Cooking

Just as delightful to eat as they are portable and fun to make, cake balls have been making appearances across the country in bakeries, upscale restaurants, children's parties, and weddings. Innovating mom and prolific home baker, blogger, and author, Dede Wilson ushers in this popular trend in baking with over 60 delicious and decadent recipes. Cake balls are a combination of crumbled cake and frosting rolled into generous bite-size rounds and then dipped in a coating, usually dark, milk, or white chocolate. There is a cake ball for every party, holiday, bake sale, and any other occasion, and these sweet treats are sure to be a standout in an array of ordinary baked goods. Cake Balls begins with nine basic cake recipes and ten basic frostings, ganaches, and glazes, which Wilson spins, with some design tricks and extra ingredients, into 63 distinctive creations, each handsomely photographed in full color. The recipes include kid-friendly ideas, such as Jam-Filled Cake Balls, S'mores, and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake Balls; sophisticated treats like Cocoa-Dusted Truffle Cake Balls and Cranberry-Toffee-Walnut Cake Balls; and whimsical creations like Teddy Bears, Cake Ball Pumpkins, and the statement-making Cake Ball Tower, made of cream puffs. Wilson offers inspiration for baking pros with tips for original cake ball inventions, and guidance for rookies and bakers-on-the-go with tips on making cake balls from a mix.

He's the champion of chocolate. The king of cocoa. The guru of ganache. He's Marcel Desaulniers, award-winning cookbook author and chef-owner of Williamsburg, Virginia's renowned restaurant, The Trellis. And he's back with a whole new collection of festive recipes that turn any day into a holiday in Celebrate With Chocolate.

Whether you want a romantic cake for two, a "Big-Ass" cake for twenty, cookies, pies, or anything in between, Marcel will show you the way. In Celebrate With Chocolate, he takes you to the outer limits of the chocolate universe, with over-the-top combinations that are surprisingly simple to make.

Want something that towers over ordinary chocolate deserts? Try Marcel's "She Ain't Heavy" Chocolate Cake, which stacks three layers of extravagantly light, cocoa-saturated cake, all coated with a smooth cocoa icing. Or for a lunchtime favorite turned sweet treat that satisfies any child from 3 to 103, just pour a glass of milk and check out the Chocolate Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Cookies. Whatever you make, with Marcel's guidance, this book will keep your ever-growing fan club happy.

No holiday is required to Celebrate With Chocolate with Marcel Desaulniers. Just have a true love of chocolate. Don't we all?