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Nick Malgieri is one smart cookie. He opens Chocolate with information about all the basics on our favorite sweet's history and production. He then moves right into 360 recipes.
Chocolate provides recipes for every intensity of chocolove and all levels of culinary skills. There are simple mix-bake-cut cakes, a mud-rich fudge sauce that hardens on ice cream, a collection of ice creams to go with it, and a killer Rich Chocolate Mousse.
Any comfortable cook, particularly one who's mastered the techniques in How to Bake, Great Italian Desserts, and Malgieri's other equally clear and precise works, can turn out Cream Puff Truffles, Chocolate Brownie Tart, a French Buche de Noel, and most of the other recipes in this dessert-lover's dream book.
Dedicated amateurs and professional cooks will appreciate Malgieri's explicit guidance for the process of tempering, which is necessary for making certain chocolate confections, and the recipes for European-style molded confections such as liqueur-filled cordials, and hand-dipped masterpieces, including Raspberry Tricolors. Less ambitious chocoholics might attempt the 26 kinds of truffles or play with Chocolate Plastic for making decorations. And no one should miss Chocolate's final chapter, the over-the-top "Showpieces and Decorating Projects."
This book is lavish with color photos. The chapter openings, shot with the artistry of Irving Penn still lifes, are so breathtaking you can taste them. --Dana Jacobi
From Library Journal
In the style of Malgieri's authoritative How To Bake (LJ 8/95), here is a comprehensive guide to chocolate, with more than 300 recipes for cakes, creams and mousses, pies and tarts, sauces, and more. The introduction covers the basics, and each succeeding chapter elaborates on specific desserts and confections, with recipes usually organized from easiest to most elaborate. Instructions are clear though fairly concise (Malgieri's no Maida Heatter), but there are detailed directions for working with chocolate and other trickier techniques. Marcel Desaulniers's chocolate books (e.g., Death by Chocolate Cookies, LJ 12/97) are flashier, but Malgieri covers a lot more ground. Highly recommended.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Entertainment Weekly, 12/11/98
Paeans to chocolate are usually sumptuous coffee-table affairs, with little practical instruction on how to actually create the desserts arrayed within. Here, though, is a cookbook packed with detailed techniques and tips.
From Booklist
The simplicity of title belies the comprehensiveness of the text of this cookbook, which sets the standard for other cookbooks dwelling on everyone's favorite dessert, chocolate. Malgieri's reputation as a teacher is reflected in the completeness of the recipes' instructions. He also gives serving advice and guidelines on storage, although it is very hard to imagine the household that would allow any of these treats to go uneaten once they are fully ready. Malgieri's chocolate creations cover the whole spectrum of the baker's art. Dozens of chocolate cake recipes give way to an even greater number of cookies and brownies. For those who like their chocolate simple and strong, Malgieri offers candies, especially truffles, which allow the cook to use both culinary and artistic imagination. One chapter covers the use of chocolate as a decoration, whether a simple sprinkling of powdered cocoa or an elaborate wreath of chocolate flowers. Public library cookery collections will find this a popular selection. Mark Knoblauch
Polly Frost, The New York Times, 10/21/98
Is it possible that there can be too much of something as perfect as chocolate? Countless writers from cooks to psychologists have tried to offer the final word on this divine substance. And even the stodgiest restaurants attempt to outdo each other with versions of "death by chocolate," which usually turns out to mean mud cake sludge. Awash in this excess, it can be impssible to truly appreciate chocolate. Which is all the more reason to welcome Nick Malgieri's deliciously sophisticated CHOCOLATE. Mr. Malgieri, the director of baking at the Peter Kump Cooking School, offers 380 recipes for pies, drinks, custards, sauces, candies and even blueprints for cookie houses. After a week of baking, my love affair with the cocoa bean has been renewed....Beginners who don't own expensive kitchenware will find plenty within their reach, like the chocolate biscotti. And cooks eager to stretch their skills will find Mr. Malgieri an inspiring coach. His guidelines for tempering the process of melting chocolate and then cooling it and reheating it so that it coats smootly and seamlessly are the least anxiety-producing that I've yet read.
Anne Glusker, Bon Appetit, 12/98
In CHOCOLATE, celebrated baker and popular New York-based cooking teacher Nick Malgieri explores every possible nook and cranny in the chocolate universe. The book begins with a brief history of chocolate, then goes on to a starter group of recipes labeled "Plain Cakes" (which includes an elegantly simple torta Caprese a sensational Italian chocolate and walnut cake that I can't wait to try.) A dizzying avalanche follows: cakes and cookes, mousses and souffles, frozen desserts, pies and tarts, even candies.
William Rice, Chicago Tribune, 1/11/98
Nick Maglieri's CHOCOLATE does not pander to passion, and hooray for that. Although intriguing and distinctive recipes such as chocolate orange trifle, spicy chocolate pecan crunch cake and chocolate brioche pudding with raisins and rum set the gastric juices flowing, Malgieri is selling substance, not sizzle, and appears to have little desire to indulge in trauma-inducing hyperbole...A New York teacher and author of HOW TO BAKE and two other dessert books, Malgieri streamlines techniques and employs relatively few but nicely compatible flavors in each recipe. Neither the ingredient lists nor the clear instructions are intimidatingly long. As a result, an amateur cook is encouraged in the thought she or he might actually exectute them.
Peter D. Frankin, United Press Syndicate
Every one of the more than 350 recipes is a tantalizing treat, each demanding attention. Cakes, cookies, mousses, pies and pastries, confections, frozen desserts and more call out: "Try me! Try me!" A decadent delight
Cathy Hainer, USA Today, 12/18/98
To open this book is to drool. Tom Eckerle's luscious photos complement chef Nick Malgieri's recipes, from simple cookies to extravagant showstoppers. Don't miss the Supernatural Brownies.
Book Description
Nick Malgieri, who taught us everything we need to know about baking in How to Bake, takes on chocolate, the world's favorite food. With the authoritative accessibility he brings to his teaching, Nick bridges the gap between the professional baker and the home cook. He knows techniques and ingredients and he teaches them with hand-holding efficiency. In ten chapters, Nick offers a primer on basics and every kind of chocolate from coca to chips and white chocolate (and why it isn't really chocolate in the strictest sense) to big dark slabs of the world's favorite luxury food and the many, many ways to enjoy it. Information on storage, handling, and the fundamentals needed to create chocolate confections is clear and concise. Recipe sections include everything you need to know to turn the food of the gods into desserts for us mortals: cakes and cookies, creams and custards, ice creams, pies and pastries, sauces and beverages, truffles and pralines, dipped and molded chocolates, all adapted for the home cook. Illustrated with four-color photographs throughout, all 380 luscious recipes will send a shiver of delight down the spine of every chocolate lover. Chocolate is definitive without being intimidating; it is a true home companion for anyone who wants to cook with chocolate.
About the Author
Nick Malgieri is the director of the baking department at Peter Kump's Cooking School in New York and a frequent lecturer on baking and confectionery at cooking school across the Unites States. He has written for nearly every major food magazine, including Gourmet, Food & Wine, and Chocolateier as well as the New York Times and Ladies' Home Journal. He is the author of How to Bake, Nick Malgieri's Perfect Pastry, and Great Desserts.
Excerpted from Chocolate: From Simple Cookies to Extravagant Showstoppers by Nick Malgieri, Tom Eckerle. Copyright © 1998. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved
Old-Fashioned Chocolate Layer CakeMakes one 8-inch 2-Layer cake, about 10 servingsCake Batter2 cups cake flour2 teaspoons baking powder1/4 teaspoon salt8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened1 cup sugar6 large egg yolks1 teaspoon vanilla extract1/2 cup milkChocolate Cream Frosting1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter1/4 cup light corn syrup16 ounces semisweet chocolate, cut into 1/4-inch piecesFinishingChocolate shavingsTwo 8-inch round cake pans, 2 inches deep, buttered and the bottoms lined with parchment or wax paperIt was typical in the past to use a white or yellow cake for the layers with a rich chocolate frosting instead of all-chocolate layers and frosting. This particular version uses tender yellow cake and a fudgy frosting.1. Set a rack at the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.2. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt.3. Use an electric mixer set at medium speed to beat the butter and sugar together. Continue beating until light, about 5 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks, two at a time, beating smooth between each addition. Beat in the vanilla.4. By hand, using a rubber spatula, stir half the flour mixture into the batter, making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl well. Stir in the milk, then the remaining flour mixture. Scrape well after each addition.5. Divide the batter between the prepared pans and smooth the top. Bake the layers for about 35 to 45 minutes, or until well risen and a toothpick or a thin knife inserted in the center emerges clean. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then unmold and finish cooling the layers on racks. Peel off papers.6. To make the chocolate cream frosting, combine the cream, butter, and corn syrup in a saucepan. Place over medium heat and bring to a boll, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, add chocolate, and shake pan gently so that all the chocolate is covered by the hot liquid. Let stand 5 minutes, then whisk smooth. Scrape the frosting into a bowl and let cool to spreading consistency, either in the refrigerator or at room temperature.7. To assemble the cake, place one of the cooled layers on a cardboard or platter. Spread about half the frosting over the first layer. Top with the second cake layer, flat bottom side up, and spread the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. If you wish, using a spatula, press some chocolate shavings into the frosting on the sides of the cake. (If you try to use your hands, the chocolate will melt from the heat of your hands).Serving: Serve the cake in wedges-it needs no accompaniment.Storage: if the cake is made early on the day it is to be served, keep it under a cake dome at a cool room temperature. If you prepare the layers in advance, wrap and freeze them until you are ready to finish the cake. If you prepare the frosting in advance, wrap and refrigerate it, then bring it back to room temperature for several hours so that it turns to spreading consistency."Instant" Chocolate MousseMakes about 1 quart mousse, about 6 generous servings1 cup heavy whipping cream16 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, cut into 1/4-inch pieces2 tablespoons dark rum, other liquor, or strong coffee4 egg whites1/2 cup sugarChocolate shavings, for garnishing6 stemmed glasses, or one 6-cup capacity bowlThis dessert is ready in just a few minutes--it only needs time to chill before serving.1. Bring the cream to a boil in a saucepan and remove from heat. Add chocolate and let stand a few minutes; then whisk smooth and pour into a large bowl. Whisk in the liquor and cool. The mixture should cool to room temperature, but not solidify. (If it does, warm the bowl briefly over some warm tap water and stir smooth with a rubber spatula.)2. When the chocolate mixture has cooled, combine egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a mixer and place over a pan of simmering water, whisking constantly, until egg whites are hot and sugar is dissolved. Use electric mixer to whip until cooled and inflated in volume--do not overbeat or egg whites will become dry.3. Fold meringue into chocolate mixture, and spoon into glasses or bowl. Garnish with chocolate shavings just before serving.VariationsInstant Milk Chocolate Mousse Substitute milk chocolate for the bittersweet chocolate. Decrease sugar to 1/4 cup.Instant White Chocolate Mousse Substitute white chocolate for the bittersweet chocolate. Decrease sugar to 1/4 cup.Striped Parfaits of Chocolate Mousse Alternate layers of white and milk or white and dark mousse, in deep stemmed glasses. Garnish the mousses with mixed white and milk or white and dark chocolate shavings.
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