Chocolate and the Art of Low-Fat Desserts

Raise your hands those who have this problem… way too many cookbooks, way too little space. Me, me, me… I raise both my hands, and probably both feet too! Guilty as charged. Cookbooks are one of those things that I can never seem to get enough of. I swear off buying more. And yet, after each saunter through a bookshop, after a casual conversation with a fellow cooking enthusiast, or after reading a review or recommendation on the Internet or on a food blog, new acquisitions inevitably join those already on my bulging and over-flowing bookshelf. I feel guilty each time. Yet, I cannot resist the pull. And let’s not even mention my ever-lengthening “wish list” of cookbooks. Now, that is scary.

There are so many cookbooks that I have bought but have never made anything from. (That’s probably the majority of the cookbooks, I am ashamed to admit.) There are almost just as many that have languished, forgotten and neglected, on the bookshelf, as my attention is usually focused on and enamored with my newer finds. I can almost hear the plaintive pleas of these weary, dejected and somewhat dusty tomes for some attention and a little tender loving care. And so, making use of my few nights of sleeplessness earlier in the week, I have been clearing and sorting through my cookbooks… revisiting long forgotten favorites, re-discovering ones that I have forgotten I even had. Oh my! You should see how these books perk up, becoming cheery again and immediately looking spiffier at the sudden attention showered upon them. And for me, it’s like Christmas has come early. It’s almost like suddenly getting 50 new cookbooks all at once! Isn’t it amazing how things forgotten, once rediscovered, are as exciting and invigorating as if they are brand new.

This is one of my re-discoveries… Chocolate and the Art of Low Fat Desserts (CALFD), by Alice Medrich. I have had this cookbook for probably, oh, a good 5-6 years. This was one of the many, many cookbooks I bought during my frenzied “cookbook-buying” phase when I was in Vancouver. I had never made any of the recipes. Sure, I had thumbed through this book countless times, eyes hungrily devouring the glossy pictures, mind mentally noting all the recipes I wanted to try from the book. But alas, none of the recipes were ever given a chance – until two days ago that is, when I made the chocolate marble cake.

Alice Medrich comes highly qualified to write a book on desserts in general, and chocolate desserts in particular. She is the founder and owner of Cocolat in Berkeley, California, which is famous for its tantalizing desserts and indulgently decadent chocolates. Quoting from the inner cover of CALFD, Ms Medrich is America’s “First Lady of Chocolate”, as proclaimed by Entrepreneur magazine. I’ve also previously read somewhere it being said of Cocolat that it is "to chocolate what Tiffany's is to diamonds".

CALFD is her second book. Her first being the multi-award winning “Cocolat: Extraordinary Chocolate Desserts” – a recipient of the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Cookbook of the Year, the Julia Child Award for Best First Book, and the Best Book in the Bread, Other Baking and Sweets Category from the International Association of Culinary Professionals. Like its predecessor, CALFD is also a James Beard Foundation Award winner.

It is not hard to see why. This book is filled from cover to cover with the most delectable sounding of dessert recipes. Now, when you think low fat desserts, what comes to mind? Fruit-based desserts maybe. Sorbets. Poached fruits. Angel food cake. Meringue. Don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with any of these desserts. They are all delicious in their own right, and often make for lovely, refreshingly light, sweet palate cleansers. But when we think dessert, and chocolate dessert at that, we WANT rich, sweet, decadent, chocolatey, indulgent. We want the full complex and multi-layered flavors of real chocolate. We want the works. And if possible, without the guilt and the extra inches around the waistline. We want chocolate desserts that are richly decadent, and yet low fat. Impossible? Not if this book is anything to go by.

It is filled with recipes for desserts that look like this…

Black Bottom Banana Napoleons.

Then there is The New Chocolate Decadence – an enlightened version of the famous 70s and 80s chocolate dessert Chocolate Decadence, which was made with only one tablespoon of flour and a full pound of dark chocolate!

Other taste-bud tantalizers in the book include such indulgent creations as Chocolate Grand Marnier Cake, Mocha Hazelnut Mousse Torte, and Bittersweet Chocolate Marquise with Praline Crème Anglaise. The names themselves evoke scintillatingly images of luxuriant lusciousness and rich decadence.

What I like about Alice’s recipes is that she doesn’t go overboard, and attempt to make the desserts completely fat-free or extremely low in fat. She keeps her perspective that these are, after all, desserts. And she keeps to the spirit of that. She trims the fat with a prudent hand, and a healthy dose of pragmatism, level headedness and common sense. It means that, in all likelihood, these recipes have kept much, if not almost all, of the rich flavors and textures of “real” desserts. Yet, most of the recipes are in the very acceptable 30% or lower fat content range, with only a few straying over into 33% fat content. This compares very favorably against regular chocolate desserts, which, if I am to hazard a guess, would probably fall in the 50-70% fat content range, and sometimes maybe even higher!

The book is organized by dessert type, ranging from the simple and homely, to the intricately refined and elegant. From the “Tea Loaves and Pound Cakes”, and “New Dessert Classics”, through to the “Dressy Desserts” and “Petite Sweets”.

A great section is “The New Basics”. Here, Alice has grouped together a pretty comprehensive collection of “foundation” recipes, which can be used for just about anything, and which enables the reader to create and build his/her own fantastical low-fat desserts. Different versions of lightened pastry creams; chocolate mousses; chocolate sauces, glazes and frostings; as well as lightened pastries and pie crusts are included. Also very helpful are basic recipes for simple cake and dessert decorations like tuiles, dessert cups and chocolate filigree.

The writing style is highly personable, with little nuggets of the author’s personal pastry experiences and philosophies sprinkled through the text. Her tone is light, non-stuffy, and yet professional and highly knowledgeable. This comes through in one of my favorite chapters of the book, “The Theory and Practice of Creating Rich Desserts with Less Fat”. Here, Alice’s pragmatism, common sense and personal ideology about desserts, as well as her vast experience, are clearly evident. She talks about pairing the light with the rich, contrasting the textures and flavors, and working with, not against, the nature and role of fat in desserts. She teaches the principles of choosing good recipe candidates for alteration, finding the fat in those recipes and the ways in which ingredient substitutions can be done with minimal sacrifice of flavors and textures. She talks about what can be done, with what, and how best to go about doing it. It’s about healthy eating as a lifestyle – without deprivation, without suffering! It’s about guilt-free indulgence.

Her basic philosophy is appealing. She believes in using excellent quality, natural (and “real”) ingredients – none of the artificial sweeteners or other such like substitutions to bring the calorie and fat content down. It’s working with the full potential of nature’s bounty to create maximum taste enjoyment.

Some of the recipes are highly involved. Such as for something like this…

Pave.

However, this is what is nice about the book. It covers the full gamut – the easy loaf cakes that one can make for daily indulgence, and then the truly dressy and elegant creations that would wow your guests at the classiest of dinners. Then, there are also the simple, easy yet beautifully refined and well-presented creations like this…

Apple Rose Tartlets.

My only gripe about the book – and it is a small one – is that I would prefer that each recipe be accompanied by a large, glossy photo of the creation. The book would then be pretty close to perfect. But I’m just nit-picking. And this desire is but a reflection of my own quirky preference for cookbooks with a high gloss factor – lots and lots of full-color, scrumptious photos of each recipe. This book, as it stands, is already very lavishly illustrated with dozens of full-page, full-color, drool-worthy shots of Alice’s stunning desserts. There are also many thumbnail sized colored shots of most of the other recipes. A book that is a pleasure to browse through, if for nothing else other than to gaze at the pictures.

Now that I’ve tried one of her recipes, I am keen and ready to move on to her more “demanding” creations. From my one experience, I have to say it would appear she knows what she is talking about. The chocolate marble cake was incredibly moist and fluffy of texture, and tender of crumb. Who would have guessed it was low fat.

For a chocoholic like me, the re-discovery of this book has been an elating experience. It is chocolate and chocolate desserts as they should be – rich, indulgent and highly enjoyable. And as a bonus, low fat.

I am now also very keen to track down her original best-seller: “Cocolat: Extraordinary Chocolate Desserts”, which I think is now out of print. She has also recently (November 2003) launched her newest creation – “Bittersweet: Recipes and Tales from a Life in Chocolate”. This sounds like another fabulous tome of enlightening chocolate wisdom and experience, mixed with enticing, mouth-wateringly delicious chocolate creations. Sagging, overloaded bookshelf not withstanding, my chocolate cookbook collection would not be complete without these two numbers.

Copyright © 2004 Renee Kho. All Rights Reserved.
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