With a silver foil cover and silver-edged pages encased in a sleeve reminiscent of the covering of a chocolate bar, Chocolat might be the most luxurious gift a chocolate lover could get, and connoisseurs will find their palates ever more discriminating with the information inside this tempting book. Chocolate is a rich taste and the book is as rich as its subject.
Chocolat asks many questions, then answers them with sumptuous recipes and practical knowledge. "How should chocolate be sampled? Using what criteria? What goes with it? How and when?" In easily read pages, author, Chef, and passionate chocolate lover, Stéphan Lagorce covers the types of chocolate bars and the products that come from chocolate. He guides the reader to taste with all the senses whether snapping off a piece of a bar, drinking chocolate or diving into a dessert based on chocolate. He continues with the companions of chocolate - spirits, coffees, teas, cigars, flowers, even a few surprising vegetables. He lists the spices that marry with chocolate.
Giving detailed instructions, even rating the resulting product as intense, medium or subtle he offers a array of tempting recipes. You can enjoy a subtle recipe ranging from a sophisticated Dark Chocolate and Armagnac Sabayon, to a Pound Cake with Cocoa, or Chocolate Dacquoises, a macaroon-like cookie. If you like a deeper chocolate taste you can try Chocolate Profiteroles, those lovely cream puffs, here garnished with almonds and confectioners' sugar, a Hot or an Iced Chocolate Soufflé, or a lavish Chocolate Tart. If you are in the mood for an intense flavor of chocolate , try Chocolate Rochers, a confection similar to truffles, but larger and often flavored with almonds or hazelnuts, or a Chocolate Gateau, the perfect cake to sink into with all your senses, or sip a Viennese Hot Chocolate for its deep, mysterious flavor.
There are lustrous photographs throughout the book by Éric Fénot. To complete all the knowledge you need, there is a chocolate glossary, tips and tricks for cooking and storing, a guide to cacao varieties, and how chocolate is made. This is a rich and complete book, one formatted for ease of use as well as one that pleases the eye and tempts the taste buds.
©
