Bake

Our 29 Most Popular Chocolate Desserts

Discover every kind of chocolate dessert for every kind of chocolate lover.

Photo by Ty Meacham

Let's not waste time: We love chocolate. You love chocolate. Everyone loves chocolate. So, let's eat more chocolate. Can't decide what to make for dinner tonight? Chocolate is the answer—specifically, something like chocolate cake topped with a pillow of whipped cream, thumbprint cookies filled with dark chocolate and sea salt, or smooth chocolate mousse. (Yes, we did just suggest you have dessert for dinner tonight. You've earned it.)

Take a look through these recipes. And try (try!) to abstain from making them all.

1. Almost Flourless Chocolate Cake with Meyer Lemon Whipped Cream

It's rare for baked goods to get more delicious as they sit on the counter, but this very nearly flourless cake pulls off aging with grace. Serve it with powdered sugar, whipped cream, this lemon whipped cream, or nothing at all.

2. Divine Gluten-Free Chocolate Cookies

An adaptation of Homesick Texan's pecan and cayenne cookies, this recipe pairs cinnamon with unsweetened cocoa and semisweet for an incomparable chocolate experience.

3. Thai Peanut Butter Cups

Infuse these dark chocolate peanut butter cups with Southeast Asian flavors like lemongrass, chili, and lime, and you may never enjoy a Reese's again.

4. State Fair Cream Puffs

These cream puffs are the stuff of childhood memories and decadent dessert dreams. Try this simplified version that enlists a handy food processor, rather than arduously stirring the dough by hand (and feel free to splash some booze in the cream filling).

5. Chocolate Dump-It Cake

A classic chocolate cake if there ever was one. Sour cream lends extra moistness and unsweetened and semi-sweet chocolate team up once more to pack a powerful punch of cocoa-saturated glory.

6. Perfect Hot Chocolate

This perfect hot chocolate recipe calls for just an ounce of the best chocolate you have—leaving you plenty to snack on later. Sweeten to taste and add a pinch of salt for a perfectly balanced beverage.

7. Rich Chocolate Cake with Coconut Filling and Ganache

The tangy cream cheese and coconut filling in this ganache-glazed masterpiece (also known as Hyde Park fudge cake) makes for a bundt you won't forget anytime soon.

8. Alice's House Truffles 4.0

These chocolate truffles are a satisfying sweet bite after dinner or as a snack, but they really shine with a glass of red wine. Learn the secret behind the silky-smooth texture, and a much easier way to dust with cocoa powder.

9. The Snake Bite

Inspired by the famous cocktail of lager and cider known as a Snake Bite, this chocolate sour cream cake replaces lager with stout and pear cider for the apple. A pear-infused cream cheese frosting adds richness and subtle fruitiness.

10. Ancho Chili-Cinnamon Chocolate Bark

Fruity, slightly spicy, and packed with rich chocolate flavor, this bark is easy to make, even easier to share, and (surprise, surprise), superb with a glass of wine.

11. Alice Medrich's Best Cocoa Brownies

We don't take the term "master brownie recipe" lightly, but this genius recipe is just that. Use this ultimate brownie as template for all your deepest, darkest (or milkiest) chocolate fantasies. Cayenne? Coconut? Raspberry cream cheese? Start right here.

12. Salted Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Nothing brings out the perfect pairing of chocolate and peanut butter than a generous pinch of salt (except, of course, for toasty, nutty brown butter). Name-brand peanut butter works best for this recipe, and contributes a uniformly crisp texture.

13. David Lebovitz's Chocolate Sorbet

It's not only possible to make a dense, fudgy chocolate sorbet without dairy or eggs, it's downright fun. Call on the powers of Dutch-process cocoa powder and high-quality vanilla, and your palate will toss you a cool thank you.

14. Quinoa Cookies with Coconut & Chocolate Chunks

Cooked, cooled quinoa adds a chewy texture to this chocolate chunk cookie recipe. Toasted coconut and almond extract amplify the nutty notes for a satisfying cookie that's an asset to any baker's repertoire.

15. Hervé This' Chocolate Mousse

This chocolate mousse comes from the original molecular gastronomist, Hervé This. Use a trusty whisk or bust out the (equally trusty) electric mixer for an extraordinarily simple dessert that's scientifically flawless.

16. Double Chocolate Espresso Cookies

Coffee flavors chocolate cookies so beautifully. The earthy, nutty, slightly bitter flavor of high-quality espresso powder brings out the best that unsweetened cocoa powder has to offer.

17. Margaret Fox's Amazon Chocolate Cake

This is chocolate cake at its ultimate simplest: no fancy ingredients, no elaborate steps, nothing between you and airy, chocolatey goodness but five easy steps. Oh, and it's vegan.

18. Crispy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

The king of all cookies is a hybrid of these two favorites. Moist, chewy, and tested to perfection, these crisp treats have just enough bend, snap, and spice to satisfy die-hard oatmeal cookie fans while keeping chocolate fans very happy.

19. Millionnaire's Shortbread

This beloved layered bar hails from Scotland and marries three dessert superstars in one rich bite. Buttery shortbread, smooth caramel, and a thin, slightly snappy layer of chocolate create a gooey confection that tastes as good as it looks.

20. Sam's Favorite Chocolate Cake

The only thing that can make a chocolate cherry cake better is a sweet story behind it. Use sour cherry jam to brighten and intensify the cocoa powder and semi-sweet chocolate in the cake, and decorate with whipped cream for a special flourish.

21. Hippie Crispy Treats

Traditional crispy rice treats recipes call for lots of marshmallows, which may not be the kind of sweetness you're looking for in a dessert. This vegan-friendly recipe calls for bittersweet chocolate, almond butter, brown rice syrup and coconut oil, and retains all the crisp, chewy, satisfying goodness of the original marshmallow squares.

22. Chocolate Bundt Cake

You may be tempted to top this classic chocolate bundt cake with a drizzle of frosting or brush it with glaze, but a dusting of powdered sugar is all this confection needs to make its impact at the end of a special meal. Best of all, it's done—start to finish—in an hour or less.

23. Almond Thumbprint Cookies with Dark Chocolate

Give jam thumbprint cookies a respectful chocolate makeover with this tantalizing confection. Rich, salt-studded chocolatey centers give shortbread a luscious texture that's cause for double-batches every time.

24. Chocolate Stout Pudding

Rich stout beer with notes of chocolate, vanilla, hazelnuts, coffee, and other flavors pudding loves is the secret ingredient in this silky dessert. Put the store-bought version to shame with the subtle bitterness of dark beer, and it'll be hard to go back to pudding without it.

25. Dark Chocolate and Walnut Zucchini Bread

Hefty chocolate chunks melt slowly throughout this rich, moist zucchini bread while it bakes, creating a gooey interior that's every bit as dense and fudgy as a great chocolate cake should be. The cocoa-buttermilk batter is simple to whip up, and the loaf is easy to pack as a gift.

26. Nama Chocolate Recipe

For many cocoa aficionados, Japanese chocolate boutique Royce sells the gold standard of truffles. Recreate the brand's signature Nama truffles using the best chocolate you can get your hands on, and fall in love with ganache all over again.

26. Chocolate Hamantaschen

Traditionally, these Jewish cookies are filled with apricot, prune, or poppy seeds. For devout fans of chocolate, however, there's no reason hamantaschen can't be stuffed with brownie batter. Put a sumptuous spin on these classic treats, and enjoy.

27. Avocado Chocolate Mousse

The secret ingredient in this velvety chocolate mousse is none other than ripe avocado. Bittersweet chocolate easily overpowers the avocado's own flavor, and turns its silky flesh into decadent mousse with the help of coconut milk. Oh yes, it's also vegan.

28. Homemade Chocolate Syrup

Trade the convenience of the store-bought squeeze bottle for a homemade version of chocolate syrup, and re-discover the magic of chocolate milk...when you're not drizzling it over ice cream, fruit, cake, and everything else that needs a chocolatey boost, that is.

29. Mint Chocolate Harbor Bars

If a chocolate-dipped ice cream sandwich sounds like a slice and a half of heaven, remember: these homemade mint chocolate confections keep perfectly in the freezer. Switch up the ice cream flavors to customize the experience, and give each sandwich a thorough dunk in bittersweet chocolate before freezing.

What's your favorite chocolate dessert? Tell us in the comments!

See what other Food52 readers are saying.

  • Granny Sue
    Granny Sue
  • Ryan Karpisz
    Ryan Karpisz
  • Deborah Remy
    Deborah Remy
  • ChefJune
    ChefJune
  • Riddley Gemperlein-Schirm
    Riddley Gemperlein-Schirm
I fall in love with every sandwich I ever meet.

6 Comments

Granny S. January 28, 2022
Just my opinion....but these didn't look very impressive. Some had weird ingredients in them. I can't believe these are the 29 BEST Desserts based on stars. But everyone has
different taste buds
 
Ryan K. January 30, 2021
Any reason for two dessert #26s?
 
Deborah R. February 11, 2017
World Peace Cookies
 
ChefJune February 8, 2017
So how come you didn't include these? https://food52.com/recipes/11352-magic-espresso-brownies They are on the cover of the Baking book, after all...
 
Riddley G. February 8, 2017
Hi ChefJune! They are an amazing recipe, but we based this collection off of the amount of favorites a recipe has. They are a favorite though, rest assured!
 
Ali W. February 8, 2017
They're a favorite in my household, that's for sure!