7 Delicious Chocolate Dessert Recipes

Chocolate. a decadent ingredient that can tempt people on the strictest of diets to take a nibble leading to an orgasmic finish as you swallow it.

Thinking of something rich and chocolatey after a heavy meal can excite your stomach to make room for dessert. Made from ground kernels of cocoa, chocolate is available in different forms that you can use to create treats.

If your sweet tooth craves the chocky-wocky, it’s time to head to the kitchen and whip up a dessert that looks good and leaves you feeling satisfied and as if someone injected you with a heavy dose of dopamine.

Let’s explore the seven delicious chocolate dessert recipes you can indulge in alone or with your loved ones.

1) Chocolate Scones

Scone is a sweeter and more delightful member of the bread family that makes you forget your carb intake. Chocolate scones can quickly become your favorite tea-time snack once you master the recipe perfectly.

Scones are moderately sweet and easy to make. The typical recipe includes a specific quantity of flour, butter, milk, cream, baking powder, and sugar.

Still, you can have your favorite type of chocolate for that extra dimension of flavor.

Chocolate scones pair well with your everyday coffee, fruits, and spreads. However, if you are looking for something enjoyable on its own, consider perfecting a recipe for chocolate chip scones that just hits the right spots of your tastebuds.

2) Chocolate Fondue

A fondue might sound simple, but it is a perfect dessert if you wish to share an exciting date night with the love of your life. The chocolate holds a silky and mouthwatering texture that melts in your mouth and compels you to swirl your tongue, enjoying the richness of the fondue.

The traditional recipe is made by melting the chocolate of your choice and adding some cream and a pinch of salt so it doesn’t harden. However, people take it up a notch by adding Mexican chili or a dash of cinnamon for denser flavors.

Chocolate fondue can be paired with apples, pears, bananas, and strawberries. You can create a platter with snacks like pretzels, marshmallows, salt crackers, gingerbread, and fruit for a well-rounded experience.

Opt for forks with three prongs to make lifting easier.

3) Chocolate French Crullers

Let’s not deny a dessert made by a French. French crullers are a tempting sweet treat with a dominant personality waiting to be loved. It is made from a traditional choux pastry, packed into a piping bag, and put in the oil for deep frying.

The pastry looks like a donut but tastes way different, as no yeast is involved.

Pair the classic chocolate French crullers with the toppings of your choice. It can be a traditional ganache or powdered sugar with caramel. You can also include a citrusy element by topping your favorite dried fruits.

Choux pastry is airy if cooked right, so filling this one with melted chocolate is always possible to give that extra depth of flavor.

4) Brownies

Brownies are the ultimate chocolate dessert with a slightly crunchy exterior (believe me, it’s not right if it’s not crunchy) and an ooey-gooey interior that leaves you chewing to your heart’s satisfaction.

Typical ingredients are flour, sugar, butter, and cocoa powder, but most recipes include variation in taste and texture by combining nuts, fudge, caramel, You can bake brownies in a traditional baking pan or a Pyrex dish (which is also great for serving it). Although great on their own, some people like to include an extra layer of ganache on top, along with a pinch of ground nuts, to maintain the crunch.

You can store brownies for 3-4 days in an airtight container, making them a good snack if you are hungry in the middle of the night.

5) Chocolate Cookies

Since we are discussing desserts that can be stored longer, let’s bring chocolate cookies into the mix.

Besides chocolate, brown sugar is the main ingredient that blends the flavors and makes your chocolate chip cookies stand out. So, make sure you opt for a traditional recipe with a longer shelf life. Remember to store your cookies in a top-tier airtight container that does not compromise the taste and texture of your cookies.

Dunk them in milk or coffee, or have one without anything. You won’t regret the experience.

6) Chocolate Lava Cake

We might have seen Joe Bastianich getting frustrated over improperly cooked lava cakes, but that’s no reason not to try your batch. These decadent mini cakes are baked at a specific temperature where the exterior is fully cooked, and the interior is warm but not solid.

Upon inserting the spoon, molten chocolate lava comes out and spreads on the plate.

This cake pairs perfectly with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and strawberries. Just give yourself a margin if the first batch doesn’t come out as expected.

Chocolate lava cake is a perfect finish to any meal. You can even impress your guests by serving it at the end of a hearty meal.

Traditionally, chocolate lava cake is made from dark chocolate, but you can incorporate non-traditional options like white chocolate, salted caramel, and dulce de leche.

7) Chocolate Trifle

You might get carried away with this one. A chocolate trifle is the ultimate dessert if you are big on get-togethers and dinners.

Made with repeating layers of crumbled chocolate cake, Oreos, chocolate pudding (or custard), whipped cream, and ganache, this dessert is the ultimate chocolate retreat.

The British are known for taking things from different parts of the world. But this dessert is a token of love for people around the world. Soak your cake in a bit of bourbon for a deeper and richer flavor.

Remember to serve your chocolate trifle in a traditional bowl that displays all the layers regardless of how you assemble it. It is served after chilling for at least 8 – 10 hours.

Conclusion

Chocolate is the ultimate ingredient in making mouthwatering, delicious desserts. You can easily indulge in the rich bittersweet notes of chocolate by creating some desserts at home.

These delicious recipes are perfect for everyday consumption and can be paired well with a hearty meal if you have guests over. Just remember to make chocolate the star of the show.

5 Best Rosh Hashanah Desserts

Trying to knock together some different Rosh Hashanah recipes can be difficult, especially when it comes to desserts. On every Jewish table across the country, you can be sure that there will be apples, honey, some more apples, some more honey, and a whole lot of cakes – probably with honey and apples inside of them.

Although both of these ingredients are symbolic to the Jewish faith – honey symbolises the hope of a sweet new year, with the apple symbolising strength and durability – it can be difficult to come up with any new, meaningful dessert recipes which utilise them.

But it’s not impossible. If you’re hosting Rosh Hashanah this year and you want to give your guests a taste of something different (whilst still keeping the spirit of these ingredients alive), then here are five quirky recipes for you to put into action:

Thumbprint Cookies

Thumbprint Cookies are a standby classic, but for some reason, you don’t see them all too often in a Rosh Hashanah spread. Of course, you can bake these with the usual apple and honey, but if you want to get away from conventionality, then you are more than welcome to pack them with whatever you see fit. Raspberry jam, specifically, is a sweet and delicious filling for these cookies.

Sugar Apple Cake With Honey Butter

As mentioned before, apples and honey are a constant in Rosh Hashanah desserts, but it’s not often that they are integrated into a cake like this. If done right, this recipe should end with a light, fluffy and highly snackable pudding, complete with a layer of crunchy cinnamon sugar and a drizzle of honey and warm, melted butter.

Apple Babka

For anyone who is looking for more of a challenge, then the apple babka certainly takes the cake (no pun intended). It’s certainly one of the hardest to perfect but if done properly, this alternative to the Swedish cinnamon roll can sit as a beautiful centrepiece on your dining room table. Just make sure you have a proper cake stand or, if you don’t, jump over to judaica israel online for a Rosh Hashanah-themed dining plate. Believe us, when it comes to the babka – if you pull it off, you’re going to want to show it off.

Honey Cake

Okay, so you’ve probably baked a honey cake before. But you might not have realised that there are multiple ways in which this staple pudding can be made. With just a little experimentation – such as adding ground coffee, sea salt or making it more of a Polish piernik – you can make this year’s honey cake, unlike anything you’ve ever tasted.

Melomakarona

Off to Greece for a little inspiration, melomakarona are Greek spiced cookies which are made with cinnamon, cloves, lemon and orange zest. Perfect as an evening snack, these are most suited to an accompanying cup of coffee or a hot pot of tea. The recipe also works nicer if the cookies are left to soak, so make sure to make a batch at least a day beforehand and keep them in the fridge if you want to really elevate that flavour.

Vanilla Cream Cheese Apple Pie Dip

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ServingUpTheSeason #CollectiveBias

The holiday season is here, which means shoppers are flocking to the store to buy gifts for everyone on their list, and a lot of us are also racing to the store to buy grocery items for our holiday menus.  If you’ve been assigned to provide the dessert this year, you can bring something delicious and easy to the table by choosing Marie Callender’s® Pies and Loaf Cakes.  Today I’m going to tell you a little bit about these amazing desserts and show you can use Marie Callender’s Dutch Apple Pie in a recipe. [Read more…]

Orange Shortcake Parfait

Do you have kids who always seem to be hungry for an after school snack?  Or do YOU always find yourself rummaging through the kitchen for something to snack on?  If you’ve answered, “Yes!” to either of these questions, then today’s post is for you!  When it comes to afternoon snacking, you don’t have to settle for the same boring and bland foods.  You’ll actually find it’s amazing what you can do with just a few simple ingredients on hand.  You just have to get a little creative!  Today I’m sharing a recipe for a quick Orange Shortcake Parfait.  You can make these for your hungry little ones in about 5 minutes, or make an entire round of parfaits for your next party!

The other day, I made a couple of pound cakes!  I LOVE pound cakes!  They are so simple, yet so good!  And while I love the plain pound cake, it’s also a versatile dessert that you can change up with a little frosting, glaze, or fruit.  If you’ve got leftover pound cake on the counter and a little fruit on hand, you can easily make a shortcake parfait in a about five minutes.  In our post today, I’ve used a simple fruit cup of mandarin oranges and a little whipped topping to make an Orange Shortcake Parfait.

Substitutions

Of course, you could very easy substitute in another fruit cup like pineapple, or use fresh fruit like strawberries or bananas to make any kind of shortcake you like.  No whipped topping on hand?  No worries!  Just substitute in another ingredient, such as vanilla pudding.  And if you don’t have happen to have any cake on hand, look for other items in your kitchen that could be the base of your buffet:  crumbled up cookies, snack cakes (ie – Twinkies), other leftover cakes and breads, cinnamon rolls, and even leftover biscuits.

Not Just a Snack

And if you’d like to go beyond a quick 5 minute snack for you or your kids,  consider using a whole pound cake to make parfaits for an entire room full of people!  Party guests will love this dessert, and you’ll love how quick and easy it is to make.  Not to mention, it is a very cost effective dessert that looks great on your party buffet!

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Do you ever use leftovers or odds & ends to make the perfect snack or dessert?  I’d love for you to share your ideas with me!  You can share your ideas in the comments, link up your recipe at our Friday Favorites party, or tag Simply Sweet Home in your social media post!

 

Tres Leches Pumpkin Cupcakes

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BakeHolidayGoodness #CollectiveBias

tres-leches-pumpkin-cupcakes

The holiday season is almost here! (Or is it here already?)  And with that, comes holiday baking and snacking!  When you’re an on-the-go mom, you don’t always have time to spend a whole day in the kitchen baking up something for the family Thanksgiving or the church potluck.  Luckily NESTLÉ® is here to save a day with whole host of baking staples and creative products that make holiday baking easy and fun!  Today’s featured recipe is actually two recipes in one.  I’ll be sharing a recipe for Pumpkin Muffins, and then I’ll show you how can transform those muffins in to Tres Leches Cupcakes. [Read more…]

Celebrating College Football with Dr Pepper® and HOT POCKETS®

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CollegeFootballChampSweeps

celebrating-college-football-with-dr-pepper-and-hot-pockets

I love this time of year.  Where I live, the temperatures were in the upper 80s and low 90s throughout September, so it didn’t feel like fall weather, but football season is definitely in the air, and that is a great thing! Dr Pepper®  is a sponsor of college football and the college football championship, and they are teaming up to offer shoppers great deals at Publix for all their football watch party and tailgating party needs.  Since our Saturdays are filled with football, family, and food, I have to keep a lot of drinks and snacks on hand, and I’m always happy to find deals on the snacks we love.  Today I’ll be sharing a few of my ideas for how you can take advantage of these great deals at Publix and make Dr Pepper and Nestle HOT POCKETS® brand sandwiches a part of your football celebration.

dr-pepper-special-edition

Prepare to take your college football experience to the next level! Dr Pepper®, DIGIORNO®, HOT POCKETS®, EDY’S® and STOUFFER’S® are giving you the chance to win tickets to the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship game in Tampa, Florida! Three lucky winners will receive two tickets to the game, airfare and hotel accommodations! In addition, Publix gift cards will be awarded to several other lucky winners. Don’t miss out! Visit CollegeFootballChampSweeps.com for your chance to win. Enter between 10/1/16-10/21/16.

Dr Pepper can be found in the drink aisle at Publix. Be sure to be on the look out for the special limited edition 2016 College Football Packages. Publix also has great deals on HOT POCKETS® and other frozen snacks from Nestle.  Look for these in the freezer section.

dr-pepper-float-bar

You will be the star of your own football party when you create your very own Dr Pepper Floats Bar.  This is such a fun and delicious idea!  You’ll of course need some and a couple of flavors of ice cream for the main ingredients of the floats.  Here I used French vanilla and butter pecan, but I have to tell you that chocolate ice cream is great for  Dr Pepper  floats as well!

And of course, you will need glassware.  I like to put out a couple of different sizes and types of glasses out, simply because in our family one person may want a large float, while someone else may want just a small serving.  You should also have some toppings and add-ins like chocolate syrup, whipped cream, cherries, and candy toppings.  And if you’d like to give your guests the option of blending their float, you should have a blender or hand blender on hand.

As you can see, it is a very simple, yet nice and presentable set up.

making-dr-pepper-floats

Apart from floats, I absolutely love blended floats and shakes.  Today I’ve got a very simple recipe for Dr Pepper Shakes.

dr-pepper-shake

Recipe for Dr Pepper Shakes

Ingredients:

1 cup french vanilla ice cream (or other flavor of your choice)

2/3 cup milk

1 tablespoon chocolate syrup

1/2 cup Dr Pepper

splash of Dr Pepper to create foamy top (optional)

Directions:  Blend together ice cream, milk, and chocolate syrup.  Mixture should be pretty thick; if it seems thin, add additional ice cream and reblend.  Next blend in your Dr Pepper.  Pour shake up into a glass and add a splash of Dr Pepper to create foam at the top.

Other Topping Options and Substitutions:

  • Whipped cream and cherry.
  • Whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.
  • Whipped cream with chopped candies or sprinkles.
  • You can also leave the chocolate syrup out and go with plain vanilla, or use other syrups like caramel, butterscotch, and strawberry.
  • To change this recipe from a shake to a blended float, leave out the milk and add extra Dr Pepper.

dr-pepper-floats

hot-pockets-bar

Just as the Dr Pepper can be used as part of a float bar, the HOT POCKETS® brand sandwiches can used in a bar of their own.  This works out great for us, because we  like to put out a number of finger foods and snacks so that everyone can come, eat, and go, as they please, and making your own HOT POCKET® is as easy as you can get!

Simply lay out a few of your favorite HOT POCKETS® flavor options.  I love Ham & Cheddar, but the rest of my family love the Cheddar Cheeseburger and the Pepperoni Pizza varieties.

Then add a few dipping sauces to add on the side.  A few suggestions I have are ranch dressing, ketchup, mustard, honey mustard, and barbecue sauce.  You’ll also need some ramekins for your sauce, food plates, and forks.

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In about 2 minutes anyone can fix up their own snack. (That means it can even be done during the commercials!)  And the best part is that you don’t have to spend a lot of time in your kitchen cooking while everyone else is enjoying the games.

dr-pepper-can

For more fun ideas for the college football season from Dr Pepper and Nestle, check out visit this site.

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Friday Favorites – Week 332 – With Breakfast Delights

Hi everyone! Welcome to this week’s Friday Favorites party! This week I’ve been busy preparing for our son’s first day of school next week.  We’ve paid his school fees, picked up his schedule, purchased clothes and shoes, and tomorrow I’m picking up the rest of his school supplies.  With all this back to school preparation, I’ve got breakfast ideas on my mind, so this week I’m featuring a few yummy “breakfast delights.”  Not only would these make for some yummy breakfasts for the kids, but they would also make great mid-morning or mid-afternoon snacks for Mom!  Hope you enjoy them!

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Friday Favorites – Week 327 – With Frozen Treats

Hello everyone. Welcome to this week’s Friday Favorites party. Since we’re jumping in to July this weekend, and since it’s incredibly hot here, I thought there was no better time to feature some delicious frozen treats!  And guess what, these frozen treats are the better for you kind, so you can indulge without the guilt!  Enjoy! And to all of those here in the U.S. I have you have an awesome 4th of July weekend!

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Orange Ambrosia Salad and Freschetta Pizza

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #RealTasteForRealLife #CollectiveBias
Orange Ambrosia Salad and Freschetta Pizza

Each week as I meal plan and prepare the week’s shopping list, I always like to plan for one or two easy dinner nights.  These are days when I either don’t feel like cooking, or we have a full schedule for the day and just don’t have the time for cooking.  But even when we’re having easy dinner nights, it’s still nice to serve high quality foods.  Enter Freschetta Pizza! [Read more…]

No Bake Banana Pudding Pie

Banana Pudding Pie and Slice

I LOVE banana pudding.  When I was growing up, it was one of my favorite sweets!  A few years ago, I ran across a great uncooked banana pudding.  I posted the recipe here, and to this day, it is still one of my site’s most visited posts.  I love banana pudding anytime of year, but I think of it as one of the official desserts of summer, so the other day, I decided to make it, but this time, I decided to do something a little different…a banana pudding pie! [Read more…]