DEATH BY CHOCOLATE:
The Last Word on a Consuming Passion
Marcel Desaulniers
Photos: most recipes
Ease: 2-4
The Guru of Ganache has spoken. And it is good. The recipes from his family and the pastry chefs at his renown restaurant, The Trellis, are gorgeously illustrated with photos by Michel Grand, and they demand to be tasted and savored.
I remember Chef Desaulniers from his show on the then-new Food Network in the early 1990s, and his pleasant conversational style comes across in his writing; as does his precise technique in the Equipment List and “Chef’s Touch” side bars included with almost every recipe. The eponymous cake which is his restaurant’s signature dessert boasts 1,354 calories per slice and lincludes the following sub-recipes: cocoa meringue, chocolate mousse, brownie, ganache, mocha mousse, and mocha rum sauce (he suggests starting 3 days before you plan to serve).
To build up your repetoire du chocolat, everything from sauces to ice creams, cakes, cookies, meringues, tortes and terrines are covered here. I am not a good baker or dessert-maker (or -eater, really), but I do love dark chocolate, and the Essential Chocolate Mousses (32), Pots de Crème (44), Truffles (31), and Deep Dark Chocolate Fudge Cookies (28) are easy on technique, but long on chocolate sensuality. This book is a must for the serious chocolate fiend.
