Chocolate Dessert Recipes for Valentine’s Day

Milk chocolate is great for a quick hit of nostalgia or sugar, but dark chocolate is for real chocolate lovers. The desserts below highlight the true complexity of this ingredient — its savoriness, its fruitiness and acidity, and its sweetness. Make these chocolate-forward desserts for the friend, family member or partner who has really stuck with you through life’s bitter moments — and its sweet ones. Read on for dark chocolate recipes that let this ingredient’s richness shine and, yes, satisfy on a level of pure deliciousness, too.

Mark Weinberg for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Yossy Arefi.

This elegant dessert from Yossy Arefi puffs up like a soufflé in the oven before you allow it to intentionally collapse. The resulting cake has a rich, creamy center and a light, crisp exterior you won’t soon forget. And to make it even more memorable — and chocolaty — use chocolate with around 70 percent cacao.

Recipe: Chocolate Soufflé Cake

David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

These Valentine’s Day classics from Eric Kim are a crowd pleaser, sure. But they’re also an education: Making them will also teach you how to temper chocolate, and knowing this crucial technique — which provides that shiny, perfectly snappable chocolate coating you see in professionally made candy — will pay dividends in future desserts.

Recipe: Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Hadas Smirnoff.

This two-ingredient dessert from David Tanis is the perfect thing to make and stash in your freezer. Throw it on a platter with berries and your favorite store-bought cookie, and you’ve got a totally hands-off dessert the next time you host guests or need an emergency sweet snack.

Recipe: Pistachio Chocolate Bark

Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.

This warming chocolate beverage was first prepared thousands of years ago by Mesoamerican women who drank it for its medicinal properties. This version, which Kiera Wright-Ruiz adapted from Churrería El Moro in Mexico City, is best made with Celyon cinnamon, which is milder and sweeter than cassia cinnamon. Commenters point out that you can riff on the original recipe and make it spicier by adding black pepper, cayenne or cloves.

Recipe: Mexican Hot Chocolate

Yossy Arefi for The New York Times (Photography and Styling)

For a dessert that delivers both sophistication and a touch of nostalgia, make Yewande Komolafe’s sandwich cookies. Marshmallow fluff nestled between malted chocolate shortbread evokes childhood cups of hot cocoa, but a dark chocolate ganache topping makes these full of chocolaty intensity fit for adults.

Recipe: Malt Chocolate and Marshmallow Sandwiches

Craig Lee for The New York Times

This Melissa Clark recipe, like many chocolate cake recipes before it, harnesses the power of espresso to make the chocolate flavor all the deeper. It also calls for soaking the cake in whiskey, which adds notes of caramel, praline and booze. The whiskey flavor is prominent, so make sure to use one you really love.

Recipe: Whiskey-Soaked Bundt Cake

Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

The pieces of 70 percent dark chocolate folded into the batter are only the start when it comes to sophisticated, savory flavors. The pastry chef Zoe Kanan also includes nutty ingredients like black sesame paste, sesame seeds and rye flour. Your cookie eaters probably won’t be able to identify seaweed’s flavor outright, but the saltiness and umami flavor will have them coming back for more.

Recipe: Chocolate Chip Cookies With Black Sesame and Seaweed

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Light and fluffy but still so rich, chocolate mousse is one of those kitchen wonders that seem like they should be achievable only in restaurants — but it’s actually so easy to make at home. Here, David Tanis forgoes folding in whipped cream (as many recipes call for), opting instead to use egg whites for lift. As a result, you get a more robust chocolate flavor. Splashes of espresso and citrus add intrigue, and the candied ginger, a lovely garnish, also lends a welcome kick.

Recipe: Dark Chocolate Mousse With Candied Ginger

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Homemade ice cream can feel intimidating, and to minimize that intimidation factor, Melissa Clark skips the fussy custard-making in this recipe. A few tablespoons of bourbon come to the rescue, softening the texture of the ice cream and ensuring that it won’t freeze solid.

Recipe: Bittersweet Chocolate Ice Cream

Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Photographer: Simon Andrews.

Lava cakes were something of a restaurant fad in the ’90s, but that’s part of their appeal. It’s romantic to make Yossy Arefi’s take on this dessert in a 10-ounce baking dish perfectly sized to serve two. But you can also divide the recipe into two cakes and bake them in ramekins. In fact, here’s an idea: Have one cake solo on the night of Valentine’s Day, then eat the other for breakfast the next day.

Recipe: Chocolate Lava Cake for Two

Yossy Arefi for The New York Times (Photography and Styling)

Several complex flavors join forces in this recipe from Samantha Seneviratne — Earl Grey, orange zest, and, of course, dark chocolate. The Earl Grey adds subtle floral notes, but some commenters suggest increasing the amount of tea to make it more prominent. Fold in chopped pieces of dark chocolate rather than using chips so you get delightful, uneven pockets of melty richness.

Recipe: Earl Grey Tea Cake With Dark Chocolate and Orange Zest

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Cherries and chocolate are a beloved flavor combination for a reason, and these buttery shortbread bars from Melissa Clark bear that out. Cherry jam provides a bright pop against a rich, creamy ganache. That said, you can choose any flavor of jam you want. It’s optional to add a splash of booze to the ganache, but if you do, choose one that matches your jam flavor, like Kirsch for cherry and Grand Marnier for orange.

Recipe: Dark Chocolate-Cherry Ganache Bars

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

This pudding from Melissa Clark combines the deep chocolate flavor of a French chocolate custard with the ease of an American stovetop chocolate pudding. Heavy cream and brown sugar give this an extra creamy, fudgy texture. Top with crème fraîche for a bright contrast to the rich chocolate.

Recipe: Dark Chocolate Pudding

Andrew Purcell for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne

Sometimes you want an easy dessert; others, you want to make a showstopper. For those times, there’s this chocolate truffle tart from Erin Jeanne McDowell. A press-in crust and an easier-than-it-looks ganache filling make this achievable even for beginner bakers. You can top the tart with homemade truffles rolled in cocoa powder, chopped nuts, and vibrant freeze-dried fruit powder for a fun project, but it’s also fine to use store-bought truffles.

Recipe: Chocolate Truffle Tart

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