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.
Filed under Chocolate, Chocolate Candy, Chocolate Chips, Chocolate Covered Food, Chocolate Desserts, Chocolate Fondue, Chocolate Fountain, Chocolate Gifts, Chocolate Mousse, Chocolate Recipes, Chocolate Truffles, German Chocolate, Gourmet Chocolate Gifts, History Of Chocolate, Hot Chocolate, Imported Chocolate, Luxury Chocolate by on Jan 13th, 2008. 
Guide – It is widely believed that chocolate consumption releases a chemical into your body very similar to what is produced when you are in love.
When he got lost looking for a shortcut to India in the late 1400s, Christopher Columbus found the delicious treat known as chocolate in the New World. It is commonly believed that the ancient Aztecs were to have drunk chocolate a long time before anyone else in the world even knew of its existence. In its original formulation, it was a very bitter concoction created from the roasted seeds of cocoa and mixed with spices. In the Americas it was considered to be a sacred drink that was enjoyed by the Aztecs but only the very elite of their society could afford it. The Aztecs were not ignorant of the value of the cocoa bean and began using it as part of their monetary system and to buy their gold.
The Worlds # 1 Chocolate Cake. Recipe For The Worlds # 1 Chocolate Cake.
The treat that got its start in the New World is the same that would become known as Belgian chocolate, which is the original recipe that was kept secret by the Spanish Aristocrats. The nobility couldn’t keep the success of the drink from spreading to other European countries however, and it became widespread. The European nobles experimented with the recipe and were the first to add sugar to it, which made it much more drinkable then the previously bitter drink originated by the Aztecs. Medical practitioners even professed that it cured certain diseases because it held such a high and sacred value. When chocolate arrived in Belgium it was considered to be a magnificent gift, due to all of the history that came with it and the legends of its medicinal effect that it was told to have. The Belgian confectionary created the praline filling for the chocolate in 1912, which was packaged to give out as special gifts to others. The delicacy soon became known as Belgian chocolate because of the unique filling the Belgians created in rich milk chocolate.
Guide – Choose organic chocolates. Certified organic chocolate ensures there are no harmful pesticide residues.
To make the special chocolate it is first taken from large pods that come from the cocoa tree, and then the cocoa seeds or beans are taken from the pods. The beans are then sun dried and delivered to the chocolate makers. Once the Belgians get the beans they roast them and crush them into the cocoa powder that they make the Belgian chocolate with. They then add the cocoa butter that comes from the beans and add that to the powder, sugar, and the milk powder.
The Belgian chocolate makers are very choosy with the cocoa powder that they allow for use in the making of Belgian chocolate and will only allow the finest quality to be used. They use the same discretion when it comes to picking the ingredients they use to make their chocolate filling that is known as praline. They make this product by hand so that they can be sure to bring out only the finest possible chocolate. The pride in their product also leads them to choose the cocoa beans by hand as well so that only the best possible source product is sued in the making of Belgian Chocolate.
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.
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Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Beach, Florida. Find more about this as well as fine chocolate at http://www.chocolates-plus.com |
Filed under Gourmet Chocolate Gifts, Imported Chocolate, Luxury Chocolate by on Jun 30th, 2010. Comment.
Guide – When it comes to chewing chocolate, a person must be very careful. Each bite of chocolate must be chewed no less than 12 times out of respect for the cacao seed that sacrificed itself for your toothsome treat.
For many people who are trying to figure out what to use for wedding favors the different varieties of chocolate treats can be excellent choices. A delightful assortment of gourmet chocolate truffles can be a perfect choice for the reception and since there are many manufacturers that offer a diverse selection of choices in the color of the boxes and ribbons it is easy to find a matching or complementary color to that of your theme.
The foil covered variety of chocolate wedding favors can bring an added element of style and class for gift bags and can be found in all kinds of shapes and sizes such as hearts and stars. Again, these can be found in a wide variety of colors as well to go along with your chosen colors for your wedding. Many makers of chocolate wedding favors offer specialty themes such as poker chips, coins, and even playing cards and in specialty flavors like peanut butter filled or mint.
Guide – Strawberrys dipped in chocolate can be a delectable treat. Let the excess chocolate drip off. Place the strawberry upside down with the point in the air.
One choice that I have seen recently that was a huge hit was the personalized candy bar. These come with a customized wrapper that can have the bride and groom’s names, wedding date and other information imprinted on it. You could even have members of the wedding party have their own, although it is expensive to get the individual printing like that. Some companies actually offer the option of embossing the actual bar with a wedding themed message which can be very special for the couple and they are offered in milk chocolate, white chocolate, or dark chocolate.
The Worlds # 1 Chocolate Cake. Recipe For The Worlds # 1 Chocolate Cake.
You can find molded wedding favors in chocolate in a wide variety of themes that will suit just about any idea a bride can come up with. Indeed, if there is a mold of an item a chocolate maker can and will put the confection in it. I have seen such themes as casinos, castles, and even dolphins for a beach wedding.
Guide – My favorite thing in the world is a box of fine European chocolates.
Other unique wedding favors I have seen of note are tiny chocolate wedding cakes complete with monogrammed truffles and fondant icing, cookies shaped like wedding cakes, and pretzels dipped in delicious gourmet chocolate. Within each of these are diverse selections as well such as animal designs and poker chips. The packaging available can be fun to with some companies offering them in boxes made to look like tuxedos or bridal gowns.
Guide – ‘It’s not that chocolates are a substitute for love. Love is a substitute for chocolate.
A recent innovation that is a big hit is a customized cake or cookie with an actual photo of the bride and groom. My wife had a groom’s cake made for me of a computer screen due to the fact that we met online and as a tribute to my career online. With this new technology you are limited only by your imagination.
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Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Beach, Florida. Find more about this as well as fine chocolate at http://www.chocolates-plus.com |
Filed under Gourmet Chocolate Gifts by on Jun 18th, 2010. Comment.