[.ca] Spago Chocolate (ISBN 0679448330)

From Amazon.com:
Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck has been setting food trends at his world-famous Spago restaurants since they opened in the early 1980s. But when it comes to dessert, he wisely lets his pastry chef, Mary Bergin, stay with the classics (though admittedly she does them in ultrasophisticated ways). Here, as a follow-up to her Spago Desserts cookbook, Bergin's chocolate indulgences range from a decadently satiny Chocolate Cheesecake, and assorted brownies, to her complex Hazelnut Dome, a round of ethereal chocolate and hazelnut cake mounded with rich mousse, all concealed in a chocolate shell. Among the most memorable recipes here are the Heavenly Banana Soufflé Surprise and Peanut Butter Cups. Melted chocolate is the secret surprise at the heart of the classic soufflé. Thanks to the recipe-writing work of Judy Gethers, you will see that this unforgettable composition is really easy to make. The Peanut Butter Cups, balls of butter-silkened peanut butter set into chocolate-filled mini-cups, would make E.T. forget about going home. Understanding time pressures faced by even devoted home cooks, Gethers tells how far ahead each of the nearly 100 extravaganzas in Spago Chocolate can be made. Right at the top of each recipe there is a list of all the equipment needed to help you get organized. Alan Richardson's 26 color photos show that these desserts are impressive yet approachable. Most are simple enough for a confident cook to make, thanks to this book's user-friendly recipes. --Dana Jacobi

Yummy desserts!!!!:
I've made quite a few desserts out of this cookbook and they were all fabulous. The Fudgy chocolate cake is so incredible. You have to be precise and follow the recipes perfectly to get the end result, but when you do they are wonderful. The chocolate mousse, chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter brownies are to die for. I have to say I made some goof ups on some first tries and learned from my mistakes. For example, the peanut butter brownies overflowed the first time. I put a little less batter in the second time. The Fudgy Chocolate cake should not jiggle when you take it out of the oven. One of my pans seems to cook to the temp/time given and another you have to cook it about 10 minutes longer to get the same result. I now have four kids under the age of four and now find myself using the Cake Mix Doctor more to make cakes, but long to cook one of my favorite recipes out of this book.

Un "must" dans la bibliothèque:
Un des meilleurs livres de recettes de chocolat que j'ai vu. Bien que j'ai dû ajuster les temps de cuisson occasionnellement, j'ai eu beaucoup de succès avec toutes les recettes que j'ai faites. J'ai toujours hâte d'essayer un nouveau dessert. On me réclame souvent le gâteau marbré et le roulé à la mousse au chocolat et noisettes. Ce sont devenus des "classiques" dans mon répertoire de desserts. J'espère que Mary Bergin écrira d'autres livres avec de nouvelles recettes tout aussi intéressantes.

Truly Great Book but Not for the Faint of Heart!:
This is one of the best dessert cookbooks I have in my library. I've been baking since I was five when I started out cracking eggs in my Grandmother's restaurant. She taught me much about patience and paying strict attention to detail. She also taught me that if it was a humid day that I needed to be more careful and selective about what I wanted to bake that day and how to buy the very best and freshest flour and other ingredients. You must start with the very best ingredients to do these recipes justice. Before attempting the more difficult or unfamiliar recipes in this cookbook, one must really be familiar with all the basic baking techniques. If you use a measuring cup meant for liquids to measure out your flour you are headed for disaster. Yes, these are simple, well known rules but it is surprising how a litle mistake can mean the difference between success and failure. You should also know how to buy, store and temper chocolate for the recipes you are making. This is not a cookbook for the faint of heart but if you are willing to dive in and indulge yourself this book can be great fun. If you don't enjoy this cookbook and aren't successful with it, sell it back on Amazon and move on. Spending precious energy beating a dead horse doesn't help you and won't effect the sale of this book. Try another book:-)

Some great recipes - Easy to use and great tasting:
This is one of the staples in my baking cookbooks. We have never found a chocolate cake as good, moist and easy to bake and modify as this one. My husband calls out for this cake. The other recipes that I have tried are also quite good. The only other cake cookbook that I would recommend is the Cake Bible, which is superb.

Disasterous Cake Recipes:
If this book could receive a zero star rating, than that would more accurately reflect my personal rating. I have attempted many of the cake recipes in this book. While the directions seem to be clear and complete, the end results are disasterous. In one recipe, I have tried this 4 separate times following the directions as instructed but all 4 attempts have had bad results. I have tried other recipes in this book for cakes with poor results as well. I have taken several cooking and baking classes so I am confident that it is not my technique and that something is amiss with either the directions or the ingredients. This is the only cookbook in my collection that has been permanently discarded.