Chocolate Master Class: Essential Recipes and Techniques Hardcover – 6 Oct. 2014

not a bad book

Very good book, My wife was very pleased

Bitter and sweet

Very disappointing !!! Sorry...

Very poor from a technical point of view, which really surprised me. 100mls of cream does not weigh 100g - only water does. Due to the higher fat content, cream is less dense. A fundamental error, which does nothing for Valrhona's reputation.

Nothing new here

We get our chocolate fix in many ways. That snatch of something on the side at the checkout stand of the supermarket. I cookie jar awaiting a midnight raid. A Sunday spent in the kitchen fashioning cake and frosting, perhaps to receive candles for a special day.And some of us wish we could go to France to chocolate school and really, really learn how to become a chocolate master. This important book, Chocolate Master Class, helps you begin fulfilling those dreams. Edited by Frédéric Bau of the École du Grand Chocolat Valrhona, this is an intense book. It won’t necessarily make you a chocolate professional, but you could boast of having a master’s degree in chocolate.The subtitle for this volume is Essential Recipes and Techniques. That is precisely what you get. First, a set of techniques, one per page, clearing giving you directions to manage your chocolate journey: how to melt, temper and mold. How to make ganache and cake batter, pastry cream and sauces. How to do these things and, equally important, why you need to do them. Tempering chocolate is not an option but a necessity.Then, it is off to the actual recipes. And here there is a twist. The recipes are NOT organized by cakes, cookies, ice cream … No, the recipes are arranged by texture: velvety, moist, melt-in-the-mouth, crunchy, and creamy. When you think about it, isn’t that one of the pleasures of chocolate? The snap of a hard slab, the stickiness of a caramel, the utter smoothness of a mousse.The recipes here are sophisticated, even the brownies have a complicated set of ingredients: both white and brown sugar, both bittersweet chocolate and cocoa powder. There’s a Chocolate Cream with Jelled Coffee that sounds a bit different — and the recipe itself surely is..The Hazelnut Waves are a composed cookie: almond shortcrust pasty topped with hazelnut cream topped with milk chocolate ganache. Or a Walnut, Caramel and Coffee-Chocolate Tart that will pull the crowns off your teeth.And you can drink your chocolate, too. There are lovely hot chocolate recipes but I’m fond of the Café con Coco: iced espresso shaken with a chilled cocoa made with bittersweet chocolate and cocoa powder. If you ever have to pull an all-nighter and need caffeine, this is your beverage.If chocolate is your passion, if not your addiction, then Chocolate Master Class will make you a better human being. And surely a happier one.For more cookbook reviews and thousands of recipes, please visit Cooking by the Book. You’ll discover how we do Culinary Team Building for corporate teams!

Si quieres adentrarte en el mundo de la chocolateria este puede ser un buen libro para ti, son técnicas muy básicas pero que sirven de mucho. PERO si ya tienes experiencia en chocolateria no vas a encontrar nada nuevo... Pongo 4 estrellas por que la paquetería maltrato el libro y venía con un pequeño desperfecto, nada importate pero a quien le gusta tener un libro nuevo con un pequeño detalle.

It is an inspiring book! Very useful for holidays diners, parties or just a nice weekend desert. I recommend it to all chocolate lovers!

I was expecting very clear and more indepth explanation and preparation methods, it might not yield good results for novice or home bakers, may useful for experience chocolate artists or those who understand baking science but i don't think so if any expert need to buy this book, may be few recipes are good, It is good for general reading, students and those who wants to bake under supervision and need some ideas. I'm keeping it as reference.

Awesome book