Celebrated French pastry chef and owner of one of New York City’s favorite bakeries presents an impressive and comprehensive dessert cookbook with recipes for everything chocolate, from easy cookies to showstopping cakes.

On any given weekend at the esteemed New York City institution Payard Pâtisserie & Bistro, locals and tourists swoon over sweet delicacies like creamy chocolate truffles, fruit tarts, and delicate, decadent cookies, while brides take note of the stylish wedding cakes in the window.

For the first time, its owner, famed pastry chef François Payard, devotes his creative powers solely to chocolate, sharing 100 recipes for home cooks of every level in Chocolate Epiphany. From easy to challenging, white to bittersweet, a stunning and sumptuous dessert awaits on every page. Thanks to the clear and thorough recipes, treats such as Bittersweet Chocolate Sorbet, Chocolate Sticky Toffee Pudding, and Milk Chocolate Truffles à l’Ancienne are not only delicious but also accessible. And for the ambitious, Chocolate Coconut Caramel Cake, Cranberry-Chestnut Tart, or Milk Chocolate and Candied Kumquat Napoleans could be the perfect end to an extravagant dinner party.

Inside you’ll find chapters devoted to:

•Breads and Brunch Dishes

•Cookies and Petits Fours

•Candies and Chocolates

•Custards, Mousses, and Meringues

•Plated Desserts

•Tarts

•Cakes

With a rich, full-color design and stunning photography throughout, Chocolate Epiphany is the perfect gift for chocoholics and everyone looking to enlarge his or her dessert repertoire.

“François shares generations of pastry expertise and talent in this chocolate lover's bible, with every recipe more delicious sounding than the last.”

Gale Gand, executive pastry chef/partner of Tru and Cenitare

“Think about a major league chocolate player, and François Payard's name tops the roster. In Chocolate Epiphany he covers all the bases with chocolate, and in doing so hits a home run.”

Marcel Desaulniers, author of I'm Dreaming of a Chocolate Christmas

“François makes chocolate desserts we all dream about–fortunately, he also makes books we can all bake from. Whoever said, ‘You can’t have your cake and eat it too,’ clearly hasn’t seen Chocolate Epiphany.”

Dorie Greenspan, author of Baking From My Home to Yours

“Through this dazzling collection of one-of-a-kind recipes, renowned pastry chef, par excellence, François Payard promises a chocolate epiphany for chocolate lovers everywhere. You won’t be able to resist baking the Triple Chocolate Financiers and the Chocolate Cherry Gateau Basque.”

Flo Braker, author of The Simple Art of Perfect Baking and Sweet Miniatures

“Once again, François Payard demonstrates his talent as a great pastry chef and chocolate master, at the height of his art, in sharing his best chocolate recipes along with detailed instructions making it possible for everyone to prepare these dream desserts at home. Without François, the pastry landscape of New York and the United States would not be what it is today.”

Pierre Hermé, pastry chef/owner of Pierre Hermé, Paris and Tokyo

From easy to challenging, white to bittersweet, a stunning and sumptuous dessert awaits on every page. With rich full-color design and 100 recipes for home cooks at every level, this book makes an ideal gift for chocoholics and those looking to enlarge their dessert repertoire.

François Payard, a third-generation French pastry chef and James Beard Award winner, owns Payard Pâtisserie & Bistro in New York City with locations in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo, and Caesars Palace, Las Vegas. He is the author of Simply Sensational Desserts and Bite Size.