The Art of Chocolate: Techniques and Recipes for Simply Spectacular Desserts and Confec tions (Paperback)

by Elaine Gonzalez (Author), Frankie Frankeny (Photographer) "Chocolate is made from beans that grow inside the pods of cacao trees, which flourish in hot, rainy climates within 20 degrees of the equator..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, Choco Bake, Brown Velvet Glaze (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Chicago teacher Elaine Gonzalez and photographer Frankie Frankeny have produced a beautiful and useful book of techniques and recipes called 'The Art of Chocolate'. In addition to cakes, desserts and confections (including half-a-dozen truffle creations), Gonzales creates chocolate leaves, flours, cups, baskets and boxes. It's for chocolate lovers of an artistic bent." -- Chicago Tribune

Product Description
This is not just a book of masterful recipes, tips, techniques, and meticulously detailed, easy-to-follow instructions. It is an extravagant paean to decadent desserts. Filled with luscious creations and lavish artistry-Chocolate Swan Truffles, Enchanted Forest Torte-this definitive guide to working with chocolate is unusual because it is written with beginners in mind. A cooking teacher with decades of experience, Elaine Gonz‡lez has devised innovative techniques to put the art of working with chocolate within everyone's reach. After mastering a few basics, any cook can create shimmering cakes, seductive truffles, and amazing chocolate sculptures. With The Art of Chocolate, even novices will soon roll, curl, twist, coax, and nudge chocolate to dizzying heights of fantasy.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081181811X
• ISBN-13: 978-0811818117
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 9.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #284,669 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

119 of 119 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Almost a Textbook, April 11, 2003

By	jerry i h (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

First, let me be clear as to what this book is not. It is not a basic cookbook full of recipes for toll house cookies, fudgey brownies, or chocolate birthday cakes. It certainly is not a cookbook for the casual cook who wants to make a chocolate dessert for an informal Sunday dinner. It is a mostly reliable instruction manual for producing impressive and artistic chocolate creations.

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").

89 of 91 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You get a full weeks' chocolate class in a single book., July 16, 1999

By A Customer

Buy the book and necessary supplies, follow Elaine's expert instructions, and you can develop into a master chocolate maker. The book is a masterpiece in itself. It encapsulates Elaine's 20 years of experience and knowledge with very detailed instructions, beautiful pictures, invaluable references, and scrumptious recipes.

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.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book I Own!, January 5, 2001

By	Michelle (New Fairfield, Connecticut USA) - See all my reviews

When I got interested in learning how to work with chocolate I bought a few books and some video tapes about it. This is by far the best book I bought. It is so simple to understand and it took away my fears of tempering. All the supplies you need are listed here, as well as where to get them. I purchased items from one of the suppliers in the book and found some great prices! I would say this is a must have for anyone who likes to work with chocolate!