Maida Heatter - Chocolate Is Forever: Classic Cakes, Cookies, Pastries, Pies, Puddings, Candies, Confections, and More

I worked for over a decade in the kitchen at Chez Panisse. The restaurant was, and still is, one of the best-known eateries in the world. Everyonefrom Hollywood stars, to famous chefs, and even American presidentsstopped in for dinner. One particularly memorable evening was when French food and wine expert Richard Olney showed up with cases of Chteau dYquem, the most exquisiteand expensivewine in the world. Another was the arrival of Julia Child, who towered over everyone when she stepped into the kitchen and yodeled Hellooo, everybody! in her unmistakable voice. It sailed across the room, all the way back to the pastry department, where I was rolling out tart dough for that evenings dessert.

It was nice to meet famous actors and to feed celebrities, but the person that I was most excited to see coming into the kitchen was Maida Heatter. When Maida showed up with her gray-white, well-coiffed swoop of hair, she wore her signature smile, wide enough to make everyone put down their knives (or in my case, a rolling pin) to greet her.

That night she didnt hand out the usual brownies that she carried around in her purse, a practice she called cookie diplomacy. But making and giving away cookies just made her happy. One person, a pilot from Texas, was so delighted with them that he proposed, and she eventually married him.

On the covers of her books, Maida was right at home presiding over a table loaded with dozens of platters of cookies and brownies, either lined up in impeccable rows or arranged by type, shape, and flavor. Cakes and tortes were presented on stands, her smiling face beaming above everything. On the cover of one cookbook, shes leaning on a cookie jar, looking none the worse for wear after probably baking everything for the photographs.

Maidas books invariably had the word Great in the title. Anyone else would be accused of boasting, but similar proclamations like gorgeous, sensational, superb, and perfect were liberally sprinkled throughout her books. Delicious appears about fifty times in the one youre holding. But Maida truly believed that everything that came out of her oven was gorgeous and great, and delicious. And she was right.

Baking never seemed to be a chore for Maida, and even though there were some setbacks in her otherwise sweet life, she always radiated warmth in her headnotes, which never failed to persuade me, and undoubtedbly others, to make the recipes that followed. She was especially known for her desserts made with chocolate, an ingredient that figured prominently in all of her books, including Maida Heatters Book of Great Chocolate Desserts. When I wrote a guidebook to chocolate, I knew Maida had to be in it. I adapted her Chocolate Sauerkraut Cake, whose name may raise eyebrows butyou guessed itis a great chocolate cake. Out of the blue, after my book came out Maida sent a note, in her famously cursive, gloriously expressive handwriting, thanking me for including her, dotting each i with a cheerful circle. As a young baker just starting a career as a cookbook author, I was floored to receive that letter, and Ive kept it in my desk and even took it with me when I moved abroad. In fact, its in there right now as I write this. Often when Im riffling through that desk drawer, looking for a stamp or a pair of scissors, Ill take it out and read it again.

Maida passed away at the age of 102. Her reign as the Queen of Cake was presumably over, but her books continue to remind us of how revered she was by bakers everywhere. With this compilation of her best-loved chocolate desserts, you can create your own memories of Maida, in your own kitchen. You wont get a lovely note from Maida, but if you carry a few packets of brownies (I suggest the Palm Beach Brownies, ), who knows?maybe youll meet the man, or woman, of your dreams, too.

David Lebovitz

After reading any of my books, people who love chocolate realize that I am a member of the club. Actually, Im the Chairperson of the Board of the Chocolate Lovers Association of the World. (I started as a Brownie and worked my way up.) Chocolate lovers could not wait to corner me or my husband (also a member in good standing) and confess to their chocolate addictions, chocolate splurges, chocolate dreams, fantasies, and uncontrollable cravings and hunger for the stuff.