dorie Greenspan unveil the secrets of sumptuous chocolate desserts. In these pages you will Þnd a dazzlingly delicious collection of recipes, all featuring the world's most intoxicating ingredient: chocolate.

If there is a secret to the sensuality of Pierre Hermé's desserts, it just may be his intricate reÞnement of taste, texture, and temperature. Surely, this is what makes all of his desserts such a pleasure to eat.

Here you will Þnd the simplest chocolate truffle-Black-on-Black Truffles, bite-size balls of bittersweet ganache tossed in dark cocoa-as well as the luxuriously soft and rich Suzy's Cake, which is spectacularly delicious yet quite simple to make. Chic desserts, such as the Triple Crème-individual ramekins layered with espresso crème brûlée, rich chocolate cream, and pure unsweetened whipped cream-or a cup of French-style hot chocolate, or a gâteau de résistance, such as Plaisir Sucré, will be the triumphant end to any meal or the centerpiece for any celebration. Through these more than seventy-five recipes, you will have the many pleasures of tasting chocolate in all its states-hot and cold, creamy and crunchy, smooth and custardy, thick and chewy, bittersweet and sweet, dark, milk, and white.

Whether you are an expert in the dessert kitchen or a beginner with a desire for the delicious, this collection will introduce you to the myriad delights of Pierre Hermé's desserts, his unusual juxtapositions of ingredients, his conjurer's touch with textures, and his always perfect pitch when it comes to sweetness, tartness, and chocolatey-ness.

Finally, there are the indispensable Base Recipes and a Dictionary of Terms, Techniques, Equipment, and Ingredients. Together they form a complete course in chocolate dessert artistry. Each recipe has been written with the American kitchen in mind, so that everyone with a passion for the richness of chocolate desserts can now enjoy Pierre Hermé's sublime creations at home.Amazon.com Review
Since Pierre Hermé is probably the best pastry chef in the world, and chocolate the best dessert flavor, it's no surprise that this stellar combination, presented in Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé is dazzling. Hermé's beautiful recipes are written by Dorie Greenspan, who also worked with him on his award-winning Desserts by Pierre Hermé, and the resulting creations are photographed as works of art by Jean-Louis Block-Laine.

Although Hermé is best known for his multilayered extravaganzas, this collection was written and tested for American home kitchens. So while there are a few mind-boggling, taste-bud-stretching experiences like Plaisir Sucre (hazelnut dacquoise, milk chocolate ganache, milk chocolate whipped cream, sheets of tempered milk chocolate, and a crunchy chocolate praline spread), most of the recipes are more than manageable, and just as scrumptious. Lacy Coffee-Cocoa Nougatine Cookies are crisp and delicate and extremely flavorful. The Chocolate Macaroons are the perfectly smooth, ganache-filled ones you see all over Paris, and with Hermé and Greenspan to walk you through the steps, the best results are guaranteed. Pistachio Waffles with Chocolate Cream are crispy outside and moist and tender inside, and the combination of hot and cold makes them even more memorable. Chocolate Rice Pudding is far from old-fashioned, and while it makes a delectable stand-alone dessert, Hermé suggests making it part of a truly grand dessert: his Pear and Fresh Mint Tempura with Chocolate Rice Pudding is an amazing combination of flavors, textures, and temperatures.

In recipes for everything from Hot Chocolate to Bittersweet Chocolate Sorbet, from Moist and Nutty Brownies to the legendary chocolate caramel extravaganza the Faubourg Pave, readers will benefit from Hermé's 25 years of experience, his limitless creativity, and his obvious passion for his profession. This volume is destined to become a classic. --Leora Y. Bloom ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

great dessert,wonderful life
Pierre Herme's cookbook brings me lots of fun of baking.Try it and you can get much pleasure!

Sister requested this cookbook
Got this for my sister, who specifically requested it.She loves it even though I have yet to taste anything from it.Then again, it is the dead of winter, so I may not try any of the ice creams in here for a few months yet.

Very disappointing, this book was not written by Pierre Herme, nor is it a translation of a book he wrote.
These are just poor simplified adaptions, of his recipes.
Let's start with the pictures- each of the photographed desserts looks like it was made by an extreme novice that doesn't have any experience in baking. His wonderful Plaisirs sucres looks like someone just threw each layer on top of the other without any thought for aesthetics. This repeats itself in each of the pictures. This represents the whole problem with the book. I thought I was buying a book that would help me make complicated, beautiful desserts, like in Pierre's patisserie. Instead, the products are changed to lesser quality products (using nutella instead of real Praline???, cornflakes instead of Paillete), the recipes are changed to very basic recipes, that have nothing to do with his magnificent creations. A homemakers edition for Pierre Herme, it's a shame he allowed his name to be connected with this book...

Try the Nutella tart and the Tarte Grenobloise!
If you (or people you know) enjoy chocolate desserts, especially those in which dark, bittersweet European chocolate is the key note, this book is a must-have.The lavish professional photography and the size of this book make it coffee-table-worthy. More importantly, it is a culinary love letter to chocolate in all its glorious and myriad textures and flavors, sometimes pairing chocolate with particularly compatible partners like pecans or fresh raspberries, sometimes letting it shine on its own.

In Paris, Pierre Hermé is a legendary pastry chef, once dubbed the "Picasso of Pastry" by Vogue Magazine.He is 4th generation in his family to enter the profession, and the most renowned.His professional recipes were converted for the American home baker and tested by Dorie Greenspan, the best recipe writer I have ever encountered.Her directions are clear and detailed, and her measurements precise.Even if I have never baked from a particular recipe of hers before, I know I can make it for a dinner party, secure in the knowledge that it will always turn out and will likely impress me and my guests.

There are a few simple recipes for the beginning baker in the book, and also many recipes to challenge the exprienced baker.Everything I've made from this book has been delicious and stunning, and to date I've made: (1) Moist and Nutty Brownies, (2) Chocolate Sparklers, (3) Chocolate Macaroons, (4) Warm Chocolate and Raspberry Tart, (5) Linzer Tart, (6) Grand Chocolate Tart, (7) Tarte Grenobloise, (8) Milk Chocolate and Walnut Tart, and (9) Nutella Tart. In particular, the Nutella tart is absolutely killer and easy to make as well.(Feel free to substitute trans-fat free "Hazelnut Chocolate Spread" from Whole Foods or Trader Joe's instead of using brand-name Nutella, which has hydrogenated oils in it.)

If you use premium chocolate (such as Valrhona, Callebaut, Schraffen Berger, or Taza), your expense and shopping efforts will be rewarded.These recipes were meant to showcase the subtleties of the best dark chocolate.

excellent
This has become my favorite baking book. Whenever I need to impress, I make one of these desserts. Herme doesn't skip any steps or skimp on quality. As a result, the desserts are rich and satisfying. (My favorites are the black forest cake, the mousse, and the linzer torte. The black forest cake comes out better than that made at the local French bakery.)After you make the recipes a few times, you can easily adapt them to incorporate other flavors.

It's not a beginner's book, by any means--simple things like the best way to separate eggs are not explained in this book (unusual procedures are explained, though), and most of the recipes are extremely time consuming. If you're serious about cooking, this book is well worth the effort. ... Read more

Product Description
Luxurious chocolate and exquisite recipes, this is an irresistible chocolate cookbook from the UK's best-loved organic chocolate makers, Green & Black's, winner of "Best Chocolate Book in the World" at the 2003 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.

Chocolate is the food of the gods, full of flavour and sensation, infused with decadence and delight. This book is filled with over 100 divine recipes to tease, tempt and torment lovers of this sensuous substance.

Cocoa contains over 400 flavour compounds, making it one of the most versatile cooking ingredients, and it can be moulded to suit every mood, from rich, dark desserts to the perfect companion for savoury dishes. There are recipes for cakes and puddings (marquise au chocolat, chocolate-lemon tart) as well as more unusual dishes like chicken molé, chocolate coffee lamb and langoustines with a hint of chocolate.

Woven into the book are stories about the history of chocolate, its myths and legends as well as fascinating detail about the cultivation and production of organic chocolate. With stunning recipe and location photography, Green & Black's is a veritable feast for all the senses. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Delectable
Wow! I've made perhaps half of the recipies in this book, and whilst I have my favorites (the brownies are just to die for), there's not one I wouldn't make again. Most recipies do require good, dark and generally expensive chocolate, but it's well worth the extra expense.
If you love chocolate and don't mind cooking, you'll love this.
If you don't love chocolate yet, this might just convert you.

One of the best
This is a great bargain, as the first reviewer states.There are a plethora of beautiful and inspirational photos, but the recipes are achievable. Many fancy chocolate cookbooks have fabulous looking recipes, but they require half a day, or more, to complete.
My daughter and I just made the Guiness Stout Cake and were very happy with the results.
I haven't tried their easy way of tempering chocolate, yet, but it looks quick and fairly foolproof.
One of the trends in chocolate cookbooks recently, see Chantal Coady's book, is savory dishes.This book includes a variety of tempting fare in that department, too.

Beautiful and a bargain
This book is a call to action. Makes you want to run to the kitchen with it's beautiful images and interesting stories so you can read while you're waiting for the oven to heat up. With so many unique recipes-not just chocolate cake, it's a bargain! ... Read more

Product Description
Lavish and sensual, this deluxe new companion for chocolate lovers combines evocative, decadent photography with kitchen-friendly recipes, each grouped into one of seven sinful categories. Satisfy a lustful appetite with Pears Belle-Hélène, a proud streak with rich Profiteroles, or a fit of anger with Spiced Hot Chocolate-and prove that passion can only be gratified through indulgence ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great book!
I first read this book from the library and decided I needed a copy of my own.The photos are fantastic and the recipes just as wonderful.I would highly recommend this book if you are wanting recipes to impress.I am not a professional baker but these recipes are very do-able.I recommend this book.

A gift for others
This high concept cookbook is likely designed as a gift for others, rather than a keeper. A quick scan offers alluring views, but closer study shows that some of the photos are so conceptual that it's difficult to know what the desserts actually look like. This is especially true for Floating Islands, a dessert once described in a famous Jack London story, The apostate, and a confection I've wanted to see as dearly as the main character in London's story. The book tries to compensate for its size by including a little booklet in the back that reprises all the recipes, for holding ready at hand over a stove. The recipes seemed quite brief, and although I've not tried any yet, the writing isn't detailed or technically precise.

chocolate review
This is a beautiful book just to have lying around on the coffee table. I have not yet tried the recipes but the photos alone are good enough to eat. I would recommend this particular book to anyone who enjoys the arts. ... Read more

Product Description
It is hard, today, to imagine a time when the word bittersweet was rarely spoken, when 70 percent of the chocolate purchased by Americans was milk chocolate. Today's world of chocolate is a much larger universe, where not only is the quality better and variety wider, but the very composition of the chocolate has changed.

To do justice to these new chocolates, which contain more pure chocolate and less sugar, we need a fresh approach to chocolate desserts—a new kind of recipe—and someone to crack the code for substituting one chocolate for another in both new and classic recipes. Alice Medrich, the "First Lady of Chocolate," delivers.

With nearly 150 recipes—each delicious and foolproof, no matter your level of expertise—BitterSweet answers every chocolate question, teaches every technique, confides every secret, satisfies every craving. You'll marvel that recipes as basic as brownies and chocolate cake, mint chocolate chip ice cream and chocolate mousse, can still surprise and excite you, and that soufflés, chocolate panna cotta, even pasta sauces can be so dramatically flavorful.

For the last thirty years, Alice Medrich has been learning, teaching, and sharing what she loves and understands about chocolate. BitterSweet is the culmination of her life in chocolate thus far: revolutionary recipes, profound knowledge, and charming tales of a chocolate life.Amazon.com Review
In Bittersweet, Alice Medrich continues her mouthwatering crusade to educate chocoholics everywhere about her passion. With 30 years experience, first at her famous Berkeley bakery, Cocolat, and then as an award-winning cookbook author, there is little Medrich doesn't know about chocolate. And what sets this book apart from all others is her willingness to share what's she's learned.

As the American palate has changed, and we've learned to appreciate better quality chocolate, more and more of it is has become available to us. These premium chocolates come labeled with their percentage of cocoa solids. This delectable book is made practically foolproof thanks to the "chocolate notes" that follow any recipe where the percentage would affect the outcome. In them, Medrich provides equivalencies which allow you to use your favorite chocolate, and tweak the recipe to make it work. She's brutally honest, too, so when she says you can't mess up the rich and magnificent Queen of Sheba cake, or the Cold Creamy Truffles that started her love affair with chocolate, believe her. And when she warns that there are possible pitfalls for novices when attempting Extra Bittersweet Ganache Truffles, read carefully. The vast majority of her recipes, mostly sweet, some savory, are quite simple; her instructions are painstaking and reassuring; and the tales with which she introduces each chapter are enchanting. So dive into Warm Bittersweet Mousse, White Chocolate Ice Cream, Raspberry-Laced Chocolate Cake, or Chocolate-Flecked Cocoa Soufflés, because doing the dirty work has never been so delicious! --Leora Y. Bloom ... Read more

Customer Reviews (30)

excellent and professional
Excellent book complemented with very useful theory which helps to understand how to work with chocolate

Bittersweet: Recipes and Tales from a Life in Chocolate
This is an incredible book--the author's writing style and recipes are thought-provoking, easy to follow--and the results are delicious! Delivery time was very quick, as usual, from Amazon

If you only own one book on cooking with Chocolate, this is the one
I have a dozen or so cookbooks on chocolate.And for baking this is by far the best there is.The recipes are right on.She explains everything in great detail.

very good and detailed reference in a different sort of way....
I'm a die hard food fan and making pastries and sweets are my passion, needless to say I'm a chocoholic in the highest degree.First of all, the most valuable thing (for me) is how Alice explains chocolate substitutions in recipes.As the percentage of chocolate changes, chocolate tends to behave differently and the necessary measures must be taken in increasing or decreasing flour or fat and this is the only book (for now) that has cleared this up helpfully because all this variety of high percentage chocolate is relatively new.I haven't tried all her recipes but I love the simple and fabulous approach she takes on chocolate.I like recipes to be simple because it leaves me room for plenty of tweaking and fooling around with.Don't get me wrong, the recipes I've tried are good, I just like to fix things to my liking.But what I like most about this book is that it has refined my chocolate common sense.I have a better understanding of chocolate, I feel wiser in deciding what type to use and when to temper and when not to temper.I understand more about things like mouth feel, how tempered and untempered chocolate react to cold temperatures and everything is written in such a charming and down to earth way, it really is a pleasure reading.I own other chocolate books but this one has made me more chocolate savvy regarding the newer chocolates and to me, that alone is worth the book ten times more because this book has made me understand and reinvent my vision with all my other chocolate books because this book is not only about the recipes, it's about the approach on chocolate, and it is a fabulous (and delicious) approach.

Amazing -even for a novice
In another life I will be a pastry chef but for the time being I fulfull this fantasy with this book. I have read and baked my way through approximately half the receipes in each section.I love reading through Alice's life as it relates to baking, creating, and experimenting with chocolate. If you love chocolate and are willing to put the time and energy into these creations you won't be disappointed. Some of the skills, like making the fans, I'm still working on but I can't say I've been disappointed in anything I've made. It has been a fabulous journey and I look forward to the creations I've yet to make. ... Read more

Product Description
Fifty great chocolate recipes from the world's top chefs and chocolatiers!Enjoy the best of both worlds with this chocolate lover's guide to french. "CHOCOLATE FRENCH" takes you on a culinary exploration of the intimate relationship between international French culture and global chocolate cuisine. With Foreword by Bernard Poussin of Debauve & Gallais, recipes from exotic world-class locales such as San Francisco's Lulu and Le Zinc, Brisbane's Bruno's Table, and New Orleans's Broussards, to Chicago's French Pastry School, Napa's Bouchon, and Paris' Jean Paul Hevin and Le Cordon Bleu, "CHOCOLATE FRENCH" introduces you to an entirely new language of taste. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Food Critic Review of the book CHOCOLATE FRENCH
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RW03AHG99HWJE Food Critic Kim O'Neill Review of the book CHOCOLATE FRENCH

Merci beaucoup!!
MERCI BEAUCOUP to all the reviewers and to the two magazine reviews that highly recommended this wonderful book!! I have been so enchanted with everything about it, albeit that being a Francophile hasn't hurt. It had been one of the recommendations from Amazon, and after being intrigued by a little peek into its content, the reviewers made my decision easy.Voila......how much fun it is!

It's not a large book, almost pocket size in fact. And it's not a recipe-only book either, though it has enough recipes within to add to the already interesting musings of the relationship between the French and chocolate.

Photographs of French life, French patisseries and chocolatiers, along with the written musings (both in French with most given their English translation) of those who have gone before, or who are here now, dot the chapters of this incredible guide to all that is worthy of French chocolate. And lest you not be particularly proficient in French, there are various pages of assistance with understanding French accent marks, and, adverbs of quantity (though, is there such an error as wanting too much chocolate?). There is also a lovely section within the end of the book that gives you an English translation of the French vocabulary of ingredients, expressions, verbs, and general chocolate terms. Recipe contributors, recipe ingredient resources (from all over the world) help to round out your veritable tour of the chocolate delights of France.

As you begin your perusing of this guide, you are given hotels, bistros, and other assorted places that serve various chocolate delights. An interesting aspect of these mentions, is that they include places other than France, that pay homage to chocolate, such a Switzerland and the creations made there, or Chicago, and its shops and schools devoted to the art of being a chocolatier, as well as San Francisco, New Orleans, Louisiana, Connecticut, and Tokyo to name a few.

The sections of this book are divided into:

Recipe Index
Foreward
Introduction
History of France and Chocolate
Recipes
Vocabulary
Resources

The book also goes into how chocolate has tranferred itself into movies such as "Chocolate" starring Julia Ormand and Johnny Depp. Or how it has made its way into the fashion industry.........ever seen a chocolate dress?

A chocolate dress you say? Well, they may not give you the recipe for that, but they will give you the following jewels:

Chocolate Ganache
Pralines
Chocolate Sauce
Chocolate Tartlet with Coffee Cream
Warm Chocolate Puddings with Pistachio Cream and Pears
Chocolate Croissant Pudding w/ Toffee Sauce, Strawberries, and Pecans
Chocolate Fondant w/ Orange Confit and Raspberry Sauce
Marquise au Chocolate
Chocolate Mousse Charlotte
Chocolate Red Wine Soup with Strawberries
Buchon Chocolate Tart
Warm Chocolate Cake with Vanilla
Chocolate Bing Cherry Cake
Mexican Chocoalte Truffle Torte
Chocolate Macaroon a l'Ancienne
Dipped Camembert and Chocolate Sandwich
Grandmother's Chocolate Mousse
Chanel's Crepes
Chocolate and Vanilla Madeleines
Chocolate Chip Madeleines
Monique's Chocolate Brique
Red Fruit, Chocolate and Vanilla Clafoutis
Chocolate Sorbet
Lamb with Dark Chocolate Sauce
Chocolate Mousse
Chocolate Pave
Bittersweet Chocolate Decadence
Warm Chocolate Cake w/ Chantilly Creme and Raspberry Sauce
Phyllo Cups w/ Chocolate Mousse, Raspberries, and Poached Pears
Banana Pearl
Pink Poodle
Miss Celle's Bananas Foster avec Chocolat
Chocolate Espresso Souffle
Chocolate Pava
White Chocolate Bread Pudding w/ White Chocolate Kahlua Sauce
Chocolat Chaud w/ Creamy Melted Bars of Dark Chocolate
Chocolate French Toast
Pear and Chocolate Tart
Petits Pots au Chocolat
Creme Brulee au Chocolat
Pate a Choux
Profiteroles
Eclairs
Pate Brisee
Chocossisson-Chocolate Sausage
Piedmontese Truffles
Swiss Dreams
Couscous Sucre w/ Honey, Raisins, and Cacao
Creole Hot Chocolate
Banana and Chocolate Tart
Chocolate Quad

I would also like to mention The "L'alliance Francaise" which is given quite a good mention in the "Let Them Eat Chocolate" section of this book. L'alliance Francaise is a organization that Francophiles can join that celebrates the exquisite culture of France by giving French language classes, tours, festival, cooking classes, etc. with chapters located all over the United States as well as other places in our world. This particular section was written by one of the instructors at the Alliance in Connecticut. For me, this information alone was worth the price of the book.

OK then............see what everyone was talking about? Wonderful, isn't it? As I said previously, this is not a recipe book of sorts, but a multifaceted journey into all that weaves itself into the affair of France and sinful, decadent, addictive chocolate.

The world through chocolate
This is truly a unique publication.Not only is it well laid out but also ties in multiple disciplines in a single book, including history, culture and cooking.The recipes are easy and don't require you to clutter you kitchen with ingredients.I would highly recommend this book.For you local San Franciscans I would combine another publication by Crump - The Cafes Of San Francisco with this one and it would make a great gift - the holidays are around the corner!!

A chocolate adventure
I received this book as a gift and was very pleasantly surprised with the book.I loved how the author weaved the culture and history of chocolate of the French with some amazing recipes from around the world. I also enjoyed the vocabulary, which has allowed me to impress my friends with my new knowledge of the nuances of chocolate.If you know someone who is a chocolate fan, this book is for him or her.

The Perfect Gift
If you have friends who truly love chocolate...this book is perfect.We presented Chocolate French twice and it was will received on both occasions.Chocolate French is great if you are looking for that unique gift for the holidays. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
One of the greatest pleasures of life is biting into a warm chocolate chip cookie straight from the oven. Now imagine it's Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding or Chocolate Chip Angel Cake with Chocolate Marshmallow Frosting. The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook offers 45 recipes that cover all the dessert bases cookies, cakes, candies, brownies, tarts, frozen treats, and more. Chocolate chips saturate these recipes inside and out, so there's also a guide to the differences between these tiny indulgences. Using milk, semisweet, bittersweet, and white chocolate, Klivans encourages readers to discover their favorite chocolate chip recipes by, of course, tasting them all! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

love it
i bought this for my sister, for Christmas, but I couldn't wait that long to give it to her.And I am soo glad I didn't wait.

the cookbook is beautifully laid out, really lovely and original recipes. every photo is both mouthwatering and beautiful.

our first taste of the recipes was the chococlate chip angel food cake with chocolate marshmallow frosting.Heaven.

This is my first introduction to this author, and I am looking forward to building my sister's library with more of her work.

love it.recommend it.

Cute gift!
I bought this as a gift for a chocolate lover to put in a basket with some baking chocolate.Everything looked so good in there I might buy this for myself!Great photos and easy to find ingredients.

Great for serious chocolate chip lovers
I've made just a couple recipes so far and they have both turned out well (even the pie crusts made from scratch, which I have never done before!).The instructions are very clear.

A cookbook sure to be popular among chocolate-loving library patrons
Chocolate chips are the author's passion, and The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook comes packed with ideas from bread puddings to cookies, cakes to candies and puddings. Add color photos throughout and recipes that separate mixing from baking time and streamline ingredients and you have a cookbook sure to be popular among chocolate-loving library patrons.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Not up to Chronicle's usual standards
Elinor Klivans's The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook is absolutely lovely, including a decent number of color photographs, a clean layout, and easy-to-read recipes. The pages are thick and somewhat glossy, comparatively easy to keep clean. You'll find everything in here from cookies to bar cookies, muffins to pies, tarts and puddings to cakes, and of course, ice cream desserts. The table of contents names each and every recipe, while the index allows you to look up recipes by major ingredient. If you want to find that lovely banana cream pie with graham cracker crunch, you can look under 'bananas' in the index or the 'pies' chapter in the table of contents.

The first recipe we made was a cinnamon and chips chiffon cake. Unfortunately, the mini-chips sank straight through the batter during baking, stuck to the pan, and then largely stayed behind when the cake was removed, leaving the cake with holes and a thick layer of remaining chocolate chips at the top. We made banana-oatmeal chocolate chip cookies; every person who tried them agreed they would have been better with about half the chips in them.

The real kicker was the cookie dough cheesecake bars, however. In the photo, a full layer of cheesecake filling sits atop a graham-chocolate chip crust. Small blobs of crispy baked chocolate chip cookie dough obscure some of the filling, and lines of chocolate drizzle criss-cross the entire thing. In reality, the crust kept falling apart; the layer of cheesecake was minimal and difficult to taste amongst everything else; the 'cookie dough' was far too abundant and didn't come together as a dough; and if we'd actually included the drizzled chocolate, the result would have tasted overwhelmingly of chocolate. Our guess is that there should have been about twice as much cheesecake filling; the crust perhaps needed a bit more butter; and the cookie dough needed more liquid (a little milk? an egg?) and should have been halved.

The flavors are good, if unbalanced (the chocolate overwhelmed the other flavors in the recipes). The book is beautiful. Unfortunately, not a single recipe we tried came out great, and they tended to have noticeable 'issues.' As much as I love Chronicle cookbooks on the whole, this is not one of their best. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

EXCELLENT BOOK
My daughter in law and I LOVE this book. Plenty of easy to follow recipes, and great large vivid pictures for reference..!
We are going to use alot of these recipes for our Christmas Holiday and New Year's Eve dinner this year!
Thank You to the author, Jennifer Donovan, and to Amazon for it's great customer service and prompt shipping!!

Extremely happy
Received the book in excellent time and is in good shape. Very happy and pleased. ... Read more

Product Description
This affordable paperback on the ever--popular subject of chocolate is created for people with full and busy lives. Clear explanations on everything you should know about cooking and decorating with chocolate----for yourself or as gifts----are enhanced by dozens of detailed photographs. Step--by--step instructions and beautiful, full color photographs make this the perfect guide for the novice or seasoned choco--phile. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Food for the gods...
In "Ultimate Chocolate" you will be seduced into reading the story of chocolate. Did you know that chocolate grows in spindle-shaped pods that form on the Theobroma cacao tree? You will love reading about how chocolate is produces from the pods which reveal beans and then finally nibs which are used to make chocolate.

Patricia Lousada explains all the delicious details and then gives the secrets for selecting chocolates for your own home cooking. She explains how to successfully melt chocolate. There is detailed information on how to temper chocolate which is only needed for formal candy making.

Do you remember the first time you tasted chocolate eclairs or Belgium truffles? The pictures in this book will send you right to the kitchen. The step-by-step instructions help to turn the pictures into a reality. Adding a professional finishing touch to cakes is also easy when you can follow the step-by-step pictures.

Personalizing chocolate treats is easy when you know how to make chocolate curls, ribbons, flowers, leaves, baskets, boxes, cut-outs and curls. You can choose to make the simplest chocolate mousse or a wedding cake which will serve 100 guests.

Other recipes you will want to try include: Chocolate Pecan Pie, Chocolate Rum Fondue, Pecan Chocolate Fudge Cake, Austrian Sacher Torte, Chocolate Shortbreads, White Chocolate and Lime Mousse and a variety of Chocolate Sauces.

Delicious, decadent and visually satisfying. Enter the world of chocolate seduction.

~The Rebecca Review

Heaven can wait!
A truly amazing collection of chocolate recipes! I have only tried 3 so far, but each one has been a great success. The book begins by explaining the origins of chocolate, history of chocolate, how it's made, etc., then moves on to explaining how to work with chocolate. There is also a fair amount of detailing and photography on making impressive chocolate decoration for your desserts, which is actually easy to prepare. The book offers recipies for pies, mousses, cakes, cookies, confectionary, ice creams, drinks, and sauces. I must warn you, though, that some recipes call for as much as 300 grams of butter, and some call for 3 cups of double cream. I tried them once and the results were delicious, but not worth the health hazard.

Nevertheless, the final results taste great and look great. One you should try if you buy the book: the Striped Cheesecake!

Its as good as it looks!
This is the ultimate book for chocolate lovers.It offers a wonderfulhistory of chocolate and fabulous pictures.The recipes are easy to follow- you don't have to be a gourmet pastry chef to make these desserts!Evenif you're not into cooking, this book is a feast for the eyes!Thephotographs make your mouth water! ... Read more

Product Description
This book delves you into the world of Bed and Breakfast inns, where innkeepers wish to pamper and delight their guests at breakfast and tea time. Innkeepers across the country who love chocolate themselves have shared 67 non-threatening, down to earth recipes into this collection. These recipes have been prepared again and again to rave reviews by busy innkeepers, many in home kitchens similar to you own. The book also contains delicious chocolate recipes you can actually make in a reasonable amount of time in a normal kitchen, equipped with regular gadgets! No tempering or other intimidating techniques are needed to create luscious entries, breads and coffecakes, muffins and scone's, and desserts and snacks. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Chocolate for Breakfast
Any diehard chocoholic should have this book! Laura has read my mind and wrote a book for me!Delicious!

A Chocolate Lover's Dream Book
Whomever said chocolate wasn't for breakfast is wrong! This fabulous book contains recipes for delightful creations that any chocolate fan would appreciate. The sidebars relating info. about the inn from which the recipehails is a nice touch. It also gives a chocoholic a good excuse to servesomething chocolately at the one meal you never see it--breakfast!

Mouthwatering, non-intimidating recipes tested by innkeepers
If you are intimidated by other chocolate books, this is the one for you - easy recipes using chocolate products found in any grocery and common kitchen equipment. Entrees, muffins, coffeecakes, cookies - we liked themall. Tested by innkeepers, good color photos, interesting information onthe inns. We bought several for gifts for chocoholic friends, who also raveabout it! ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
If you are a chocoholic, then do yourself a favor, buy this book and let the bliss begin.

This book is the most lavish and the most complete, ever published on the subject of that most sensuous of all foods-chocolate. Filled with 371 of the world's best recipes, This book is literally a chocolate lover's dream come true.

This book offers chocolate lovers 371 ways in which to enjoy their favorite treat. Cookies, brownies, cupcakes and cakes, mousses and every other decadent sweet dish imaginable-plus some unusual savory ones-are all featured in easy-to-read recipes, and even easier to find with a great index and aphabetical table of contents. The book opens with a comprehensive overview of the science, history and business of chocolate, though any true chocolate lover will likely already be up to speed on the health benefits of the cacao bean.

This will make a must-have gift for anyone keen on chocolate. The instructions are easily understandable, and the book's tips and variations make the recipes easy to follow.

This book has everything chocolate!

... Read more