I am loving these two cookbooks and highly recommend them. The first one is called The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz which is currently available in a UK edition. The second one is Green & Black's Ultimate Chocolate Recipes The New Collection.
The Perfect Scoop. I bought this for a good friend awhile back and it took me over 4 months to send it to her as I kept dipping in and out of it. I finally sent her the book (I really hope she's not reading this) and from that moment onwards, I bitterly regretted parting with it. So much so that a few weeks ago, I ordered myself a copy. This book is a treasure trove. You will find recipes for all sorts of ice creams, sorbets and granitas. You will also find sauces and toppings, along with recipes for stuff to mix in, like, peppermint patties, buttered pecans, chocolate covered peanuts and best of all buttercrunch toffee. And if this is not enough to convince you to purchase or borrow this book, there are also recipes for making your own cones and other edible containers. The cone recipe is not gluten free but I am working on a gluten free version which I will post shortly. Most of the recipes are naturally gluten free and the ones that are not can easily be adjusted. The thing about David Lebovitz, who has a very successful blog www.davidlebovitz.com is that this guy is hysterically funny. One of the first things I read about him, and this was his own description, is that he looks a lot like the chef in Ratatouille. And yes he really does look like the little nasty chef in Ratatouille. But he is far from nasty. He is generous to a fault and his blog is always interesting and funny and his take on the French with all their haughtiness about food and their love of beaurocracy is hilarious. But the best thing about Mr. Lebovitz is that he loves food and writes with wit and charm and you just can't help loving him.
Green & Black's Ultimate Chocolate Recipes The New Collection I've been working my way through this book and have earmarked at least twenty recipes to try out. Not everything in the book is gluten free, but there is quite a lot that is including Annie Belle's Guilt Free Chocolate Cake, Heartache Chocolate Cake, Marbled Mousse, Bouche de Noel, Olive Oil Chocolate torte, Chocolate Marshmallows, Chocolat Parfait, Chocolate Pannacotta.....shall I go on? The one recipe that I am dying to try out is Allegra McEvedy's Not Millionaire' s Short bread. This is a flourless version of the traditional Millionaire's Shortbread and the picture looks pretty scrummy. I love the combination of peanuts and chocolate and anything with caramel so for me, this is the ultimate chocolate treat.
