Chocolate

If you asked me, I’d say that, unlike a lot of people I know, I am not particularly keen on chocolate. So why did this chapter grow more quickly than all the other chapters in the book? Well, it turns out there really are times when only chocolate will do. But for me, chocolate has to be good, not just brown and sweet. Actually, I’d go further: chocolate, in cooking, is better the less sweet, the more subtle it is.

While I don’t want to get tiresomely prescriptive, it’s obvious that the chocolate you choose is crucial to the brownies or cakes you make. I have a preference for Montgomery Moore buttons – dark, milk or white (the only white chocolate I’d ever want to eat); the chocolate is extraordinarily, seductively good, and melts beautifully and quickly, but these buttons can be hard to come by. Luckily, Nestlé do chocolate buttons and lumps now too, which you may find more easily in the supermarket. Buying your chocolate already chopped saves time, but is hardly an imperative. Just stock up on the best bars of chocolate you can find, such as Valrhona, and proper, cooked-earth-coloured cocoa. Look for brands containing a minimum of 70 per cent cocoa solids. When in doubt, or in need, phone the Chocolate Society (01423 322 230).