Kate Shaffer

"Chocolate for Beginners: Techniques and Recipes for Making Chocolate Candy, Confections, Cakes and More" is a comprehensive guide to baking and cooking with chocolate. Author Kate Shaffer has included dozens of recipes that sound so delicious, you may be tempted to eat the book. However, you will want to save this invaluable learning tool and return to it again and again. If you love to cook and create, there can be a great deal of satisfaction in working with chocolate. There can also be much disappointment when your efforts fail, and you have wasted time and resources. Patience, optimal ingredients, and proper tools and techniques can help to ensure the best results. As you progress through the tutorials, the skill level of the recipes increases--and there are tips, hints, a glossary, and "Rules for Success". The recipe sections include "Chocolate Confections"; "Cookies, Brownies, and Bars"; "Cakes, Pies, and Tarts"; "Mousse, Pudding, and other Desserts"; and "Sauces and Drinks", Here's a sampler of the wonderful recipes: "Coffee Bean Truffles"; "Three-Layer Chocolate and Caramel Cheesecake Bars"; "Classic Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache Frosting"; and "Orange and Milk Chocolate Mousse".

Book Copy Gratis Callisto Publishers… (meer)

Highly Recommended: Expert, Accessible, Enjoyable

Finding a cookbook with highly-developed instructions written in plain language can be hard to find. Kate Shaffer has created such a jewel in this cookbook. In addition, the printed addition is gorgeous. The author’s facile language, interesting story and stunning recipes result in a highly recommended book.

I enjoyed how things started right up at the beginning of the book. Ms. Shaffer goes to Maine to get a chef job with plenty of ability and experience but lacking formal training. Turns out, her potential employers find this a positive and the journey begins.

You’ll travel with Ms. Shaffer and eat well along the way. Even a beginner can succeed with chocolate making thanks to this book—everything you need is made available including things that are reasonable such as how and why ot choose a particular type of chocolate for your recipes.

Family and friends tasted a variety of recipes. The Ricotta Doughnut Holes on page 58 truly impressed us. While the dipping sauce is tasty, we could barely let the doughnuts cool enough before eating them straight up plain, hot, and delicious. Please get a copy of the book and try this recipe among many others.

The most amazing recipe, however, is completely unexpected. Everyone who tasted this one wanted to know how it was made. The surprise is that this recipe is effortlessly gluten free. For anyone who needs or wants to avoid flours with gluten, the challenge is finding satisfying recipes. No one is going to miss any kind of flour is this easy-to-make and eat goodies.

Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies

One day, in an effort to come up with a recipe for an energy bar that I could actually
choke down, I accidentally came up with this. Not exactly what I was going for, but each
day found me more in love with them than the last.
Despite the absence of flour, the bars have a super-tender, cakey texture that seems to
be just barely holding on to each melty bit of chocolate.
And as far as energy? Well, for now, they get me where I want to go.

Makes 16

1 cup natural peanut butter
1/4 cup raw honey
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/2 cup sweet potato puree, or 1 banana, mashed
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line an 8"x8" square baking pan with parchment paper.

Place the peanut butter, honey, egg, sweet potato puree, baking soda, and salt in a food processor and whir together until smooth.

Remove the blade, stir in the chips, and then scrape the mixture into the prepared pan.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the pan comes out
almost clean. Allow the blondies to cool completely before cutting into 16 portions.

Yes, letting them cool is tough—they smell fabulous right out of the oven. You need a utensil to eat them warm while cooled your hands are all you need. I made a sling out of aluminum foil when I discovered I was out of parchment paper on baking day. Just line the pan, end to end, and leave long tails to lift out the cooled blondies. Repeat the other direction. Once cooled, the foil easily peels away.

Enjoy!… (meer)