cover image The Chocolate Cookbook

The Chocolate Cookbook

Juliette Elkon Hamelecourt. MacMillan Publishing Company, $0 (214pp) ISBN 978-0-02-535270-4

Chocaholics don't know it but they owe a debt of gratitude to Montezuma, who popularized this favorite food when he offered Cortez a taste of ""sour water''the translation of the Incan word for chocolate beverage. Hamelecourt, author of The Honey Cookbook, etc., offers here a cornucopia of recipes for chocolate-lovers: devil's-food cake, chocolate ricotta cassata, Sacher torte, brownies, florentines, flan, mousse, souffle, fudge, truffles and hot cocoa. She's not unmindful of weightwatchers, either, providing treats for them as well: 50-calorie chocolate mousse, low-cal charlotte or chocolate milk shake. Although Hamelecourt's introductions to each section are informative, her notes are sparse, leaving the recipes bare of helpful hints. Still, simplicity renders these delectable recipes easy enough to follow. Illustrations. December 5