Cat Black - Great British Bake Off – Bake it Better (No.6): Chocolate

Would you like to learn to be a better baker?

We know that so many people watch The Great British Bake Off for the tips and techniques you pick up not only from the judges, but from watching the bakers too. We wanted to distil that knowledge into a library of cookbooks that are specifically designed to take you from novice to expert baker. Individually, each book covers the skills you will want to perfect so that you can master a particular area of baking everything from cakes to bread, sweet pastries to pies.

We have chosen recipes that are classics of each type, and grouped them together so that they take you on a progression from Easy does it through Needs a little skill to Up for a challenge. Put together, the full series of books will give you a comprehensive collection of the best recipes, along with all the advice you need to become a better baker.

The triumphs and lessons of the bakers in the tent show us that not everything works every time. But I hope that with these books as your guide, we have given you a head start towards baking it better every time!

Linda Collister

Series Editor

www.hodder.co.uk

First published in Great Britain in 2016
by Hodder & Stoughton
An Hachette UK company

Copyright Love Productions Limited 2016

Photography & Design Copyright Hodder & Stoughton 2016

The right of Cat Black to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

BBC and the BBC logo are trademarks of the British Broadcasting Corporation and are used under licence.
BBC logo BBC 1996.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

ISBN 9781473615496

Editorial Director: Nicky Ross
Editor: Sarah Hammond
Project Editor: Laura Herring
Series Editor: Linda Collister
Art Director: Alice Moore
Layouts: Alice Moore
Photographer: Matt Russell, Rita Platts
Food Stylist: Jack Sargeson
Props Stylist: Lydia Brun

Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
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50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DZ

www.hodder.co.uk

Contents

BAKE IT BETTER
Bakers Guide

BAKE IT BETTER
Recipes

Everybody loves chocolate! It is an ingredient that can make all your baking delicious, and there are 40 classic chocolate recipes in this book.

As well as being great bakes, the recipes have been carefully chosen to introduce you to all the key techniques, such as melting, ganache and tempering, that not only set you up to bake well with chocolate, but which you will find invaluable for all baking.

Start with the Easy does it section and master the basics with recipes like Brownies and Baked White Chocolate Cheesecake. As you grow in confidence you will feel ready to move to the recipes that Need a little skill a Steamed Chocolate Sponge with Chocolate Custard perhaps, maybe the breakfast favourite, Pains au Chocolat, or an indulgent Baked Chocolate Tart in Chocolate Pastry. The more you bake, the sooner you will be Up for a challenge, testing your chocolate skills with the Bche de Nol or wowing with a centrepiece like the Three Colours Chocolate Cake.

The colour strip on the right-hand side of the page tells you at a glance the level of difficulty of the recipe (from one spoon for easy to three spoons for a challenge), and gives you a helpful checklist of the skills and special equipment you will use.

Before you begin, have a look at the Bakers Guide at the beginning of the book. That will tell you what equipment you need to get started (just a bowl, a spoon and a few baking trays will do!), introduce you to the most important ingredients, and explain some terms and techniques in more detail.

Chocolate has a place in all types of bake, for every time of day. With Bake It Better: Chocolate youll see that it is amazing what you can do with a little chocolate and some know-how. So dive in, and get baking!

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

SECTION 1: BAKERS GUIDE

Read this section before you start baking.

The Bakers Guide contains key information on ingredients () relevant to the recipes in the book.

Refer back the Bakers Guide when youre baking if you want a refresher on a particular skill. In the recipes the first mention of each skill is highlighted in bold.

SECTION 2: RECIPES

Colour strips on the right-hand side and 1, 2 or 3 spoons show the level of difficulty of the recipe. Within the colour strips youll find helpful information to help you decide what to bake: Hands-on time; Hands-off time; Baking time; Makes/Serves; Special equipment; Method used; Storage.

Refer back to the Bakers Guide when a skill is highlighted in bold in the recipe if you need a reminder.

Try Something Different options are given where the recipe lends itself to experimenting with other ingredients or decorations.

Easy does it

Needs a little skill

Up for a challenge

Baking with chocolate can bring you stunning and varied flavours. It is worth knowing a little about this precious ingredient, and some others that you will use alongside it, in order to make the most of its potential and ensure you produce the most delicious bakes every time. This section also includes some guidelines on things to bear in mind when you are buying, storing and using your ingredients.