****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
The Sweetest Thing!!! This book is so DELICIOUS!!! Hi, I’m a chocoholic. Ever since reading and watching the movie “Chocolat” I have been in a baking frenzy. I wanted to wait and review this after I had baked a lot of its recipes at the top of my list. This was self-indulgence at its best.I was pleasantly surprised how easy most of these recipes were and the reward was more than I could ask for. I love it when it takes a small amount of effort and the dessert turns out to be not only rich but decadent. I impressed myself, if I do say so myself.At the beginning of the book there were tips about cooking chocolate that were helpful, like what to do instead if you don’t own a double boiler. I do not have one so I just melted the chocolate on the lowest setting on the stovetop. It worked beautifully. These recipes performed flawlessly for me. I don’t consume a lot of bittersweet chocolate so most of the time I substituted semisweet chocolate and it worked just right. The only thing that I thought could have made this book better was more pictures, one for each recipe. I’m visual, I like to see what I am going to make along with what type of presentation I am aiming for. After all, that makes the food taste even better.This was the first time in my life to have ever eaten crème brulee. I was proud that I actually made it myself. I’m usually not a big fan of white chocolate but this was an exception. It was a sophisticated silky smooth dessert. I do not have a handheld torch but it was easy using the “broil” setting on the oven. The sugar was browned and it cracked on top like it was supposed to. Yum.I have to admit this book deserved the highest rating because of one dessert alone—Triple Chocolate Truffle Cake!!! I know!!! It won an award for a contest “Is Your Dessert Intense Enough.” Pure ecstasy. It is so delicious it’s a sin…one I will gladly commit over and over again.Tasty recipes I made from this book, so far: Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, Fudgy Chocolate Brownies, Flourless Chocolate Torte with Dark Chocolate Glaze, Triple Chocolate Truffle Cake (to-die-for), Chocolate Caramel Walnut Torte, Chocolate-Almond layered Cheesecake, Chocolate Chip Cheesecake, Individual Chocolate Souffles, White Chocolate Crème Brulee, Rich Chocolate Fudge, Milk Chocolate Truffles, English Toffee.They were all worth it…and there’s more to make later.
