Reviewer: Connie Payne/Tina Smith(and families)
Title: The Essence of Chocolate
Author: Scharffenberger & Steinberg
Publisher: Hyperion
ISBN: 1401302386
Release Date: November 2006
Genre/Sub-genre: Cookbook
Cuisine: Chocolate
Overall Rating: 4.0
The Essence of Chocolate is packed with information on the history of chocolate,
how Scharffen Berger chocolate came to be, terms, techniques and more. So much is the
information that it should be consumed and processed by increments. Otherwise you may feel
overwhelmed.
We found the recipes, for the most part, to be fairly easy from start to finish and clear in the instructions, even going so far as to tell you what you can expect while preparing some recipes. There are elaborate concoctions and simple mouthwatering desserts.
With this cookbook, the shopping list may become longer with items you don't normally buy such as heavy cream, various qualities and varieties of chocolate, dark molasses, whole milk, cocoa nibs (if you can find them), and add to grocery total, but overall, it was worth it.
Two families tried a number of recipes from this cookbook.
Here are the recipes Tina tried:
Cakey Brownies--Fairly easy, simple steps to follow. It was very good, light and fluffy.
One-Pot Sour Cream Cake--Very easy. Tried it twice. Baked it 5 minutes longer the second time. Votes were divided on which way was best, but the determination was it could use just a bit more chocolate flavor.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Gianduja--Difficult because of all the steps. This recipe didn't turn out. It didn't set up like it should have.
White Velvet Cake with Milk Chocolate Ganache--Wonderful! I'm going to make this again at the next family get together.
Pull-apart Kuchen--A little complicated. Tasted good, but could use a little more sweetness to our taste.
Chocolate Chunk Scones--Very easy. Tasted wonderful! I'm going to make these again with milk chocolate chips.
Here are the recipes Connie tried:
Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes--Not difficult to prepare. The frosting is easy and wonderful!! The cupcakes were a very good complement to the frosting.
Fudgy Brownies--Very simple to make. They are fudgy and yummy! Even my father, who doesn't care too much for chocolate, loved these.
One-Pot Sour Cream Cake--Easy. But we didn't care for it. It definitely doesn't have the texture of a "cake". Was very bland in the area of chocolate flavor.
Chocolate-Marbled Gingerbread--A bit more complicated to make (if you don't have a stand mixer, watch out, this splatters!) We didn't know what to expect, but loved the combination of chocolate and ginger. Was even better the next day.
Banana Caramel Cake--A little complicated. We were eager to try this, but even though I followed the directions to the letter, it didn't turn out.
John's Cocoa Rub--Oh so easy. I was unsure about this, but bravely tried it. We LOVE it!
Baked Beans (yes, you read right)--Not too difficult. I was anxious to try this recipe, but after following the directions to the letter, ended up with soup. Perhaps the 13 cups of water (which I questioned) was a misprint?
We're chocolate lovers. So it was a no-brainer when it came to testing the recipes and reviewing this cookbook. As you can see, some of recipes were fabulous and others weren't. Unfabulous ones aside, we're eager to try out more of the recipes in this cookbook. Oh, what a sacrifice...!
A book of luscious, chocolate recipes, sure to tempt even the most discriminating tastes.
Connie and Tina
Question or comment regarding the review or the book? Click here and let Connie know.
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