Chocolate Obsession
By Michael Recchiuti and Fran Gage
At his eponymous chocolate shop in San Francisco, in the United States, Michael Recchiuti makes some of my favourite caramels: soft and gooey, and encased in a thin chocolate shell. He also makes an indulgent snack I find myself craving: S'mores, a luxurious version of the graham cracker with marshmallow and melted chocolate that Scouts make over a campfire.
My chocolate 'dealer' has stopped making monthly trips to San Francisco, so my supplies of Recchiuti confections have dried up. Lately, I've been eyeing recipes in Chocolate Obsession, wondering if they can be made in this hot and humid weather. The answer is yes: the recipe for S'mores is here (using home-made graham crackers and Tahitian vanilla bean marshmallows), as well as one for Recchiuti's most delicate of caramels, which is subtly flavoured with rose.
Recchiuti provides recipes for filled and moulded chocolates, including instructions on how to temper; make snacks (chocolate-covered caramelised hazelnuts and cashews, whoopie pies); drinks (milk chocolate chai, white chocolate mocha); sauces (burnt caramel sauce, raspberry white chocolate sauce with thyme); and ice-creams (roasted banana ice-cream, Meyer lemon-buttermilk ice-cream).