Luscious Chocolate Desserts [Hardcover]

Lori Longbotham (Author), William Meppem (photographer) (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 12, 2004

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.

Editorial Reviews

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.
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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

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (August 12, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811835162
• ISBN-13: 978-0811835169
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #211,014 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #59 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Baking > Chocolate

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential baking cookbook, November 16, 2004

By 

J. Montgomery (New York City) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Luscious Chocolate Desserts (Hardcover)

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.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Just Another Chocolate Book, December 12, 2004

By 

Barbara Nell Howe "Chef Instructor" (Hartford, Connecticut) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Luscious Chocolate Desserts (Hardcover)

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.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chocolate Heaven, October 26, 2004

By 

Up All Night (Stuyvesant, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Luscious Chocolate Desserts (Hardcover)

I discovered Lori Longbotham when I found a copy of Luscious Lemon Desserts at a friend's house. That book has a recipe for, hands down, the most amazingly good Lemon Curd that I have ever eaten. So when I saw that there was now a Luscious Chocolate Desserts, I had to get it. I've already made three things: the Luscious Chocolate Layer Cake and the Quickest, Easiest Chocolate Mousse Pie. Both excellent. For the third thing I made, see below.

What I really liked about this book is that all the recipes look like something you could walk into the kitchen and make without a lot of difficulty. You don't have to search all over for fancy ingredients, you don't need a lot of know-how. You just follow the very clear instructions, and you get cake (or cookies, or pie, or ice cream) like you're a professional baker. The Lemon Book is like that, too.

But my favorite thing in this book is that, besides all the cookies and brownies and the usual stuff, there is chocolate stuff that I had never even heard of. Buy this book if only to make one recipe: Bicerin. I had never heard of this before but it's an Italian drink of melted chocolate, coffee, and milk. I read about it and I thought, "I have to taste this." And I had some good Belgian chocolate in the house, so I walked into my kitchen and I made bicerin and in some ways, it was a darn shame, because now I've been drinking a cup of it every day and this book is going to make me gain 10 pounds before I'm done with it. But at least I'll have enjoyed every bite.