Synopses & Reviews
This book might easily be the most lavish, the most complete, and most beautiful book ever published on the subject of that most sensuous of all foods--chocolate. Filled with history, anecdotes, and recipes, and featuring hundreds of lavish full-color photos,
The Golden Book of Chocolate is literally a chocolate lover's dream come true. A fascinating detailed account chronicles chocolate's origins among the Aztecs of ancient Mexico, its importation to Europe, and the development of the modern chocolate industry as we know it today. But recipes are at the heart of this book. Separate chapters are devoted to chocolate's central role in easy-to-follow recipes for:
• Cookies • Bars and Brownies • Muffins and Cupcakes • Pastries • Elegant Desserts • Pies and Tarts • Puddings and Creams • Tea and Coffee Cakes • Layer Cakes • Candy • Savory Dishes • Drinks • Basic Recipes
Each recipe includes a list of ingredients, step-by-step instructions, and a large, full-color photo of the finished item. The book's final "Basic Recipes" chapter shows how to prepare chocolate ingredients that go into the making of other chocolate-based delicacies. They include chocolate pastry cream, chocolate custard, chocolate sauce, and several other sumptuous ingredients. This beautiful book is embellished with a ribbon place marker bound into the spine and features golden-tipped page edges.
(sidebar)
A Capsule History of Chocolate
Among the Aztecs the drinking of chocolate was confined to the royal house, the lords, and the nobility. A report by Spanish conquistador Bernial Diaz del Castillo noted that Montezuma drank chocolate several times a day from beakers made of pure gold. The Spanish brought chocolate to Europe in the late 1500s, and by the 1660s it was a favorite drink of Renaissance Italian noblemen. In the 1800s it became a popular drink among the literary figures who gathered in London's coffee houses, and in the nineteenth century the world's first chocolate candy was produced in the city of Bristol, England .
Review
"Merely looking at this latest title from Italian cookbook author Bardi could be enough to send readers into a proverbial chocoholic sugar-induced coma. While this could be seen primarily as a gift book for the chocolate lover, its visual appeal alone will undoubtedly attract library users. Recommended for public libraries."
--Pauline Baughman, Library Journal, February 2009
Review
"...more than enough to satisfy a chocoholic's wildest dreams."
--Bookpage, February 2009
Synopsis
(back cover)
With recipes for more than 300 luscious treats--cookies, bars, brownies, muffins, cupcakes, pastries, desserts, puddings, ice cream, cakes, candy, drinks, and savory dishes--this is the only chocolate cookbook you'll ever need.
Read the opening chapter for an entertaining introduction to the exotic story of chocolate, from its origins in ancient Mexico to its worldwide popularity today.
About the Author
Carla Bardi grew up in Tuscany and currently operates a small vineyard with her husband. She is the author or co-author of many internationally successful cookbooks, most of them devoted to regional Italian cooking and baking. Her titles published in North America by Barron's include The Golden Book of Baking, The Golden Book of Chocolate, The Golden Book of Cookies, and Spaghetti.