The International Chocolate Cookbook

Rating:
Summary: An excellent choice for the chocolate lover
Review: I adore cookbooks, particularly those dealing with chocolate or desserts. Some books are a disappointment, though, because the recipes are poorly defined or too many are unappealing. "The International Chocolate Cookbook" has many wonderful recipes that will appeal to the chocoholic and the 'normal' audience. Complex techniques are carefully explained, step by step, with hints to understand WHY the chef needs to follow these directions. I particularly love the creative ways to use chocolate suggested by the author. She details how to make boxes, 'birds nests', leaves, small bowls, and more - all out of chocolate. To add to the enjoyment, the author gives descriptions about where the dessert comes from and what makes it so appealing. The pictures are stunning, and are part of what convinced me to buy the book originally. I strongly recommend it to anyone looking for a cookbook to guide them through the complex world of chocolate

Rating:
Summary: NOT FOR THE FAINT-OF-HEART
Review: Nothing is as wonderful as a cookbook full of chocolate recipes. Although there are a great many of them available, truly good ones are not that common. Unfortunately, this book cannot be numbered among the good ones. While it is a pretty decent collection of chocolate recipes, this cookbook has a few problems with it.

This cookbook is not for the average person trying to do some baking in his or her kitchen on a Sunday afternoon. The majority of recipes require a fair amount of culinary skill to successfully execute. Some of the recipes are fairly easy and can be done by anyone. Unfortunately, the book does not warn the reader as to which ones are easy and which are more difficult. Some of the recipes, especially the ones involving chocolate sculpture, are very advanced and require some near-professional skills in order to successfully finish.

Another problem is that of equipment. You will need a kitchen well stocked with a wide variety of baking tools and equipment. The book does not have a list of the things you will need. It seems to assume that you already have the proper equipment. Also note that you must have a large, professional food processor and a stand mixer in order to complete most of the recipes.

On the other hand, there are several positive factors. All of the recipes have been thoroughly tested. The instructions are unusually complete and correct, making for some recipes that are very long in length. The description of the various types of chocolate in the introductory chapter is one of the better and more reliable ones. It is also a great source of the elegant patisserie recipes that make dramatic statements; such recipes are not easy to find among standard chocolate cookbooks.

In summary, this is a pretty good collection of chocolate recipes. It also requires a good inventory of culinary skills that the average person probably does not have, so the chances of success will be variable. I cannot recommend it for the average person. If you are already a good baker, however, this book is an excellent source of reliable chocolate recipes.

Rating:
Summary: NOT FOR THE FAINT-OF-HEART
Review: Nothing is as wonderful as a cookbook full of chocolate recipes. Although there are a great many of them available, truly good ones are not that common. Unfortunately, this book cannot be numbered among the good ones. While it is a pretty decent collection of chocolate recipes, this cookbook has a few problems with it.

This cookbook is not for the average person trying to do some baking in his or her kitchen on a Sunday afternoon. The majority of recipes require a fair amount of culinary skill to successfully execute. Some of the recipes are fairly easy and can be done by anyone. Unfortunately, the book does not warn the reader as to which ones are easy and which are more difficult. Some of the recipes, especially the ones involving chocolate sculpture, are very advanced and require some near-professional skills in order to successfully finish.

Another problem is that of equipment. You will need a kitchen well stocked with a wide variety of baking tools and equipment. The book does not have a list of the things you will need. It seems to assume that you already have the proper equipment. Also note that you must have a large, professional food processor and a stand mixer in order to complete most of the recipes.

On the other hand, there are several positive factors. All of the recipes have been thoroughly tested. The instructions are unusually complete and correct, making for some recipes that are very long in length. The description of the various types of chocolate in the introductory chapter is one of the better and more reliable ones. It is also a great source of the elegant patisserie recipes that make dramatic statements; such recipes are not easy to find among standard chocolate cookbooks.

In summary, this is a pretty good collection of chocolate recipes. It also requires a good inventory of culinary skills that the average person probably does not have, so the chances of success will be variable. I cannot recommend it for the average person. If you are already a good baker, however, this book is an excellent source of reliable chocolate recipes.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but I think more recent books are better.
Review: Recipes include tortes, cakes, mousse, souffle, cheesecake, tarts, icecream, cookies (big section), brownies, a big candy section, and chocolate decorations.

This book won the 1991 IACP baking and overall book of the year. I think it's a good book But I think that there are better chocolate books out there. From the presentation point of view, this is the least impressive of the 4 books I own (cocolat, death by chocolat, chocolate bible). There aren't nearly as many pictures in this book. It's paperback, even though you get the other books in hardback from amazon at the same cost! This book recommends that you add vegetable oil to your mixture to make chocolate ruffles, something which makes it easier, but wrecks the taste. No help in understanding other ingredients like in Cocolat. On the other hand, there are many nice recipes, and there is a little section above each recipe which gives either understanding or a neat history behind each recipe. As with the other chocolate books, I'd recommend having another book as supplmentary material. So, overall, this is a nice book, but a notch below the other 3 chocolate books I own.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but I think more recent books are better.
Review: Recipes include tortes, cakes, mousse, souffle, cheesecake, tarts, icecream, cookies (big section), brownies, a big candy section, and chocolate decorations.

This book won the 1991 IACP baking and overall book of the year. I think it's a good book But I think that there are better chocolate books out there. From the presentation point of view, this is the least impressive of the 4 books I own (cocolat, death by chocolat, chocolate bible). There aren't nearly as many pictures in this book. It's paperback, even though you get the other books in hardback from amazon at the same cost! This book recommends that you add vegetable oil to your mixture to make chocolate ruffles, something which makes it easier, but wrecks the taste. No help in understanding other ingredients like in Cocolat. On the other hand, there are many nice recipes, and there is a little section above each recipe which gives either understanding or a neat history behind each recipe. As with the other chocolate books, I'd recommend having another book as supplmentary material. So, overall, this is a nice book, but a notch below the other 3 chocolate books I own.