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Chocolate Chocolate

Chocolate ChocolateChocolate Chocolate is a cookbook by Lisa Yockelson that is devoted to – you guessed it – chocolate. Yockelson is also the author of the cookbook Baking By Flavor, a book in which she strives to maximize the amount of a particular flavor in any given recipe. For instance, an almond shortbread features ground almonds, slivered almonds and almond extract. Recipes that involve more complex flavors, like Buttercrunch, use toffee, brown sugar, buttermilk, almonds and other elements to not only add toffee flavor, but to create a dish that really showcases it. The same principles apply to Chocolate Chocolate, where Yockelson strives to get the most flavor out of all different kinds of chocolate treats.

The book starts off with some baking basics, spending a little bit of time discussing chocolate in particular, both as a flavor and as an ingredient. It is then broken up into chapters by type of chocolate: brownies, basic chocolate cakes, black bottom chocolate cakes, chips and chunks, chocolate and streusel, chocolate and toffee, chocolate birthday cakes, etc. While it may seem like an unusual way to divide a book, this structure is used because we expect different things out of the chocolate flavor from each of these types of recipes, and the flavors of each need to be tweaked to work with the other elements in them. Chocolate Fudge Scones will have an entirely different feel than Supremely Fudgy Brownies, for instance.

The book has more than 200 recipes and there is a lot of variety in them. The photos are outstanding. The instructions that come with each recipe are very detailed and easy to work through, and the recipes cover a range of both easy and more difficult techniques. This makes it a pretty versatile book and one that is fun to work through, whether you’re more experienced in the kitchen or not. Plus, you get to eat a lot of chocolate as you work through it, which is a nice bonus, too.

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6 Comments
  • Jaime
    May 11, 2009

    I’m sold just on the title of the book 🙂 I’m in a total chocolate mood right now

  • Linda
    May 11, 2009

    I think you or someone else reviewed or mentioned this book before and I checked it out at the library. I tend to prefer my recipes online because I keep them electronically in a document area and it’s easier for me to search that way than remember which book and which page. I have to say, though, that I love this baking book. It has some awesome recipes which do play with the various tastes and textures of chocolate. All the recipes I have made have gotten great reviews from the receivers. I don’t tend to buy cookbooks but this one is tempting. LOTS of great recipes and as you indicated, they are well organized by flavor and have great instructions and the photos are gorgeous.

  • Masha
    May 11, 2009

    This looks pretty interesting. I’m always up for anything with chocolate in it =D Since you seem like such an experienced chef, I was wondering if you had any other cookbooks that you enjoy/use a lot. Usually I keep my recipes electronically, but I was hoping to branch out into cookbooks so I can teach a few of my friends. Do you have a list of your favorites? =D

  • Mary
    May 12, 2009

    I bought this book about four years ago. Great recipes! My co-workers can attest to that.

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