The Art of Chocolate: Techniques and Recipes for Simply Spectacular Desserts and Confections [Paperback]

This book is an excellent introduction to the fine art of chocolate patisserie. It will lead the motivated reader to produce elegant presentations, table centerpieces, etc. It will be a great advantage if the reader is already an accomplished home baker. If you are, the procedures can be successfully followed. The recipes and instructions are clear, and give you all of the detail and explanations you need. Do not be fooled, however: the recipes require time, patience, and lots of practice. In the end, you will be able to create products that can be sold at the local bakery, and you will be able to fool people into thinking that you are a professional pastry chef.

On the other hand, this book does have a few flaws. All the recipes depend on presentation and looks; therefore, all recipes should have a picture to show you what your end product should look like. Several recipes (including Mouse Truffles, Twig Basket, Teardrop Dessert Cups), however, do not have any pictures, and the reader is mostly clueless as what the recipe should look like. At one point, the author states that one should start with the easier projects. Unfortunately, none of the recipes are rated as to which ones are hard, and which are easy, nor is there a list of recommended recipes for beginners. Also, several procedures, such as chocolate roses and chocolate birds, describe fairly complex procedures, and need a series of detailed pictures to illustrate the steps described in the recipe, but none are forthcoming. The last chapter on basic recipes for cakes, frostings, and sauces should be the first chapter.

There are also a couple of interesting points. It is the only source I know of that has substitution lists for substituting cocoa powder or unsweetened chocolate for semisweet chocolate. It also is the only cookbook that consistently recommends chocolate substitutes when it is necessary and produces better results than ordinary chocolate.

The book contains the following sections: 1) Ingredients and Tools, 2) Melting and Tempering Chocolate, 3) Spectacular Chocolate Confections, 4) Chocolate Magic Tricks, 5) Spectacular Chocolate Gifts, 6) Spectacular Chocolate Cakes and Desserts, 7) Basic Cakes, Fillings, Frostings, and Sauces.

All things considered, it is an impressive instruction manual that is a reasonable substitute for taking a course in chocolate patisserie at the local JC or cooking school. If it had a few more pictures (like Jacques Pepin's "Complete Techniques) I would be happy to call it a textbook destined for immortality.

It should be noted that the author is a genuine chocolate expert. She teaches master's classes and leads chocolate tours to the cacao plantations in central and south america. She is not just another cookbook author who has decided to add a chocolate cookbook to her resume (which is a defect of several popular chocolate cookbooks, including "Chocolate Ecstasy").

She starts with the basics explaining types of chocolate, ingredients and tools, then goes into the details of various tempering methods. With these basics behind you, you then progress into chocolate confections including medallions, caramel pecan patties, truffles, dipped strawberries, peanut butter meltaways and butter pecan toffee - of course, all include ample amounts of chocolate.

Next comes more than a dozen chocolate magic tricks including molding chocolate, chocolate plates, shells, bowls, boxes, cups, leaves, bows, flowers, tree bark and cutouts. Then, building on these tricks, she makes even more exquisite chocolate art into baskets, decorated boxes, fancy eggs, and fabulous centerpieces.

She shows you how to make your chocolate cakes and desserts even more spectacular by combining various colorings and chocolate shapes creating new art forms. Then she includes a great selection of high-quality recipes for cakes, fillings, frostings, and sauces.

Then, if that's not enough, there's a complete bibliography, glossary, mail-order sources, and several conversion charts customized for chocolate. Everyone who's serious about removing the mystery of chocolate art should certainly have and use this book. Elaine, thank you for inspiring and releasing some of my hidden artistic talents.