Choclatique: 150 Simply Elegant Desserts


Desserts containing chocolate can be intimidating to make at home, but L.A. chef Engoron confronts this fear head on, taking care to make chocolate accessible to inexperienced cooks. Every recipe is marked with a level of difficulty (one to four stars), with most landing in the lowest category. More reassuring is that all the recipes are based on just five recipes for ganache, a simple confection that doesn’t require a double boiler. The cake and cupcake chapter covers a wide range of combinations. The sour cream chocolate cake is a moist, simple cake perfect for any time of day. Alternatively, the tres leches chocolate cake is a lengthy recipe that would be great for special occasions. If the word elegant drew you to this book, look to the recipes for tarts. The bittersweet chocolate tart or the sacher torte are both simple yet sophisticated desserts. While these recipes can be time consuming, Engeron succeeds in presenting a collection of easily executed chocolate desserts. (Oct.)