Chocolate

By Nick Malgieri

Throughout its three-thousand-year history, chocolate has deeply affected the soul, psyche, and international economics of mankind. Though no longer used as currency, bartering for part of a candy bar is still a common occurrence in school yards all over America. It was Nick Malgieri's first taste of an orange-flavored white chocolate candy bar—given to him at age five by his father—that began his life-long obsession with chocolate, and it initiated more than 45 years of research that has resulted in Chocolate: From Simple Cookies to Extravagant Showstoppers.

Whether the occasion calls for a simple bar cookie (Caramel Pecan Brownies), a celebratory layer cake (Lemon-Scented White Cake with Milk Chocolate Frosting), an ethereal soufflé (Chocolate Raspberry), or the comfort of a homemade pie (Chocolate Pecan Pie) with ice cream (French Chocolate), depend on Malgieri to take you step-by-finger-licking-step to create luscious indulgences. Technique tips for each category of sweet, coach the reader from the first impulse right through to serving and storage suggestions.

Typical of Malgieri's seductive call to the kitchen, the chapter on "Sauces and Beverages" offers warming drinks (Sandra Church's Adult Hot Cocoa), refreshing libations (Iced Mocha), and toppings that harken back to the neighborhood soda fountain (Chocolate Syrup, Hot Fudge Sauce). Whether making chocolate confections (Bonbons with Chocolate Caramel Centers), constructing a decorative project (Chocolate Cobblestone House), or trifling with truffles (Black and White Truffles), Chocolate leads the (Milky) way.

A gifted teacher and confectioner, Nick Malgieri makes everyone feel at ease with creating flawless chocolate desserts. He not only concisely explains the basic methods for working with chocolate, but also provides a primer on the different types of chocolate and their appropriate uses. He then tempts the reader with more than 300 recipes featuring chocolate in every form—covered, chipped, glazed, dipped, frozen, molded, and hand-shaped. The man who taught us everything we needed to know about baking, now brings us the last word on chocolate.

A resident of New York City, Nick Malgieri is the chairman of the baking department at the prestigious Peter Kump's Cooking School and is a frequent guest teacher at cooking schools across the country. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, he is also the author of Great Italian Desserts and Nick Malgieri's Perfect Pastry. Chocolate is a main selection of The Good Cook, a division of Book-of-the-Month Club.

Chocolate
From Simple Cookies to Extravagant Showstoppers
By Nick Malgieri
Harper Collins Publishers, October 1998
Hard cover, $35.00
Color photographs throughout
Photography by Tom Eckerle
ISBN: 0-06-018711-5
Information provided by the publisher.