We’ll let the experts argue about whether the aphrodisiac qualities of chocolate are physiological or psychological. If it tastes great and makes you feel good, we think that’s reason enough to whip up a chocolaty dessert, whether you’re celebrating Valentine’s Day or just because.
Here are 16 easy cookies, cakes, puddings, and more — something for every kind of chocolate lover — and none of them call for hard-to-source ingredients or finicky techniques.
1. Brownie Brittle
If you and your loved one fight over the crunchy edges of the brownie, this recipe from Samantha Seneviratne is a must. Baking the brittle halfway, then cutting it, makes it easy to break into pieces when it comes out of the oven. Dress it up with chocolate chips, candy pieces, freeze-dried fruit or whatever you like.
2. Coconut Almond Macaroons
Samantha’s tender, chocolate-dipped cookies, which contain shredded coconut, almond extract, and condensed milk, taste just like, or even better than, an Almond Joy. After you dip the macaroons in chocolate, sprinkle them with chopped almonds to complete the candy bar experience.
3. Turtle Bars
This streamlined version of the box-of-chocolates classic features soft shortbread, glossy chocolate, and a super-thick caramel-pecan layer in between. Don’t let the thought of making caramel intimidate you. Samantha’s recipe calls for baking it in the oven atop the shortbread, which makes candy thermometer gymnastics unnecessary.
4. Chocolate Lava Cake for Two
There is something uniquely wonderful about breaking into a lava cake when the melted chocolate oozes and pools on the plate. If you have ramekins, this is the perfect time to put them to use, but small Pyrex bowls, muffin tins, or teacups work just fine. Just make sure to bake until the edges look set, but the center is still soft when lightly pressed.
5. Microwave Chocolate Pudding Cake
Microwave cooking is not a typical way to impress someone you love, but this 20-minute recipe from Samantha Seneviratne might be the exception. It produces a moist, pudding-like cake with a decadent chocolate sauce on top. It’s hard to mess up or undercook, since there’s no egg in the batter: Just take it out when you see a cakey texture on the surface. \\
6. Easy Chocolate Cake
If you’re a beginner baker with a little confidence, make this basic-but-not-basic layer cake from Yossy Arefi. The instructions are simple and easy to follow, and they yield a tender cake with a slight tanginess from the sour cream in the cake and frosting.
7. Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
If you or your loved one yearns for the mall culture of yore, try this cookie cake that’s studded with plenty of chocolate chips. Yossy adds brown butter to the batter for a nutty twist. After you decorate with buttercream and sprinkles, write a message on the cake with the leftover frosting for a sweet surprise.
8. Chocolate Guinness Cake
This Nigella Lawson recipe is a perennial reader Favorite, as evidenced by the over 12,000 ratings. The extremely moist cake features a cup of the Irish dark stout and a simple cream cheese frosting, resulting in a deep, complex flavour without much fuss. As one commenter wrote, “If other cakes were this easy, I would bake a lot more.”
9. Oat Milk Chocolate Pudding
It’s very possible that you already have all of the ingredients you need to make Ali Slagle’s simple chocolate pudding. It requires just seven ingredients, including sugar, fine sea salt, and any nondairy milk. (Oat is recommended for the best texture.)
10. Chocolate Fondue
Fondue is like the little black dress of chocolate desserts: It has a big impact with very little effort. Finely chopped bittersweet chocolate combined with heavy cream makes this recipe from Ligaya Mishan dead simple — you don’t even need a fondue pot; use a bowl over boiling water. Serve with cut fresh fruit, shortbread, or cubed pound cake.
11. Chocolate Truffles
Truffles sound fancy, but they are decidedly not. For Mark Bittman’s version, simply combine hot cream and chocolate, let the mixture chill until solid and roll it into balls. Dust the truffles with cocoa powder, sugar or cinnamon, or chopped nuts, then box them up and prepare to impress.
12. Chocolate Waffles
If you’re making someone breakfast in bed, Yewande Komolafe’s chocolate waffles, flavoured with cocoa powder and brown sugar, deserve some prime real estate on the tray. Top them with whipped cream, fresh fruits, and chocolate sauce.
Samantha’s rice pudding is easy to throw together with pantry staples. Combine all of the ingredients — milk, cocoa powder, rice, brown sugar and salt — over the stovetop, then stir in two egg yolks for richness, and there you have it! A restaurant-worthy dessert made with ingredients you didn’t need to buy.
14. Brownies
This simple recipe from Lidey Heuck is really the only brownie recipe you’ll ever need. The best part is the versatility — add chopped nuts, experiment with different chocolates or read the many comments to see how readers have adapted it to their tastes.
If you couldn’t snag a restaurant reservation for Valentine’s Day, never fear! Making panna cotta at home, using Karen DeMasco’s recipe, is easier than you think. This panna cotta is rich from a cup of Nutella combined with bittersweet chocolate, and bouncy from powdered gelatin.
16. Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
These cookies from Samantha are the way to any chocolate lover’s heart. They’re doubly chocolaty from Dutch-process cocoa powder and melty pools of chocolate. (Use discs, or fèves, for the biggest pockets of chocolate, but chips work just fine.) Aside from the need to chill for at least 24 hours, the recipe is straightforward, and the results will be delightfully fudgy.
