Product Description

Sexy, rich, and good in bed -- chocolate is the ultimate indulgence. And Luscious Chocolate Desserts is the ultimate chocolate cookbook. Lori Longbotham, author of the best-selling Luscious Lemon Desserts, delivers more than 70 of the best recipes for tantalizing cakes, sumptuous tarts and pies, velvety puddings and souffles, plus melt-in-your-mouth cookies, ice cream, and candy -- all with enough chocolate to satisfy even the deepest craving. Recipes run from simple-to-prepare chocolate pound cake and chocolate mousse pie to more elaborate desserts such as chocolate profiteroles with chocolate ice cream and chocolate sauce and the decadent mocha tiramisu. For those who don't know their cocoa from their cacao, this compendium for chocoholics educates readers from bean to bar, including how to choose from the many forms of chocolate available in today's markets, plus the basics of storing, chopping, melting, and -- the best part -- tasting them. Luscious Chocolate Desserts is pure chocolate satisfaction for proud chocolate lovers everywhere.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #176382 in Books
• Brand: Chronicle Books
• Published on: 2004-08-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 144 pages

From Publishers Weekly
There’s no shortage of chocolate cookbooks out there, but this volume stands out for its user-friendly nature and the sheer deliciousness of its recipes. Longbotham (Luscious Lemon Desserts), a former food editor at Gourmet, clearly knows her material: she provides a concise history of chocolate, a description of the journey from cacao pod to hot cocoa, and a brief glossary explaining the myriad different forms chocolate can take. She even includes a short discussion on the health benefits of chocolate consumption, which should come as a relief to anyone tempted by fat and calorie-laden recipes like Killer Chocolate Cheesecake or Luscious Chocolate Custard Ice Cream. Individual Molten Chocolate Cakes have become a restaurant cliché, but made at home, they regain both their originality and their integrity. And Luscious Chocolate Layer Cake, a birthday classic, is rich, gooey and satisfyingly all-American. Some of the best recipes are the ones that mix fruit with chocolate; Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread on Toast with Nectarines is like Nutella to the nth power, the nectarines a perfect foil for the chocolate spread, and Crisp Chocolate Chip Cookies with Dried Cherries and Pistachios are wonderfully crunchy and chewy at the same time. The dried cherries provide a terrific sweet-tart kick. The diversity of the recipes, along with the photographs of all these heartbreakingly gorgeous desserts, make this the perfect cookbook for any chocolate fanatic—those who love to eat chocolate and those who just love to read about it.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
There's no shortage of chocolate cookbooks out there, but this volume stands out for its user-friendly nature and the sheer deliciousness of its recipes. Longbotham (Luscious Lemon Desserts), a former food editor at Gourmet, clearly knows her material: she provides a concise history of chocolate, a description of the journey from cacao pod to hot cocoa, and a brief glossary explaining the myriad different forms chocolate can take. She even includes a short discussion on the health benefits of chocolate consumption, which should come as a relief to anyone tempted by fat and calorie-laden recipes like Killer Chocolate Cheesecake or Luscious Chocolate Custard Ice Cream. Individual Molten Chocolate Cakes have become a restaurant cliche, but made at home, they regain both their originality and their integrity. And Luscious Chocolate Layer Cake, a birthday classic, is rich, gooey and satisfyingly all-American. Some of the best recipes are the ones that mix fruit with chocolate; Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread on Toast with Nectarines is like Nutella to the nth power, the nectarines a perfect foil for the chocolate spread, and Crisp Chocolate Chip Cookies with Dried Cherries and Pistachios are wonderfully crunchy and chewy at the same time. The dried cherries provide a terrific sweet-tart kick. The diversity of the recipes, along with the photographs of all these heartbreakingly gorgeous desserts, make this the perfect cookbook for any chocolate fanatic those who love to eat chocolate and those who just love to read about it. -Publishers Weekly

Whoever said single-subject cookbooks were tiresome? I think it was me, but that was before Lori Longbotham's homage to chocolatey treats crossed my path.

I practically fell face first, mouth wide open into the gorgeous color photographs by William Meppem. His glossy pics of chocolate souffle cake, chocolate panna cotta and chocolate ice cream sundaes with nib nougatine made me want to try every one of Longbotham's 65-plus recipes.

The recipes themselves are just as inviting. All are plotted out in a straightforward manner and rely on easy-to-find ingredients. Nothing daunts, not even the restauranty Ultimate Chocolate Marquise.

Longbotham also provides a short discourse on the history of chocolate, a glossary, a section on chocolate's connection to good health and a primer on tasting chocolate. -San Diego Union Tribune

About the Author
Lori Longbotham is a former food editor for Gourmet and a frequent contributor to magazines such as Martha Stewart Living, Food & Wine, Good Housekeeping, and the New York Times Magazine. She makes her home in New York City. William Meppem is a New York-based photographer, whose work has appeared in Food & Wine, Martha Stewart Living, and Vogue Entertaining, and in A Beautiful Bowl of Soup (0-8118-3528-6) and Modern Greek (0-8118-3480-8).

Customer Reviews

Not Just Another Chocolate Book
What a delight to recieve Lori's latest book. Again she brings her passion and special brand of humor to this enduring favorite.Luscious Chocolate Desserts is a fascinating read filled with well developed and reliable recipes, intriguing historical facts and clear, simple tips for handling this fickle
culinary treasure.Once more, Lori informs, amuses, inspires and educates with her unique perspective and impressive knowledge.
A perfect gift for my chef-pals and my friends who still struggle to make a decent cup of cocoa.

Essential baking cookbook
This is a terrific cookbook, even for people like me who are not trained bakers. I have succeeded in making three recipes already--they work great. Have a long way to go to try a lot of other really inviting recipes. Her book also serves as a great reference for anything chocolate.

I was quite impressed with the fact that Ms. Lonbotham pays an historical homage to Chocolate Decadence (page 42) as being a seminal contribution to chocolate lovers worldwide. Living in Berkeley at the time, I well remember what a sensatation it caused.

HEAVENLY LUSCIOUS RECIPES
If you are a die-hard chocoholic, and love desserts, you will love this book! The recipes are wonderful and the pictures make your mouth water.Lori Longbotham has done it again and has another winning cookbook.