Desserts to Die for by Marcel
Desaulniers
Masterpiece On The Finality To A Meal!
By the prize-winning author of Death by ChocolateBe warned: this is a
book about extravagantly opulent, irresistibly mouthwatering, deliciously
soul-satisfying, sometimes ethereal, at other times delightfully dense
desserts. It is a book about delectable excesses and sensational
pleasures.Author Marcel Desaulniers is the prize-winning executive chef of
the Trellis Restaurant and creator of the best-selling Death by Chocolate
and The Burger Meisters, both of which won the coveted James Beard
Award. As he writes here: This book is not for the faint of heart. It is for
anyone who loves the occasional indulgence....If sharing a piece of
buttercream swathed cake seems like a sensual experience, this book is
your next step toward paradise.This is a book full of chocolate, mocha and
pecans, gourmet sundaes and gourmet sorbets. The recipes range from
the deliciously complex and ornate, like the Chocolate Voodoo Cake, to
triumphantly reinvented, no-longer-ordinary old favorites such as fruit cake,
jelly rolls, and sticky buns.Just naming these unique creations is like
reciting an honor roll of sinful delights: Mocha Almond Praline Snap,

Chocolate Pecan Sour Mash Bash, Fallen Angel Cake with Golden Halos
and Sinful Cream, Chocolate Caramel Hazelnut Damnation. The recipes
for these and other spellbinding desserts are now revealed in full
color.Marcel Desaulniers is as masterly a teacher as he is a chef. His
books and television shows have been used and seen by millions. With his
foolproof instructions, Desaulniers takes the home cook by the hand and,
in step-by-step detail, shows how even the most extravagant of these
desserts can easily be made at home.Indulge in these pleasures and dive
into their delights -- this is a book of exhilarating excess.
Personal Review: Desserts to Die for by Marcel Desaulniers
Others have noted that Desaulniers is a master of marketing, and it's true--
but his recipes WORK and make absolutely stunning presentations. If you
need a special occasion dessert--perhaps one to propose by? perhaps
one to celebrate the birth of a child?--you can't go wrong choosing one of
Desaulniers' desserts from "Desserts to Die For."Desaulniers encourages
"mise en place" (the French culinary term for "everything in its place," or
setting out all ingredients before ever beginning the recipe), which I
admire, and he instructs his readers--kindly, politely, but firmly--to read
each recipe through from start to finish before beginning. This is good
advice in any cooking situation, but it makes strong sense with
Desaulniers' recipes, which tend to be extremely detailed. Some cooks
might find this annoying, but there are others--myself among them--who
understand that this concentration on every little tiny thing means that
Desaulniers recognizes the difference between a pretty good dessert and
a great one. And he wants you to prepare nothing but great ones!
Desaulniers' personal dessert philosophy may be best expressed by the
W. Somerset Maugham quotation with which he heads the introduction:
"Excess on occasion is exhilarating; it keeps moderation from becoming a
habit." And are these recipes excessive in nearly every way! Desaulniers
wisely avoids giving calorie counts, fat content, etc. for each recipe, and
concentrates instead on seducing his readers into wanting to make each
and every dessert so sumptuously photographed by Michael Grand. The
names are rich and evocative as the dishes themselves--Tuxedo Truffle
Torte, Chocolate Voodoo Cake, Mocha Almond Praline Snap, Chocolate
Caramel Hazelnut Damnation, Trick or Treat Ice Cream, "24" Carrot Cake,
Wild Orchid, Chocolate Exquisite Pain (yikes!), Chocolate Resurrection,
and White Chocolate Lullaby are but a few of the many tempting offerings
herein. There are many non-chocolate desserts in this book, but it's clear
that Desaulniers is most excited by chocolate anything--it sets his heart to
soaring, his brain to feverish activity, and his hands to creating something
wonderful for all of us to try.
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