bittersweet by alice medrich

[foodie3]

just got the book, it looks interesting - especially the choice of chocolate and her notes on their use.

what do you recommend?

[merstar]

The book is fantastic! I haven't made any of the recipes yet, but the following thread mentions her Classic Brownies and Chocolate Mousse (start with the last post on the first page, then check out the second page, about the 7th post ):

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=34743&st=0

[bloviatrix]

I've made two brownie recipes - the classic recipe using ScharffenBerger Bittersweet chocolate and the cocoa based recipe. Both were quite rich and moist. I've also made the dairy-free chocolate mousse twice. She says the recipe makes six to eight servings which I think is little stingy. It's more like 4 servings. There are a couple of things in the directions which aren't clear - first, use a whisk when mixing the eggs over the warm water. And use the whisk attachment on the mixer. The key with this recipe is to use good chocolate. The second time I made it, I used some random stuff I had in the house and it tasted awful.

[Moopheus]

I made the 'Albert's Mousse' recipe and it came out well, but more like two and a half servings. I got the book at Xmas and have only used a couple of recipes out of it so far, though I expect to be doing more.

[foodie3]

i have made albert's chocolate mousse using belgian bittersweet chocolate, kahlua and coffee, i liked both the taste and the mouthfeel.

have to do better next time bringing the eggs to 160F - noticed a few solid pieces on the bottom of the bowl, may be i should have strained.

the recipe makes 6 small servings - i served them in demitasse cups, perfect for after dinner!

[duckduck]

The coconut sarahs are to die for! And the cocoa nib ice cream is wonderful! It's like a Wendy's frosty when it's soft and fresh out of the ice cream maker, only better!

[Moopheus]

the recipe makes 6 small servings - i served them in demitasse cups, perfect for after dinner!

So, I served mine in ice cream bowls.

When I made the chocolate decadence cookies (which were quite rich and tasty) I only got 12 cookies instead of the 36 the book says it will make. So far I've found that the recipes are not that hard to make and work well, but her idea of a serving is itty-bitty.

[bloviatrix]

the recipe makes 6 small servings - i served them in demitasse cups, perfect for after dinner!

So, I served mine in ice cream bowls.

And I served it in martini glasses.

[amcleod]

I have made a few things and actually assisted at a Sur la Table demo class that she lead.

In the class, she made chocolate dipped macaroons, bitersweet souffles, a blondie-type thing (cannot remember the name), and panna cotta. All divine.

I made at home the cocoa brownies, the warm mocha tart, and the chocolate-flecked cocoa souffle. All again, are great. The mocha tart is a real indulgence (not like all the other recipes aren't!) due to the shortbread crust - definitely could scale back on the butter in that recipe. I also doubt I will make another souffle than this - it was out-of-this world.

Oh yes, her portions are definitely stingy!

[foodie3]

i made the warm mocha tart today-wonderful!

the crust is so easy to make and comes out picture perfect, love that coffee flavor, got to try the souffle next.

[Moopheus]

The other day I made chocolate syrup with her recipe, and Valrhona cocoa powder. It'll be weird making egg creams without Fox's U-Bet, but I'll get over it. So easy I had to wonder why I ever bothered buying the stuff.

[Rachel Perlow]

To buy the book: Bittersweet: Recipes and Tales from a Life in Chocolate by Alice Medrich, Deborah Jones (Photographer)

[bloviatrix]

I made the cocoa nib ice cream from the book. I was a little nervous about it since there were no eggs in the base but it was probably the best ice cream I've ever made. Best part was that there was that there was none of that nasty grainyness left on the spoon.

Oh, tasted like chocolate milk.

(btw, when you make this, try the coco nibs after they've steeped in the cream/milk mixutre. They taste really yummy.)

[Moopheus]

The other day I made the chocolate wafer cookies. She says to chill the dough before slicing, but I found it was still pretty soft and hard to handle after being refrigerated. So I froze it solid, after which it was much easier to slice. The were quite chocolatey. Since the dough had no eggs, it was tempting to not bother with the actual baking.

[yorkshirepud]

I've made the chocolate wafers and the warm mocha tart.

The wafers are very good. I now use them in place of the store bought ones for crumbs. You have to make sure you cut them thinly though (if you want wafers that is), as any bigger and then can become a more fudgy cookie.

As for the tart. I have some issues with this. Not the recipe (which was very good) but the actual cooking time. Mine did not set up. If I recall you had to put it in the oven and then turn it off. Well I did this and it never set. I'll admit, I did sub half and half for the cream, so perhaps that was why. My other problem might of been my oven (which was a shitty little convection thing at the time). I'll have to try it again in my new oven. Anyway, I just baked it off in the oven for about 20 minutes and it was fine. I did an almond variation, subbing grounds almonds for some of the flour.

I have a question about the chocolate nibs. If you can't find them, can you substitute? I'm going to hunt some down one day, but I'm in no rush so to speak.

Edited May 30, 2004 by yorkshirepud (log)

[foodie3]

they have the best nibs

http://www.scharffenberger.com/products/nibs.htm

[yorkshirepud]

Thanks foodie. Unfortunately, they are unavailable right now. I'll try back another time though.

[andiesenji]

I made the Chestnut Torte because I had some chestnuts to use up and I wanted to see how it compared to my old favorite recipe from Nick Malgieri.

It turned out quite well. I was pleased with the appearance but will probably go back to my old recipe because it uses more chestnuts and has more of the chestnut flavor.

[Moopheus]

The wafers are very good. I now use them in place of the store bought ones for crumbs.

I'd think if they were going to be used them for crumbs, it'd be easier to roll the dough out into a thin layer on a baking sheet and bake it into one big wafer.

[yorkshirepud]

That's true. Good call.

[claire797]

Thanks for posting this thread! I finally broke down and ordered this book from The Good Cook (they sent me a renewal offer and enticed me with 4 free books!) and can't wait to take a crack at it.

[yorkshirepud]

Anna, this is where those chocolate wafers are from that I posted on CL. Enjoy the book.

[bloviatrix]

I made the cocoa nib ice cream again, but this time I decided to leave the nibs in rather than strain them out. They don't really add much to the flavor, but if you like stuff in your ice cream, it definitely works. My next attempt will have me strain the ice cream base and then add fresh nibs while churning. Perhaps that will add a more pronounced flavor.

[PaulaJK]

I made the warm mocha tart but made the recipe

as bite size tartlettes, They set in the recommended

time....but although I filled the cups, the filling

sunk a bit in the middle upon cooling. Does anyone

have a fix for this? They were quite delicious otherwise.

[lemon curd]

I just finished making the 'bittersweet decadence cookies'. They were really good and very decadent as indicated by the title. I had the opposite problem of Moopheus. Using the recommended 'slightly rounded tablespoon' scoop of batter for the cookies, I ended up with 46 cookies instead of the recipe amount of 36. I also substituted unblanched almonds for the walnuts/pecans. I'll definitely make these again!