In 2011 a rather remarkable cookbook appeared: Cooking with Chocolate, Essential Recipes and Techniques. The book was edited by Frédéric Bau from the École du Grand Chocolate Valrhona. Now “grand” is an operative word here and “Valrhona” is one all we chocoholics know. And, yes, I think you can call this book essential. To save a thousand words, or at least a few hundred, here’s the photo of the Extraordinary Chocolate Tart:
This book is really a bible or encyclopedia of chocolate. There are magnificent recipes including:
Chocolate Caramel Sauce
Custard Based Chocolate Mousse
Walnut, Carmel and Coffee-Chocolate Tart
Hot Chocolate [of course, but the Valrhona way]
Milk Chocolate Sorbet
Warm Chocolate Tart
Iced Chocolate Parfait and CAppuccino Sauce
Chocolate Mousse with Jelled Coffee
Chocolate Bavrian Cream
Whether you like your chocolate hot or cold, whether you want to eat it or sip, whether it is a cake or cookie or tart that has you craving right now, there is an exceptional recipe awaiting you in this book. The best one in the book? Well that extraordinary tart is surely one. But on Page 151 there is, not a recipe, but some advice: How to create a dessert. It’s good advice and with the recipes in place in the book and your own your yearnings, you really can venture on your own chocolate path.
But that venture is really not just on your own. Beyond the recipes, there is a wealth of expert advice about chocolate, how to melt it, temper it, shape it, relish it. You don’t have to just read and interpret words. The book comes with DVD showing chocolate professionals busy at work tempering and molding, creating a bonbon filling, decorating a Black Forest Cakes and making chocolate tuiles.
Have you ever tried a tuiles? My wife Suzen has threatened me with divorce if I ever say the word to her. But she hasn’t seen the is DVD and I’m pretty sure she can pull it off while I watch and advise. And my lawyer can always raise the insanity plea.
After all, I am a chocoholic. And if you are one, you want Cooking with Chocolate.