Friday, February 11, 2011

Scary

I'll admit it.  I am a complete chicken about certain things in life, especially those involving potential body sacrifice, such as sky diving, scuba diving, bungee jumping, and fast drivers on mountain roads that lack guardrails.   Now other things that some folks find equally scary -- like speaking before a group of 300 people -- don't phase me in the least.

Since coming to Paris, however, I've found a whole new class of scary situations, for example, clothing boutiques that have only about ten items displayed on hangars and several pint sized Parisiennes just waiting to see what my very American sized body might fit into.  Or realizing mid sentence that I have no idea the correct gender of the noun I'm about to use and I've only got a 50 percent chance of getting it right.

Recently, I set out to make a German chocolate cake for my husband's birthday and the recipe in the Joy of Cooking called for sweetened chocolate.   I didn't think twice, set out for the supermarket to stock up on flour, sugar, eggs, and chocolate, only to be confronted with this:


Now that is scary. 

When I melted the chocolate, it was clear from the gloppy mess, that I had picked the wrong type.  No problem, I beat that chocolate into submission, whipped it into the cake, and voila!  It came out just fine.

Even though I still have no idea what I should be looking for when it comes to "sweetened chocolate", I suppose I learned how to conquer my fears.  Should I take up sky diving next?

10 comments:

Unknown said...

oh good, I'm not the only one afraid of those shops with only 10 items and judgemental Parisiennes lurking about.

Interestingly, I'm struggling with a similar chocolate issue - I'm looking for purely UNSWEETENED chocolate for baking and haven't found it in the market in tablet form (only cocoa powder which isn't the same). For your baking needs, Nestlé will probably do the trick - either Noir or Lait OTHERWISE you can always go to G.Detou, they're friendly, knowledgeable and a baker's utopia!

Anonymous said...

omg i wish they had all these chocolates in the states ...

Karin B (Looking for Ballast) said...

Cuuuute post. :) Yeah, the chocolate aisle is pretty freak-out worthy! The yogurt aisle (the "great wall of yogurt" I call it) is too, IMO.

I'm glad the cake came out all right. A Happy Belated B-Day to your hubby!

Karin
(an alien parisienne)

debbie in toronto said...

two words...David Lebovitz...next time consult the master...

bon weekend Anne

ps..re the store fear..that's why we love Monoprix so much!

Unknown said...

Yep, I agree with Debbie - David Lebovitz is a god. http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2011/02/mexican-hot-chocolate-recip/#more-4267

Starman said...

Why not ask David Lebovitz? http://www.davidlebovitz.com/

Starman said...

I guess I should have read the comments before commenting. Oh, and I love the chocolate aisles in Europe. There is a place just down the street that sells some European chocolate, but at twice the price.

Maria O. Russell said...

Anne, do you have any Aldi stores in your hometown? It's a German chain. Their chocolate shelves are spectacular! Have you read any books of the Anne of Green Gables series? That redhead's name was also Anne with an e. Cute post!

Romain said...

That's right, you'll probably find what you are looking for with "Nestlé dessert" tablets : http://www.latableadessert.fr/ToutPourReussir/HomeProduit.aspx

Theresa said...

Hi! When baking rich chocolate cakes, I have always fared best with Menier Chocolate, in a bright green wrapper. Hope this helps!

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