Guittard
is one of my favorite chocolates, and probably the one I use the most for
baking and dessert making. I’ve used it for a long time, and over the years
have gotten to know the Guittard family and the wonderful folks who work for
them. One of these fine people is the great pastry chef Donald Wressell, who was
running the
pastry kitchen at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills when we
first met. Donald is one of the calmest and nicest people in the business –
there is nothing he won’t do for a friend or colleague – and he is also one of
the most talented, particularly when working with chocolate. Donald is Guittard’s
resident Executive Pastry Chef
and has contributed a whole chapter of recipes
in the newly released Guittard Chocolate
Cookbook (Chronicle Books, 2015; $25). There are several of his recipes I
am eager to try, particularly his chocolate layer cake (Grandma’s Chocolate
Cake), but I started with the simple Sinful Chocolate Pound Cake. It’s a moist,
buttermilk pound cake that has lots of grated extra-bitter chocolate folded
into its batter right before baking, a trick that makes it ultra-chocolatey and
extra moist. Make sure to seek out Guittard chocolate and cocoa for this cake,
it will make all the difference in the world.
