Truffles, Candies, and Confections: Techniques and Recipes for Candymaking [Paperback]

Carole Bloom (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2004

Imagine your favorite candy—maybe it's a velvety raspberry truffle or a piece of crisp English toffee. In this completely revised and expanded edition of a culinary classic, pastry chef and teacher Carole Bloom shows intrepid bakers how to turn their visions of sugarplums into home-baked perfection. Bloom begins with an illuminating discussion of candymaking essentials, from ingredients to tools to techniques, and then shares more than 180 exquisitely detailed recipes for truffles, caramels, nut brittles, fudge, and more. If you haven't dared to try candymaking or have been frustrated by attempts in the past, get out the baking sheets and gift boxes—it's time to prepare, devour, and share batches of blissful, homemade treats like Mocha Truffles, Hazelnut Chocolate Kisses, Vanilla Cream Caramels, Butter Peanut Brittle, and Maple Pecan Fudge. Bloom's clear, concise instructions will help beginners master even the trickiest techniques, like tempering chocolate and making caramel, and her many recipe variations will inspire experienced candymakers to experiment with new flavor combinations. With TRUFFLES, CANDIES, AND CONFECTIONS at your side, starting a candymaking tradition will be as rewarding as it is delectable.“If you have a passion for chocolate, caramel, toffee, or truffles, Carole Bloom's collection of luscious two-bite confections will inspire you to create the sweet magic of a candy shop in your own kitchen.” —Flo Braker, author of The Simple Art of Perfect Baking and Sweet Miniatures“Smooth or chunky? Creamy or chewy? Chocolate or vanilla? Fruit or nut-filled? Such sweet choices will surely keep you up at night, luring you into the kitchen to melt and dip your way into candy bliss, then back into bed with a stash of sumptuous sweets.” —Lisa Yockelson, baking journalist and author of Baking by Flavor“This is the book that every chocolate-lover should have within reach at all times! From classic chocolate-dipped caramels and nutty brittles, to truffles with the most exquisite flavors imaginable, Carole's classic book is without a doubt one of the most comprehensive and delectable books on chocolate ever.” —David Lebovitz, author of The Great Book of Chocolate“A first-rate book for making wonderful candy at home. This almost forgotten pleasure is made available to anyone with the careful, clear guidance in these well-tested recipes.” —Marion Cunningham, author of The Fannie Farmer Cookbook“Carole Bloom has done meticulous research, writing, and recipe testing for this irresistible book. It's rare to find a teacher so committed to seeing her students succeed.” —Robert Steinberg, co-founder of Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker, Inc.“It's not just Bloom's background that makes this book so good; she has the rare ability to clearly explain technical procedures and write a recipe that's easy to follow.” —Los Angeles Times

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

* Revised and expanded edition of TRUFFLES, CANDIES, AND CONFECTIONS, featuring more than a dozen new recipes plus 20 full-color food and how-to photographs.
* Recipes are organized into categories: truffles; more chocolate candies; caramel candies; nut brittles and marzipan; fudge, nougat and divinity; and fruit candies.

About the Author

CAROLE BLOOM, CCP, studied pastry and confectionery arts in Europe and has worked in world-class hotels and restaurants in Italy, Switzerland, and California. She is the award-winning author of seven cookbooks; her feature articles have appeared in magazines such as Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, Gourmet, and Chocolatier; and she has appeared on The Today Show, CNN, and ABC World News This Morning among others. Carole has taught her art for more than twenty-five years at cooking schools throughout the United States and has also worked as a consultant for both new and established culinary enterprises. Carole lives in Carlsbad, California, with her husband and their two cats.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580086217
• ISBN-13: 978-1580086219
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.7 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #124,816 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in Fine Arts. While deciding whether to go to graduate school in Art History or Dance I traveled to Europe where I experienced incredible desserts and pastries. That's when I decided that I wanted to be a pastry chef. I studied pastry and confectionery arts at La Varenne in Paris and Le Cordon Bleu in London. I've also served an apprenticeship in a fabulous pastry shop in Venice,Italy and have worked at 5 star hotels in Lausanne, Switzerland and San Francisco, CA. I've also worked in top restaurants in Southern California and have had my own business making desserts and cakes for small restaurants, cafes, and individuals. For many years I made wedding and special occasion cakes. For close to 30 years I've been teaching my art to others, specializing in demystifying complicated techniques so everyone can make fabulous desserts, pastries, and confections at home. I enjoy creating desserts for my books to share with everyone. And, I'm always happy to hear from my readers with questions and successes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Candy Making at Home, April 21, 2005

By 

jerry i h (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Truffles, Candies, and Confections: Techniques and Recipes for Candymaking (Paperback)

For those who want to make candy in their kitchen at home, this book is the only game in town. In spite of some shortcomings, I do recommend it for the dedicated home cook. There are a number of older candy books, but are mostly out of print and date back 50 years or more; as such, they do not reflect current abilities or tastes. This book is the only complete one on confectionery I can think of published in recent years. This is a reprint of the original published in 1992.

This book does a good job of representing those candies that people want these days. When they think of confectionery, they mainly are thinking of chocolate truffles and clusters; consequently, the first half of the book is devoted to just that. The second half contains chapters on caramel, brittles and marzipan, fudge and nougat, and fruit. The recipe instructions are well described and easy to follow. The sections on ingredients, techniques, and equipment are also important, as these subjects in older candy books are out of date and mostly worthless.

There were some shortcomings, however. The description on tempering chocolate is brief, and leaves out many details. I object to the many ministrations that chocolate be put into the refrigerator. Many of the recipes in the second half call for hot sugar to be cooked to 240 degrees and beyond. This is the most dangerous thing in the kitchen to do (even more dangerous that deep-frying in oil), yet there are no instructions on how to do this safely. This subject by itself would need a section 3 or 4 pages by itself. There should also be more information on the difference between milk, white, and semi-sweet chocolates and the various brands.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars What? No Fondants?, August 23, 2006

By 

Azara A. Golston - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Truffles, Candies, and Confections: Techniques and Recipes for Candymaking (Paperback)

I feel that this cookbook is missing a couple of important candy genres. Although it does include two recipes for marzipan, a rare phenomenon in the world of American candy books, there is no mention of hard candies other than nut brittles, and perhaps even more surprisingly, there are no fondant recipes. I consider fondant to be one of the cornerstones of candymaking, and lovely though this book may be, I can't help but feel cheated by its misleadingly wide-ranging title. It does, however, boast an extensive section on truffles, and the technique chapter at the beginning of the book sports an exceptionally thorough and unique explanation of chocolate tempering and how one holds a temper. If you already have a collection of candy books that covers all the bases, ¨Truffles, Candies and Confections¨ is a nice addition. But if you're looking for an introduction to candy making in general, this is not it.

24 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Super candy book for everyone., November 10, 2004

By 

Ben Smith - See all my reviews

This review is from: Truffles, Candies, and Confections: Techniques and Recipes for Candymaking (Paperback)

This is the best book that I have ever bought on candy making. It is clear and very easy to use--and the recipes are all my favorites. I really like the chocolate truffles that Carole does and the peanut brittle is the best I have ever had. I am going to make everything in this book, over and over again :).