If sweets are a passion, then chocolate, for me, is dark magic. Sweet or bitter, dark or white, in bars or as chocolates, filled with almond or hazelnut, cream or liqueur, in truffles, chocolate has always had and will always have its admirers.

For me, however, chocolate is one. . . the dark and bitter one. That bitterness that melts in the mouth and ultimately leaves a sweet sensation.

When I cut the chocolate into small pieces to melt it, when I spread it on the marble to temper it and watch it move, change state, from liquid to solid, release its aroma, and devour the caramelized hazelnuts, I am enchanted.

When I pour hot cream into the chocolate, stirring, the cream takes on the strength of the chocolate and the white turns black. For me, this is the dark magic of chocolate.