Editorial Reviews Amazon.com's Best of 2001 Since Pierre Hermé is probably the best pastry chef in the world, and chocolate the best dessert flavor, it's no surprise that this stellar combination, presented in Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé is dazzling. Hermé's beautiful recipes are written by Dorie Greenspan, who also worked with him on his award-winning Desserts by Pierre Hermé, and the resulting creations are photographed as works of art by Jean-Louis Block-Laine. Although Hermé is best known for his multilayered extravaganzas, this collection was written and tested for American home kitchens. So while there are a few mind-boggling, taste-bud-stretching experiences like Plaisir Sucre (hazelnut dacquoise, milk chocolate ganache, milk chocolate whipped cream, sheets of tempered milk chocolate, and a crunchy chocolate praline spread), most of the recipes are more than manageable, and just as scrumptious. Lacy Coffee-Cocoa Nougatine Cookies are crisp and delicate and extremely flavorful. The Chocolate Macaroons are the perfectly smooth, ganache-filled ones you see all over Paris, and with Hermé and Greenspan to walk you through the steps, the best results are guaranteed. Pistachio Waffles with Chocolate Cream are crispy outside and moist and tender inside, and the combination of hot and cold makes them even more memorable. Chocolate Rice Pudding is far from old-fashioned, and while it makes a delectable stand-alone dessert, Hermé suggests making it part of a truly grand dessert: his Pear and Fresh Mint Tempura with Chocolate Rice Pudding is an amazing combination of flavors, textures, and temperatures. In recipes for everything from Hot Chocolate to Bittersweet Chocolate Sorbet, from Moist and Nutty Brownies to the legendary chocolate caramel extravaganza the Faubourg Pave, readers will benefit from Hermé's 25 years of experience, his limitless creativity, and his obvious passion for his profession. This volume is destined to become a classic. --Leora Y. Bloom From Publishers Weekly Celebrated as one of France's greatest (and most prolific) pastry chefs, Herm‚ delivers a spectacular collection of recipes celebrating most magical ingredients. In their second collaboration (after Desserts by Pierre Herm‚), Greenspan, a food writer and author, has carefully translated metric measurements and faithfully interpreted French ingredients for the American home cook. She describes the recipes' cultural and technical aspects and includes comments from Herm‚ that shed light on the origin or capture the essence of an ingredient. As in their earlier book, the recipes range from simple to complex, but all are signature Herm‚ with their finely tuned marriage of the "three Ts": taste, temperature and texture. There are some truly special desserts like the Plaisir Sucr‚ (Sweet Pleasure), five distinct textural layers of milk, hazelnuts, sugar and chocolate, or a concoction after the Italian Granita that includes whiskey and a whimsical topping of Rice Krispies home versions of the inventions that established Herm‚'s reputation. From the ethereal moist-centered chocolate "Suzy's" Cake to the Moist Nutty Brownies, cooks will be surprised by the simple methods and ingredients. Classics such as Chocolate clairs are impeccably rendered and often freshly interpreted, such as the unusual "inverted" puff pastry in the Chocolate Mille Feuille (Napoleons). The book is full of connoisseur knowledge about cocoa demonstrated by cosmopolitan ideas like the beautifully layered Criollo, named after the rarest and most prized Latin American cocoa bean, but it also contains a section of base recipes and a glossary of ingredients and terms. Amateurs will appreciate the careful instructions; storage tips will help professionals. Beautiful full-page illustrations are a siren call to cooks of all stripes. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal Renowned French pastry chef Herm‚ and cookbook author Greenspan (Baking with Julia), previous collaborators on Desserts by Pierre Herm‚, have teamed up again to create their second book for chocolate lovers. In over 75 inspiring recipes, Herm‚ focuses on the three factors influencing the creation of all of his desserts taste, texture, and temperature. The recipes range from Herm‚'s own fantastic creations, such as the Gƒteau St. Honor‚, to classics with a twist, as seen in his Chocolate Mille Feuille and Pistachio Waffles with Chocolate Cream. The recipes are well written and easy to follow for beginning and advanced cooks alike and include cakes, cookies, tarts, puddings, candies, frozen desserts, drinks, and base recipes to build on. Also of value is a dictionary of terms, techniques, equipment, and ingredients, as well as a source guide. While many of the recipes in this book are decidedly European, all have been written for the American home kitchen. Filled with numerous larger-than-life color reproductions, this book will be enjoyed by those who like to read cookbooks as well as those who like to bake. Recommended for larger collections. Pauline Baughman, Multnomah Cty. Lib., Portland, OR Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Book Description In their second collaboration, the award-winning duo of Pierre Hermé and Dorie Greenspan unveil the secrets of sumptuous chocolate desserts. In these pages you will Þnd a dazzlingly delicious collection of recipes, all featuring the world's most intoxicating ingredient: chocolate. If there is a secret to the sensuality of Pierre Hermé's desserts, it just may be his intricate reÞnement of taste, texture, and temperature. Surely, this is what makes all of his desserts such a pleasure to eat. Here you will Þnd the simplest chocolate truffle-Black-on-Black Truffles, bite-size balls of bittersweet ganache tossed in dark cocoa-as well as the luxuriously soft and rich Suzy's Cake, which is spectacularly delicious yet quite simple to make. Chic desserts, such as the Triple Crème-individual ramekins layered with espresso crème brûlée, rich chocolate cream, and pure unsweetened whipped cream-or a cup of French-style hot chocolate, or a gâteau de résistance, such as Plaisir Sucré, will be the triumphant end to any meal or the centerpiece for any celebration. Through these more than seventy-five recipes, you will have the many pleasures of tasting chocolate in all its states-hot and cold, creamy and crunchy, smooth and custardy, thick and chewy, bittersweet and sweet, dark, milk, and white. Whether you are an expert in the dessert kitchen or a beginner with a desire for the delicious, this collection will introduce you to the myriad delights of Pierre Hermé's desserts, his unusual juxtapositions of ingredients, his conjurer's touch with textures, and his always perfect pitch when it comes to sweetness, tartness, and chocolatey-ness. Finally, there are the indispensable Base Recipes and a Dictionary of Terms, Techniques, Equipment, and Ingredients. Together they form a complete course in chocolate dessert artistry. Each recipe has been written with the American kitchen in mind, so that everyone with a passion for the richness of chocolate desserts can now enjoy Pierre Hermé's sublime creations at home. About the Author Pierre Hermé, dubbed the Picasso of Pastry by Vogue magazine, is a fourth-generation pastry chef. Raised in Alsace, he apprenticed to the legendary Gaston Lenôtre when he was just fourteen and at twenty-four took over the famed pastry kitchens of Fauchon in Paris. It was at Fauchon that his extraordinary dessert repertoire began gaining worldwide attention. In 1997 he was decorated as a Chevalier of Arts and Letters and named France's Pastry Chef of the Year. He has pastry shops in Paris and Tokyo and is the author of four books, including the Larousse of Desserts. Desserts by Pierre Hermé, his Þrst collaboration with Dorie Greenspan, won the International Association of Culinary Professionals' Book of the Year Award. Dorie Greenspan is the author of Þve cookbooks, including Baking with Julia, the award-winning, bestselling companion volume to Julia Child's PBS television series. She is a columnist for Bon Appetit, and her articles and recipes have appeared in the New York Times, Food & Wine, and other national publications. She divides her time between New York City and Paris.