Honey & milk chocolate bars!! & Chocolat by Eric Lanlard {book review}

When one enters the world of baking, chocolate is King. So, when Master Patisserie (King of Patisserie) Eric Lanlard wrote a book on this royal ingredient I knew I was not going to be disappointed!

The book is broken down into 7 chapters. The first few get the reader familiar working with chocolate, and then it goes into From the Bakery; Desserts & Puddings; Truffles & Treats; Drinks, Spreads, & Sauces.

Unless you happen to be a chocolate hater, surprisingly they do exist, there is something for everyone in this book.

The wide variety of recipes available in the book, all including chocolate, are within any level of bakers reach. Some are super easy and some just take a bit more time and concentration.

Here is my list of stuff I would like to try:

Chocolate & Cinnamon Buns

Chocolate Kouign Amann

Chocolate Gateau Basque

Salted Butter Caramel Cake (picture)
Breton Shortbread with Chocolate

Chocolate, pumpkin, & pecan cake

Chocolate petits pots (picture)

Chocolate & tonka bean Crème Brulee

Raspberry & Chocolate Tart

Gateau Opera

Double baked Chocolate Meringue Brownie

Chocolate Coffee baked cheesecake

Proper Black Forest gateau

Iced Berries with white chocolate sauce

Chocolate ‘cassis’ royale (cake on cover of book)

Chocolate covered Cherries

Honey & milk chocolate bars (recipe below)

Chocolate Guimauve aka marshmallow

Soft Chocolate Butter Toffee

Double Chocolate Milkshake

Chocolate Cola Float

With over a 100 mouth-watering chocolate treats I didn't know where to start! So, circumstances helped me choose. As the weather has been brightening up a couple of friends and I decided to take our little ones to the park for a play and picnic. I wanted an easy sweet treat and Eric’s Honey & milk chocolate bars were exactly what we needed.

They were super easy to make and they were a hit with the kids and us moms! I would be careful if you don’t have a cool pac in your lunch box, the chocolate would melt on hot days! If not for a picnic these are perfect for an after school treat too! Enjoy!

Honey & milk chocolate bars

200g/7oz milk chocolate, roughly chopped, plus an extra 25g/1oz for the topping

40g/1 ½ oz unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing

2 tbsp clear honey

2 tbsp condensed milk

75g/3oz crispy rice cereal

25g/1oz desiccated coconut

150g/5oz white chocolate, roughly chopped

&

18cm/7in square shallow baking tin greased and lined with baking paper

~Melt 200g milk chocolate, butter, honey, and condensed milk in a saucepan on a low heat until smooth, and then stir in the crispy rice cereal and coconut.

~Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and level with the spoon. Set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

~Melt the white chocolate in your preferred way; in a bowl over a barely simmering pot of water or in small bursts in the microwave, but be very careful as white chocolate burns easier then dark chocolate. Leave to cool for a few minutes before spreading over the top of the rice cake. Then return to the fridge to set completely.

~Melt the remaining 25g of milk chocolate as you did above and spoon into a piping bag or a small plastic bag and cut a small hole in the tip and drizzle over the top. Leave to set at room temperature. I skipped this step, because I wanted to save my chocolate for another baking project with out having to run to the store again. Sorry! From the picture in the book it really does make it look extra special!! 

~Remove from the tin and cut into bars using a large sharp knife and store in an airtight container or wrap in a cellophane bag for gifts.

Eric notes that kids can help, but would need supervision!

As I mentioned in my review of Tart it Up! I will be visiting Eric’s café Cake Boy in a few short weeks to participate in his Spring Baking Mad course!! It falls on my 30^th birthday and I am super excited!! I am trying not to think about it too much because I wish I were going right now. I am the most impatient person I know!

notes: Chocolate may be King, but Vanilla is Queen. I attribute genders to inanimate objects including food. For instance I think of salt as female and pepper as male and it’s why Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper in Blue’s Clues always freaked me out. Chocolat by Eric Lanlard Amazon UK & USA (out September 2013); Eric Lanlard’s Cake Boy & baking course schedule, Octopus Publishing, my review of Tart it Up!