La Maison du Chocolat: Transcendent Desserts by the Legendary Chocolatier Robert Linxe
October 15, 2009
Master chocolatier Robert Linxe is famous for boxed chocolates; he has shops all over Paris and in New York. Naturally when I bought this book I thought I was getting some great recipes for chocolates – was I ever wrong! There is not a single recipe for any couverture chocolates in the book – pictures of chocolates, ideas about chocolates, lots of writing about how delicious chocolates are – but no recipes for chocolates! What a tease!
Once I got over that disappointment, though, I discovered a pretty good book with lots of excellent recipes. He covers the basics really well – as well as Pierre Herme – on florentines, cookies, macaroons, mousse, tarts, candies, pastries, cakes, frozen desserts, even souffles. It is a pretty book, with excellent photographs, and the recipes I have tried have worked very well – tasty, rich, completely what you would expect them to be.
My default resource for chocolate desserts is Pierre Herme; I trust him, and so refer to his books far more often than Linxe. But this is also a good book, with lots of great information, definitely worth your time and money; recommended.