14 Favorite Chocolate Desserts To Turn Your Dinner Party Decadent
14 Favorite Chocolate Desserts to Turn Your Dinner Party Decadent
Whether you're cooking a family meal, hosting a small party for friends, or creating a romantic dinner for two, choosing to end the evening with a crowd-pleasing chocolate dessert is always a good idea. There's a chocolate recipe here to suit any occasion, because, in our opinion, all occasions need chocolate.
Chocolate-Chocolate Cookies
If there's one person we trust to delight us with a perfect cookie, it's Milk Bar founder Christina Tosi. This chocolate cookie is sprinkled with salty chocolate crumbs, and uses glucose syrup to achieve that sought-after fudgy, chewy cookie texture. There are several steps to this recipe, but follow them closely and this will be the best cookie you've ever made, and easily worth the extra effort.
Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries
Dipping fresh fruit in chocolate yields a crazily easy and fairly healthy dessert, which looks stunning and indulgent. Simply melt the chocolate, dip in your fruit, and for an extra flourish, sprinkle with chopped almonds. Strawberries and chocolate is our favorite combination for this treat in summer, but oranges, dried mango, grapes, or dried apricot pieces also work beautifully depending on the season.
Chocolate Ice Cream
Sometimes, the simple things are the best. David Lebovitz's ultimate dark chocolate ice cream is so completely irresistible that it's worth investing in an ice cream machine just for this one recipe. Homemade vanilla custard is combined with a creamy, chocolaty mixture before being churned in the ice cream machine. This recipe is a winner with kids and adults.
Chocolate Mousse
Chocolate Mousse
This is a rich chocolate mousse, which all of you chocoholics are going to be obsessed with after just one mouthful. With its airy, light texture and deep chocolate flavor, this is a very elegant dessert. Using egg yolks, whipped egg whites, and heavy cream, as well as plenty of melted chocolate results in a foamy, grown-up chocolate mousse that can be ready in just 20 minutes.
Chocolate-Peanut Butter Crunch Cups
These chocolate peanut butter cups are an extremely indulgent treat. Melted chocolate is used to line mini cupcake cases, which are then filled with creamy peanut butter and topped with more melted chocolate. A simple recreation of our much loved childhood favorites, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, which taste so much better for being made in your own kitchen. Get the kids involved with making these for a perfect — if slightly messy — weekend baking project!
For the Chocolate-Peanut Butter Crunch Cups recipe, click here.
Chocolate Waffles with Whiskey Butter Sauce
As much as we adore eating waffles for brunch, when it comes to chocolate waffles with whiskey sauce, and maybe an extra scoop of ice-cream, we love to serve them as dessert. These waffles are sweet and warm, with extra chocolate chips in the batter for some melted-chocolate goodness. The whiskey sauce is our favorite new trick, made by simply whisking butter, whiskey, sugar, an egg, and cream over a low heat until it's beautifully thick. To make a kid-friendly version, simply swap the whiskey for maple syrup.
For the Chocolate Waffles with Whiskey Butter Sauce recipe, click here.
Dark Chocolate Tart
This dark chocolate tart is as classic and refined as it sounds. It's best to use the darkest chocolate you can here; we recommend 70 percent cocoa, or higher. A buttery pastry crust is carefully rolled into a tart pan, while thick chocolate custard is heated on the stove. The chocolate filling is then poured into the pastry case and baked for 15 minutes until the chocolate is just set.
Double Chocolate Bread Pudding
Bread pudding is the perfect bake-ahead dessert. This recipe can be made three days ahead of time and simply reheated and drizzled with the warmed caramel sauce on the day you're ready to serve it. The combination of brioche, chocolate, and heavy cream makes for a decadent pudding — the most comforting end to any winter dinner party.
Double Fudge Brownies
We could never leave these brownies out of a round-up of our favorite chocolate desserts. This recipe couldn't be simpler: Everything is combined in just one pan (hooray for saving on washing up!), before being poured into a lined tin and baked for 30 minutes. These are a real crowd-pleaser, which are only improved with ice cream and a generous serving of salted caramel sauce.
Matcha White Chocolate Fondue
This exotic dessert is such a striking and unusual dish. To prepare the fondue, all you need to do is gently melt together matcha powder, heavy cream, and white chocolate. The sweetness of the white chocolate balances the bitter matcha beautifully. Serve in a fondue pot with plenty of strawberries and marshmallows for a fun, quirky end to your dinner party.
Moelleux au Chocolat
When it comes to creating the perfect chocolate dessert, we can trust the French to guide the way. This classic Parisian molten chocolate cake is the ultimate chocolate lovers' dessert. It's dark and intense, and is best served simply with a dollop of crème fraîche. Use your electric mixer to thoroughly beat those egg whites to achieve that airy, soufflé-like texture.
Peanut Butter Fluff and Chocolate Tart
This dessert is for those of you who want to embrace your inner child, as well as those of you who really are baking for kids. No one will say no to a slice of tart that contains chocolate, peanut butter, and marshmallow cream. The ingredients for the filling are whisked together, and added to a buttery crust made of chocolate graham crackers, before being topped with freshly whipped cream and chocolate chunks. This one is going to be your family's new favorite.
For the Peanut Butter Fluff and Chocolate Tart recipe, click here.
The Ultimate Hot Chocolate
Sometimes, on those cold, winter evenings, all we really want to do after dinner is curl up with a blanket and a mugful of creamy hot chocolate. Rather than reaching for the cocoa powder in your cupboard and mixing it with some warm milk, follow this short recipe to create a hot chocolate that is as thick as custard, with an amazingly intense chocolate flavor. If you're feeling extra fancy, top your drink with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.
White Chocolate Hibiscus Truffles
These White Chocolate Hibiscus Truffles are the most beautiful treats to serve after dinner. They do require your time and attention to make them perfect, so be sure to follow the steps carefully and be gentle with your ingredients. If you've got a special party coming up, or are planning a romantic dinner for two, these are definitely worth that extra planning and effort.
For the White Chocolate Hibiscus Truffles recipe, click here.