The Model Bakery Cookbook

However, eggs have the most elasticity and emulsifying properties when at room temperature.

We use whole eggs most often, but sometimes the eggs are separated and the whites are beaten alone and folded into the batter to incorporate air.

Use large grade A eggs, and make sure they are not cracked.

Heavy cream and whipping cream are interchangeable, but just be sure the whipping cream isn’t flavored or stabilized.

It may not be clear from the label if the cocoa is Dutched or alkalized, so look for alkali on the ingredients list.

Essentially ground cacao beans, natural cocoa powder is very acidic. It needs to be neutralized by including an alkali (usually baking soda) in the batter. The reaction between the acid and alkali make carbon dioxide, which helps the batter rise. Hershey’s, in the brown container, is a widely available brand of natural cocoa powder; Scharffen Berger is a fine boutique product. Most of our recipes use natural cocoa.

look carefully at the ingredients, as the main fat should be cocoa butter. Skip brands that use coconut oil or palm oil.

COCOA.

We like Guittard semisweet chocolate chips. When buying white chocolate chips for the White Chocolate Chip and Hazelnut Cookies

Any semisweet chocolate with similar cacao content, such as Lindt Excellence Sweet Dark or Callebaut Semisweet, will do very well.

CHOCOLATE CHIPS.

. It isn’t sold in bars, but some markets in the Bay Area sell it in bulk as chunks.

Our chocolate of choice is Guittard French Vanilla, which has a cacao content of 54 percent.