While chocolate cake may always be a crowd pleaser at dinner parties or other celebrations, it can also feel like a cop-out to a creative host or hostess. If you’re tired of presenting the same old chocolate cakes, puddings, or ice creams to your guests for dessert, try these suggestions for some unexpected chocolate dessert recipes. Don’t be afraid to be adventurous. Dessert is all about having fun!

Revamp Other Dessert Recipes with Chocolate

An easy way to make a fun, new dessert is to incorporate chocolate into other familiar dessert recipes. Try putting dark chocolate chips and walnuts into a berry cobbler, or spruce up after dinner coffee with some chocolate liqueur then top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. If you’re going light, add some extra life to an angel food cake with some natural unsweetened cocoa powder and serve with fresh raspberries on top.

Leave the Chocolate to The Whim Guests

A really simple chocolate dessert recipe is chocolate fondue. Let your guests go to town dipping an assortment of fruits, cakes, cookies, and nuts into a nice fondue. Spread out a few different fondue pots and play with flavors. Try a spicy chocolate fondue by adding just a touch of chili powder, or some peanut butter for a heavenly treat. Don’t limit your dippings to fruit. Cut up an assortment of bite-sized bits of cakes, brownies, candies, marshmallows, even cheesecakes.

Spicing Up Some Favorites

If you do like the idea of a cake, but want to get away from traditional recipes, spice things up a little with a modern chocolate cake dessert recipe. Add some fruit or berries to the bottom of your bake pan and create a chocolate-upside-down cake with a nice coffee or caramel glaze. Create a layered chocolate cake, alternating layers of caramel sauce and homemade whipped peanut butter topping, served with vanilla ice cream.

Frozen Chocolate Dessert Recipes

Plan ahead and whip up a frozen chocolate dessert recipe. Try a banana split with frozen chocolate covered bananas. If you have an ice cream maker, try a nice chocolate and fruit sorbet. If you’re a fan of Smores, don’t worry about the fire, try a frozen version instead. Spread some melted chocolate and marshmallow cream between two graham crackers, wrap each smore in foil, and stick in the freezer. This is an easy chocolate dessert recipe that is sure to be a crowd pleaser.

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Guide - If you have a wrapped chocolate bar, remember, it must be unwrapped and allowed to breathe like a fine wine. Many people yield to the temptation of ripping open a candy bar and immediately taking a bite.

Receiving a box of chocolate is always a lovely surprise that brightens our day. It brings a unique dimension to any “Thank you” or “I love you” message that we wish to convey. It is a gift that communicates our consideration and our affection.

Chocolate is also a cultural and social feature of our western society. It plays a part in many of our celebrations.

Birthdays.

It is one day when we indulge ourselves without feeling guilty. So, the bigger the better. We treat our love ones to some of the fabulous chocolates they would not dare touch normally. Dark, brown or white, they will be eaten throughout the day, with a palatable contentment that has no room for rational behaviour.

Guide - Children are more likely to prefer chocolate when they reach 10-11 years old than when they are younger.

Mother’s day.

Mothers and chocolate go well together, this is why cocoa is a universal treat on this special day. Thousands of beautifully and delicately wrapped boxes find their way into the living rooms or bedrooms of our impatient Mums. Mother’s day is an affair of the heart, and offering a carefully chosen box of favorite chocolates reveal, our appreciation and our love.

Guide - ‘Nine out of ten people like chocolate. The tenth person always tells a little white lie.

Christmas.

Enter into the spirit of Christmas and, relive the joy of childhood. No Christmas celebration is complete without the colouful boxes full of chocolates decorated with marzipan or filled with liqueur, the chocolate Father Christmas and Snow men hanging
from the Christmas tree. It gives the festive season a wonderful sense of warmth, comfort and tradition.

Valentine’day.

It is a day of lust and passion, when lovers taste the forbidden fruits that melt slowly in the mouth and leave them begging for more. They discover ecstasy and lose themselves into a chocolate decadence and craving.

Guide - In genearl, the shelf life for chocolate is a year. Chocolate that is refrigerated may not melt as readily.

Easter

For chocoholics all over the Christian world, no festivities match the chocolate frenzy of Easter. Fertility and the new life are honored in all their forms. Chocolate eggs, chocolate hens, chocolate rabbits and so forth. We celebrate the resurrection of The Lord Jesus and, we rejoice at the renewal of spring in a feast of chocolate.

Guide - The average American eats 10-12 pounds (4.5 kg) of chocolate a year.

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Guide - ‘Life is like a box of chocolates..

Everyone has people in their lives that they don’t know very well, yet during the holidays or other occasions you would like to give them a small gift just to say “I’m thinking about you at this time”, “Thank You for just being around”, “Welcome to the neighborhood” or “Thank You for the job you do”.

This might be elderly, lonely people in your neighborhood or church, people you work with, the postman, UPS/Fedex delivery person, paper boy, cleaning personnel in your office, new neighbors, etc.

Because you don’t know a lot about these people’s likes and dislikes it is often hard to find an inexpensive gift for them that they won’t just chunk in a drawer and forget about for years to come. I think we all really struggle with our thoughts trying to come up with small thoughtful gifts that people in this category can appreciate and enjoy.

Guide - If one swallows a cup of chocolate only three hours after a copious lunch, everything will be perfectly digested and there will still be room for dinner.

A number of years ago I found that homemade Chocolate Fudge Candy was a good solution for this problem. It is something that most anyone can enjoy, no matter their age or sex. It is something they can proudly share with friends or family.

I have had to take into consideration whether or not to add nuts. I have found that some elderly people have a problem chewing the candy with nuts. I just make a batch without nuts for those folks. I usually add marshmallows or cherries to their candy.

Guide - Several medical studies show that eating chocolate in moderation can actually prolong your life by reducing risk of blood clots and fighting bad cholestorol.

Here is a simple recipe that I use:

18 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 (14 ounce) can Sweetened Condensed Milk

Dash salt

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

½ to 1 cup chopped nuts

In heavy saucepan, over low heat, melt chips with Sweetened Condensed Milk.

Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients. Spread evenly into wax
Paper-lined 9×11 pan. Top with nut halves or cherries. Spread them at intervals for the square size you would like to have. Chill in refrigerator 2 hours or until firm. Turn fudge onto cutting board; peel off wax paper and cut into squares.

I usually use Ziploc containers. I line with wax paper, put a layer of Chocolate Fudge squares, then a layer of wax paper, then more fudge squares alternating until my container is full. I use small containers for some and medium size ones for others. At Christmas they usually make these in red and green. I get the red and green ones at that time and top them off with a Christmas bow which makes a ready wrapped present ready to hand out.

Guide - If you have a wrapped chocolate bar, remember, it must be unwrapped and allowed to breathe like a fine wine. Many people yield to the temptation of ripping open a candy bar and immediately taking a bite.

When making a batch with nuts, I usually use pecans or walnuts. If I have to make some fudge without nuts, I use miniature marshmallows, candied cherries or coconut. I have one 96 year old lady that loves coconut and can still chew nuts so she gets a batch with both nuts and coconut.

Some variations are to use White Chocolate Chips or Carmel Chips. I have also mixed in a few Carmel Chips in with the semi-sweet Chocolate Chips.

Guide - Choose quality over quantity. If you are going to eat chocolate, eat really good chocolate.

Even though I do most of my homemade Chocolate Fudge Candy gift giving during the Christmas holiday, I use it for gift giving all year round.

This doesn’t take a lot of time, unless you have a lot of people you need gifts for at one time, and it is really well received by all.

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