120 Chocolate Desserts to Bake, Nibble,

Klivans (Bake and Freeze Desserts), a caterer and contributor to Bon Appetit and Eating Well, offers an easygoing collection of 120 recipes for cakes, brownies, pies, mousse desserts and all sorts of frozen treats. There are versatile basic building blocks like Chocolate Butter Pie Crust, which pairs beautifully with berries; Hot Milk Sponge Cake, which can be sliced into layers and filled delectably; and an irresistible Chocolate Truffle Sauce, which can be used as a filling or thinned and poured over ice cream. Specific recipes include a Nutella Ice Cream Torte with the popular chocolate hazelnut spread layered with pistachio and strawberry ice cream, and Mocha Pie, which features coffee and chocolate layers on a walnut-cookie crumb crust. By breaking preparation into stages, Klivan renders complicated recipes inviting for cooks pressed for time--all that's left to do on serving day is a bit of defrosting and assembly. Each recipe comes with a helpful ""good advice"" section. In the inevitable section on ingredients and equipment, Klivans occasionally falls into the familiar trap of giving too much information (Do readers really need to be told when to use a spatula?). But on the whole, this is a useful, clear cookbook. It will be especially valued when, after a meal, the chocolate bug hits and you realize you don't have to pop out to the store because what you crave is already waiting in the freezer. (Sept.)