No Epiphany Needed

I have always been a fan of Chocolate - so imagine my delight when offered this stunning book for review!

Chocolate Epiphany most certainly does not disappoint. The book is heavy, featuring stunning photographs and wonderful recipes all featuring Chocolate. Written by Francis Payard of Payard Patisserie and Bistro, this book is gorgeous and full of wonderful things - I spent days gazing at the photos and reading through the recipes.

Chocolate Epiphany is broken down into several sections, starting out with what Chef Payard looks for in Chocolate as well as some tips on working with the wonderful stuff. The book then progresses into the recipes - broken into sections: Breads and Brunch Dishes, Cookies and Petits Fours, Candies and Chocolates, Custards, Mousses, Meringues and Ice Cream, Tarts, Cakes and Plated Desserts. Finally, it winds down and finishes with basics on handling and tempering chocolate and creating chocolate decorations.

While the subtitle to this book is Exceptional Cookies, Cakes and Confections for Everyone - I feel I should make you aware that quite a number of the items in the book are not your every day simple desserts - they will take time to prepare, and you may need to learn some new techniques - I would expect no less, given the who the author is. Also, if you are baking for someone with a nut allergy - you will want to steer clear of quite a number of recipes in this book - almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, pistachios and walnuts all make an appearance in various recipes in this book. Finally, if you have a corn allergy, or an aversion to corn syrup, you will need to make some modifications - especially to the recipes in the candies section.

While I would have loved to make a slew of these recipes, I simply have not yet had the time or the occasion - though I did take the opportunity to try my hand at one of the candy recipes. Click onward to view the experiment (as usual, I didn't follow the recipe exactly, but used it as a starting point to create something of my own).

Incidentally, with chocolate and caramel on the brain, I finally restocked the shop's stock of Caramel Mocha spinning batts :)