48 Irresistible Chocolate Desserts

A tender chocolate crust under the chocolate pastry cream makes each bite seamless—the gastronomic equivalent of an infinity pool. The raspberries wake you back up.

Recipe: Chocolate Raspberry Tart

Hazelnut-chocolate spread, a.k.a. Nutella, underscores this dessert’s ultra-creamy texture and deep flavor.

Recipe: Nutella Mousse

Moist, dense, and foolproof, this cake includes a mix of cocoa and chocolate chips for fudgy flavor. You can vary the intensity by adjusting the amount of chocolate chips, but don’t pass up the silky caramel sauce.

Recipe: Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake with Whiskey Caramel Sauce

For her version of the layered pie, blogger Naomi Robinson grinds up Oreos for the crust and adds a dark chocolate pudding filling. The recipe comes from her September, 2017 book, Baker’s Royale: 75 Twists on All Your Favorite Sweets (Running Press; $28).

Recipe: Mississippi Mud Pie

Brownies are perfection when combined with peanut-butter-cup/chocolate-swirl ice cream (often called Moose Tracks), but feel free to swap it out for your favorite flavor. Chilling the brownies overnight will make it easier to cut them neatly; they’ll also keep their shape nicely if you cut them in half.

Recipe: Moose Tracks Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches

This sensual dessert offers intriguing flavor combinations and textures that range from cloudlike to crunchy.

Recipe: Fudge Cakes with Jasmine Tea Whipped Cream

L.A.-based blogger Joy Wilson says, “I’m a single girl. That means I don’t have to feed anyone but myself...I can have chocolate...for dinner.” This version of a standout recipe in her Joy the Baker Cookbook ($20) adds peanut butter or bourbon, two of Joy’s favorite flavors.

Recipe: Single-Girl Melty Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

The starting point for this cookie was a recipe that reader Colette Tihista-Longin of Great Falls, Montana, found in a recipe collection at a yard sale. “I adapted it to include caramel and sea salt. It’s a hit every year at our cookie exchange.” Despite the cookie’s name, a wooden spoon makes a neater depression than your thumb will.

Recipe: Chocolate Thumbprints with Caramel and Sea Salt

Just 4 ingredients, some skewers, and a little chilling time are all you need to create these gorgeous and decadent fresh fruit pops.

Recipe: Chocolate and Sea Salt Fig Lollipops

The marvelous merger of orange and chocolate gets even better when you pair blood oranges’ raspberry nuances with dark chocolate and a little Campari for complexity. The herbal, slightly bitter liqueur also helps keep the sorbet from getting icy.

Recipe: Blood Orange and Bittersweet Chocolate Sorbet

"I call these the ‘backache’ cookies because I always make a double batch, sitting hunched over at the table,” says Fran Pepoon of Roseville, California. She has been baking these chocolate cookies, which have a subtle hit of orange and vanilla, every Christmas for 30 years, adapting them over time from a recipe given to her by a friend. Two tips: The cookies tend to stick and spread, so be sure to use a nonstick baking-sheet liner or parchment, and don’t bake more than 12 cookies on each sheet.

Recipe: Chocolate Lace Sandwich Cookies

A homemade dried-apricot liqueur infused in the dipping chocolate makes this an extra-special treat.

Recipe: Chocolate-Dipped Apricots

Based on a recipe given to us by novelist Isabelle Allende, this chocolate mousse is so rich it’s practically fictitious.

Recipe: Decadent Chocolate Mousse

Can you bake cake at a campsite? Yes! You’ll be the campground hero when you dish up slices of this dark, moist marvel.

Recipe: Dutch Oven Double Chocolate Cake

These small, very creamy desserts pack a serious dose of dark chocolate. A pinch of cayenne gives them a subtle, lingering heat.

Recipe: Mexican Chocolate Pots de Crème

The ingredients sound bodacious—in addition to bittersweet chocolate, there are two kinds of chile, cinnamon, and tequila—yet these little milkshakes taste refined and smooth. They are dangerously easy to drink.

Recipe: Oaxacan Chocolate Milk Shakes

This cake will rise as it bakes, then sink dramatically in the center. Don’t worry—just trim the top and save the pieces for snacks.

Recipe: Flourless Chocolate-Pecan Cake

A top L.A. chef created these winsome little coffee cups of vanilla bean custard, capped with a layer of melted dark chocolate.

Recipe: Vanilla Pots de Crème with Dark Chocolate and Roasted Almonds

Chewy, moist, intense—these are, quite simply, the perfect coconut macaroons.

Recipe: Elsa’s Chocolate-Dipped Macaroons

These rich, chocolatey cupcakes are reminiscent of the childhood favorite “Ding Dongs.”

Recipe: Devil’s Food Cupcakes with Marshmallow Filling

This lightened up version of chocolate cake, is still as delicious treat as the original.

Recipe: Midnight Chocolate Cake

Though it looks and tastes decadent, this lighten-up version of the classic dessert, made with Greek yogurt and low-fat milk, comes in at less than 200 calories per serving.

Recipe: Chocolate Panna Cottas

A talented husband-wife chef team from British Columbia created this elegant, divine summer tart.

Recipe: Dark Chocolate Tart with Cherries and Almond Whipped Cream

These amazing cupcakes happen to be vegan, but are so tasty omnivores won't notice the ingredient substitutions.

Recipe: Vegan Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes

This moist cake studded with gooey chocolate chips is made even more delicious with a creamy, bourbon-laced glaze.

Recipe: Glazed Chocolate Bundt Cake

These classic chocolate brownies can be stored airtight for up to 2 days.

Recipe: Dark Chocolate Brownies

We developed these little cakes to give as gifts, but they are so good you just might want to whip up a batch for home. They get intense flavor from the espresso, of course, but also three kinds of chocolate.

Recipe: Chocolate Espresso Cakes

If you can manage to wait, chief baking officer Arnold Eric Wong of Raison d’Être bakery in South San Francisco recommends serving his moist brownies a day after baking because they develop an even fudgier texture and mintier flavor.

Recipe: Dark Chocolate Peppermint Brownies

These rich, midnight-dark cakes were the grand finale to a Mexican Thanksgiving dinner on a beach in Los Angeles in 2010. After the chile-rubbed grilled turkey, they tasted just right.

Recipe: Mexican Chocolate Cakes

For an ingenious (and easy) treat, soak chia seeds with rehydrated coconut milk to create a no-cook pudding; then sweeten it and top with marshmallows, nuts, and chocolate.

Recipe: Rocky Road Chocolate Chia Pudding

Dress up store-bought ice cream with fresh berries and chopped dark chocolate.

Recipe: Blackberry Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

We did our best to make this cake taste like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, and we have succeeded. The cake itself is flavored with peanut butter and graced with a layer of creamy peanut butter frosting; then we’ve frosted the whole cake with rich chocolate and topped it with peanuts…and chunks of the candy that inspired us in the first place.

Recipe: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

These elegant, individual custards can be made a few days ahead of time for a party. Allowing the mint to steep in the milk and cream intensifies the flavor. If you like a rich custard, use all cream.

Recipe: Chocolate Mint Pots de Crème

Choosing between favorite chocolate desserts is almost like choosing among children. This one has a big fan base among our staff for its dark chocolate cookie crust and layer of homemade Nutella-type spread that's beneath the creamy mousse filling.

Recipe: Hazelnut Chocolate Mousse Tart

This party-size, extravagantly dense and creamy cheesecake comes from chef Peter Birk at Boka restaurant in Seattle. He infuses cream with fresh mint; we used extract for simplicity.

Recipe: White Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake

These DIY truffles will make your sweetie swoon on Valentine's Day.

More: How to make Cupid's Arrow Truffles

Cinnamon makes this, custardy, super-smooth, ice cream special.

Recipe: Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream

These impressive tartlets can be assembled up to four hours before serving. The chocolate crust and filling can be made a couple a days ahead of time.

Recipe: Chocolate-Banana Cream Tartlets

A luscious, thick layer of caramel tops this special-occasion torte.

Recipe: Caramel-Cloaked Chocolate-Hazelnut Torte

We love the moist chocolate cake, fresh raspberry, and creamy caramel combo in this perfect make-ahead dessert.

Recipe: Chocolate-Caramel Trifle with Raspberries

Berries, rich chocolate, and espresso are a perfect match in this stunning dessert, which can also be made a day ahead of time.

Recipe: Chocolate-Espresso Torte with Raspberrry Sauce

Fromage blanc cheese gives these fudgy brownies a fun Western twist.

Recipe: Chocolate-Fromage Blanc Brownies

Studded with dark cherries and toasted almonds, this creamy frozen dessert is a cinch to make.

Recipe: Chocolate-Amaretto Semifreddo

You’d never know that this chocolatey, smooth frozen treat is made with low-fat milk.

Recipe: Chocolate Sherbet