>>> Alex Rast wrote:


>>> >I have a 1 1/4 lb box of 64% dark Guittard chocolates...

>> See my recent repost, " rich, moist chocolate cake" of the recipe
>> originally posted under "Cake Recipe - Chocolate Death", for the

>>
>> cake part

>> of Chocolate Death. ...
>> I assume you have "L'Harmonie"? IMHO this is very good, so the cake

>>
>> recipe
>>

>> will work well with it.
>>

>>
>>>

>>> Yes, it is Harmony, but it comes packaged differently, in little
1.75 oz
>>> boxes with five little foil wrapped chocolate bars in each tiny box.
>>> Or, perhaps it came the same way before and I forgot.
>>>
>
>
> That's the "retail package". I think it's awkward and a bit silly - they
> should sell as one 50g bar rather than 5 smaller mini-samplers (which are
> pretty useless for sampling, anyway). Still, the chocolate is good. It's
> better to buy it in the 275 g baking bar or the 1 kg bloc.


Peeling off the foil can drive one crazy, especially if one has
arthritic fingers.

>
>>> I got them at the Chocolate Show in November. The chocolate does not
>>> seem to be as flavorful as it was before.
>
>
> How have you stored it? I can't imagine chocolate would deteriorate
> appreciably that fast unless your storage method were very inadequate.


The chocolate tasted fresh, just sweeter than I remembered. I have
really never noticed that the taste of chocolate deteriorates in the
time I keep it. The "cheap" chocolates don't taste good to start with
and are probably made with preservatives and the "good" ones never last
very long in my home. BTW, I had occasion to use Hershey's Special in my
holiday baking and the stuff turned out amazingly good. I just made a
simple chocolate cake and added a jar of sour cherries, drained, no
sugar and canned in water, into the dough.

>
>>> Thank you for the recipe for the Death By Chocolate Cake.
>
>
>
> Technical nomenclature note - the particular cake recipe I posted is
called
> "Chocolate Death", not "Death by Chocolate", which is a different
group of
> (rather unrelated) chocolate cakes. AFAIK the "Chocolate Death" name
> applies only to the cake I describe. In any case, you're welcome.


I never made your cake. I never got around to it or to the chocolate
mousse. I made a chocolate pate from the rfc cook book and it was very
good. I still have a lot of the chocolate left over and I may make the
chocolate mousse at some later date. Or your cake. Or, someone will
come and carry off the rest of the chocolate.

>
> IMHO L'Harmonie isn't really the best fit for mousse - it's a bit too
> sweet, and has nutty components that, again, disappear in mousse.
Chocolate
> mousse suggests an aggressively fruity chocolate - some Valrhona
chocolates
> are good for it, as well as most of the Bonnat line.


That's what I said. It is too sweet. On the other hand, I tasted some
Michel Cluizel 99% and it was so bitter, it tasted like unsweetened
chocolate to me. A couple of years ago, when I first tasted it, I
thought it was the most wonderful taste. I suppose that tastes change.

>
> With its nutty flavour, L'Harmonie is great in tortes, or in cookies. The
> key point is to minimise mixing with dairy, especially cream which will
> flatten out the nutty flavours completely.


The chocolate pate is made with butter and whipping cream. It was
really good, in spite of it.

Thank you for your help.

> -- Alex Rast


Margaret