Gu Chocolate Cookbook

Chocolate lovers everywhere can give in to happiness with Gu's irresistible collection of decadently delightful and joyfully simple desserts, puds, cakes, savoury meals and nibbles. The Gu team will show you how easy it is to create delicious chocolaty goodies at home. They'll divulge the secrets if a perfect chilli chocolate mousse, amazing brownies and cakes, tortes, chocolate tiramigus, cheesecakes and many tips to glam up easy homemade puds. From teatime treats and desserts to savoury dishes and midnight feasts, the Gu Chocolate Cookbook includes many easy recipes - all with a gu-ey twist - plus basic tips, down-to-earth advice and cheeky shortcuts for steps you can prep ahead or ready-to-use ingredients. This mouth-watering varied cookbook offers 100 recipes and plenty of inspiring pictures for everything from milk chocolate truffles to a white chocolate and wasabi version, triple chocolate cookies and Viennese chocolate biscuits to baked white chocolate cheesecake with sweet chutney, Fred the chef's irresistible chocolate tart, delicious Gulash with a pinch of chocolate to traditional mole. And for those whose chocolate cravings know no bounds, an extremist chapter will show you how to roast a chicken in a chocolate crust for a perfect result, treat you friends to a melting chocolate bomb or even make poppingly good chocolate bubble wrap. Recipes in the Gu Chocolate Cookbook include: Chocolate and pecan muffins Chocolate praline spread Chewy double chocolate cookies Chocolate eclairs Jaffa cake lollipops Chocolate, marmalade, mango and pine nut tart Viennese biscuits Raspberry chocolate mousse pots Millionaire's flapjacks White chocolate and coffee creme brulee Melt in the middle Pot au chocolate Boozy cherry chocolate clafoutis Sticky chocolatey toffee pud White chocolate cheesecake Gu-lash Easy chocolate mousse cake Melting chocolate bombe

GU are well known for gorgeous desserts and  this book is full of them! However, there are also many savoury dishes which include chocolate included within this recipe book.

The book starts with a section entitled 'making the most of our recipes' and it is well worth a read before starting out on any of the recipes. Useful advice including choosing the right ingredients - always ensure the eggs are as fresh as possible, milk - always use whole milk to name but a few. There are also very useful explanations about how to melt chocolate, cooking custard, cooking a caramel etc. There is a list of useful kitchen equipment recommended for use in the recipes.

The next section is entitled '.. for chocolately basics' which have step by step instructions for making chantilly cream, choux pastry, three chocolate sauces, chocolate sweet crust pastry, chocolate ganache, all recipes which will be used to in other recipes throughout the book.

What follows are more chapters containing gorgeous sounding recipes which all include chocolate in some shape or form. Chapters entitled: .... for breakfast and brunch, ..... for teatime or anytime; ..... for treats; .... for feeding friends; ... for special days and holidays; and .... for chocolate extremists. Both savoury and sweet tooth's are catered for and the book is full of gorgeous simple photographs showing finished dishes, no set dressing or arty photos set up to show off the dishes.

Each recipe is set out in clear step by step instructions, with average portions, ingredients and equipment required listed for each recipe. There are also GU tips added to the bottom of some recipes to give extra hints or advice for perfect presentation etc.

This is a beautiful recipe book and although I haven't tried any of the recipes in the book yet I will be choosing a recipe to try soon - now sweet or savoury??????

I would recommend this book as the perfect gift for any chocolate lover or addition to a kitchen library.

I received this book through the Amazon Vine Programme.