Cocolat: Extraordinary Chocolate Desserts

Description

James Beard Foundation 1991 Cookbook of the Year! "Cocolat is to chocolate what Tiffany is to diamonds." — Gourmet magazine. One of America's leading chocolatiers and the founder of the famous Cocolat shops shares the secrets behind her decadent, European-style desserts in this beautifully illustrated, easy-to-follow guide. Alice Medrich founded the first in a chain of chocolate shops in 1976, introducing legions of Americans to the joys of chocolate truffles. With the guidance of this lavish book, home cooks and budding pastry chefs can make their own renditions of the shop's sophisticated confections. Each fabulous recipe features detailed instructions that even first-time bakers can follow to create treats that are — almost — too beautiful to eat. Alice Medrich shares her exclusive techniques for making visually stunning, professional-quality desserts, from a Christmas mousse and a child's birthday cake of miniature cupcakes to dainty macaroons and soft-centered chocolate truffles. Easy-to-follow directions, illustrated in full color, explain how to sculpt chocolate roses, ruffles, fans, shavings, and other finishing touches. This newly revised edition features a new Introduction by the author, a new Chocolate Chart with advice on ingredients, and updated Resources and Equipment sections. The ultimate chocolate dessert book, Cocolat promises to be the crowning jewel of any cookbook collection. "Alice Medrich's groundbreaking chocolate techniques and recipes, first at her much-missed Cocolat shops and then in her books, have certainly survived the test of time. Their flavor, appearance, and elegance are every bit as fresh and delightful today as they were when they first appeared. Cocolat is a true classic." — Nick Malgieri, author of PASTRY and BAKE! "My seduction by chocolate happened the moment I bit into my first dark chocolate truffle at Cocolat, Alice Medrich's groundbreaking shop. I've been a dedicated fan ever since and was thrilled when she shared her coveted recipes in this book. Alice has always stood on the forefront of the world of chocolate, and Cocolat is one of the most cherished books in my cookbook collection!" — David Lebovitz, author of My Paris Kitchen and The Sweet Life in Paris "At this very moment, I have a Mocha Pecan Torte in the oven because to read Cocolat is to bake from it, and that's as true now as it was when I was nine years old, awestruck by the sea of chocolate ruffles on the cover. Like many pastry chefs, I cut my teeth on this book, and it's hard to overstate Alice's influence on dessert menus and bakery cases across the country." — Stella Parks, Senior Editor at Serious Eats and author of BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts "The kinds and variations of chocolate available in the United States have exploded since the original Cocolat was published in 1999. But what has remained constant is Alice's expertise in sifting through all the information so home cooks can successfully create desserts with one of the best ingredients on earth. Alice's original Cocolat is a classic in many bakers' kitchens, including my own. The pages of mine are chocolate-stained and dog-eared. I know I will soon get this new, revised version as messy as I absorb and learn all Alice has to share with us on her new chocolate discoveries." — Emily Luchetti, San Francisco–based pastry chef and author of several dessert books including Stars Desserts and The Fearless Baker "Alice Medrich is the Grande Dame Extraordinaire of everything chocolate. Her patisserie, Cocolat was revolutionary and one of the very few in the banal landscape of American bakeries at the time. I have a copy of this original book and it inspired me early on in my career to master many of the techniques in here available to anyone who submits to their love for chocolate." — Elizabeth Falkner, Chef/Author/Artist Review: The REAL Chocolate Bible - In 1970's, Alice Medrich was, I believe, the first person to popularize the very rich, dense chocolate desserts that are common today. This book was the first of its type, full of rich chocolate recipes and glorious, color pictures, and it is still one of the very best. The recipe instructions are more reliable and easier to execute than most other chocolate cookbooks, although I have doubts about some of the decorative procedures in the appendix for the average home cook. Whenever I need a chocolate recipe, this is the book I reach for first. Chocolate is notoriously difficult to cook and bake with, and many chocolate cookbooks are equally notorious for their difficult to execute recipes. Medrich is not professionally trained, so you will not find the usual array of vaguely described professional recipe instructions. Instead, you will find procedures of the author's own invention, and these are thoroughly described and easy to follow (in fact, many are unique ones that you will not find elsewhere); I almost never have trouble executing them. The recipes themselves are endlessly fascinating, and I discovered several new things, such as: cake pans do not need to be buttered and floured, the secret to her rich version of truffles, and that a hot milk sponge is better for roulades than a genoise. The only error I found is the recipe for simple syrup (it should be 2 cups sugar to 2 cups water). The appendix, which describes "Building Blocks" and "Finishing Techniques", is more troublesome. The first section has basic components that are used in the rest of the recipes, and you will have to spend time getting the hang of making things like meringue, genoise, or lady fingers. The second half, while not impossible to do at home, is for the dedicated amateur pastry chef only. For these, I suggest that you just skip them; whipped cream in a can, bottled commercial dessert sauces, or pre-made cake decorating supplies from the grocery store are acceptable. The author became famous for her simple, yet strikingly elegant and under-stated decorating techniques; you will miss this element of her desserts, but they will still taste great. Of all the chocolate recipes I produce in my home kitchen, at least half come from this cookbook. It sort of looks like a coffee table book full of worthless recipes, but here looks are deceiving. Virtually all of the recipes are good ones that are worth doing. The instructions are exemplary, and almost all of the recipes have a matching picture so you can see what the end result should look like. Experienced home bakers will be fascinated by the introductory material in the first 30 or so pages. Beginners should spend time reading through all of the recipes, and then select those that are easier to do; sadly, the author does not rate here recipes for difficulty. Review: Cocolat should be on every baker's bookshelf. - This book is an absolute MUST HAVE for anyone who loves desserts and loves to bake. As a former pastry chef myself, I have well over 200 cookbooks, and this is one of the most well-written, best-tested baking books I own. As a matter of fact, I can only say that about 2 other books I have. I have made about 90% of the desserts in this book, and they have all turned out exactly like Chef Medrich describes and look exactly like the photos. How many baking books can you say that about? I can't begin to count the number of people that I have recommended this book to. If you buy Cocolat for no other reason you should buy it for the "Building Blocks" in the back. If you have that section and follow her directions exactly, you will be able to create an endless number of incredible desserts. Chef Medrich's genoise formula, for example, is the most reliable formula for genoise I've ever used. That is a staple in my kitchen, along with her formula and method for french buttercream. And frankly, her formula for Chocolate Velvet Mousse is worth the price of the book all on its own. I use it for everything; filling for every type of cake, mixed with whipped cream for fillings for cream puffs, layered with sponge cake for chocolate trifle; I could go on and on. In my opinion, it's the finest chocolate mousse both in texture and flavor that I've ever eaten. Marcel Desaulnier markets himself as the King of Chocolate, but he can't even begin to compare with Alice Medrich, who is in a class all by herself. Chef Medrich, if you read this, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! You and Emily Luchetti are my baking mentors; you are a great chef and teacher.