The other night I was having dinner in a restaurant, and struck up a conversation with the fellow dining at the next table, who turned out to be Swiss. As we talked, the conversation turned to what I did and when I replied that I wrote cookbooks on baking and chocolate. His curiosity was piqued, as well as that of the two Belgian women at…
Did you know that when a chocolate cake recipe says to “Grease a cake pan and dust it with flour”, you can substitute unsweetened cocoa powder for the flour? Here’s a favorite chocolate cake recipe tip: Simply butter the cake pan then spoon in a heaping spoonful of cocoa powder, then shake the pan to distribute the cocoa over the bottom and sides of the…
I’m fortunate to live in Paris, a city where there’s an unusually large amount of very good chocolate shops. With so many to choose from, it’s hard to whittle it down to just the few, most perfect ones. But I must. And one of them is John-Charles Rochoux. His jewel box of a shop is located just off the bustling rue de Rennes. It’s not just…
That’s the new one meter box of chocolates from Patrick Roger, over three feet of pralines, caramels, nougats, and creamy-smooth ganache-filled bonbons, all enrobed in ultra-dark bittersweet chocolate. I don’t know how someone would brave getting one of those home on the métro, but I’d surely appreciate their efforts if I found one under my tree! Patrick Roger 108, Boulevard St. Germain (6th) Tel: 01…
Several of you had asked about how to avoid cookies from spreading out during baking, which can be rather vexing…especially when you’ve gone through all that trouble of getting the counter all covered with flour, then rolling ’em out, and cutting them into all those nifty shapes. So here are some tips…
For those of you whose interest has been picqued by my interview with Frederick Schilling of Dagoba chocolate, Frederick sent me the scoop on his new partnership with Artisan Confections, a division of Hershey’s chocolate. Here’s an except from that message: “So, what’s in store for Dagoba now? Well, for the most part, nothing is going to change. Dagoba will remain in Ashland doing what…
People come from all over the world to sip le chocolat chaud in the busy and cozy cafés in Paris. And there’s a reason for that – it’s excellent! But you can’t just walk into any café and be assured of a great cup. Thankfully you’ll find a number of places in Paris that take the time to pour an excellent cup of hot chocolate….
I’d like to introduce you to Henri Le Roux. And if you don’t know who Henri Le Roux is, it’s time that you did. Le Caramelier; Salted-Butter Caramel Spread There’s a lot of very talented chocolatiers and pastry chefs in France. Some are quite famous, and some just go to work everyday and do their jobs well. A few have rather large egos, others are…
There’s been a lot of discussion about what is the best salt in the world. There are lots of opinions, tastings, and scientific studies floating around. But I’m here to tell you, my absolute favorite salt is Fleur de sel de Guérande. I think there’s no finer salt available anywhere. When I was invited to visit the salt marshes and learn to rake the highly-prized,…
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