A Passion for Chocolate (Better Homes and Gardens Test Kitchen)

Rating:
Summary: Good Recipes, Ugly Book
Review: This cookbook is a collection of chocolate recipes from Better Homes and Gardens. I like the recipes, but think the layout and book design are irritating. I am not sure whether to recommend this book or not.

The book cover is a garish affair with bright pink color and gold leaf. The interior pages are littered with romantic sayings and pictures. On the other hand, it is spiral bound, so it lays flat on the table when you are doing the recipes, which I appreciate very much.

There are a paltry 50 or so recipes. They all appear to be thoroughly tested, so the procedures are easy to follow and I had not problems with any of the ones I tried, although I was skeptical about some of them (for example, heating chocolate in a saucepan over low heat is a good way to burn it; the instructions for folding egg foam based batters are not really explained in detail, etc.). I got several very good recipes, especially the dense tortes that are baked in a tart pan. It has chapters on cookies, ice creams, pies and pastries, cakes and tortes, and sauces.