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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The Worlds # 1 Chocolate Cake. Recipe For The Worlds # 1 Chocolate Cake.

French chocolate is one of the most popular types of confection in the world. It is used in many tasty treats such as chocolate mousse and the ever popular chocolate eclair. Chocolate truffles have long been favored for their rich taste and texture and chocolate covered pralines were also made popular by the French. Chocolate was not just considered a confection in France. It was also used for medicinal purposes and reported to be beneficial with health problems.

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

You may be interested to know that the French had a hand in making chocolate famous in areas besides France. During the mid 1800s, a Frenchman named Etienne Guittard was hoping to make his fortune in the California gold rush. He headed to the Barbary Coast where instead of mining for gold to make his living, he ended up growing rich by selling chocolate. In 1686, he opened the Guittard Chocolate factory where it is still family owned and operated to this day.

Guide - Holding the strawberry by the leaves, dip it into the warm chocolate and swirl.

The first London chocolate store, then called a chocolate house, was established by a Frenchman in 1657. The name of the store was the Coffee Mill and Tobacco roll. The chocolate that was sold there was so expensive that only wealthy patrons could afford to purchase it.

There are other very famous, French chocolate makers that still have shops and factories that have continued to be popular long after they were established.

Guide - Choose organic chocolates. Certified organic chocolate ensures there are no harmful pesticide residues.

In 1945, Maurice Bernachon opened the Bernachon Chocolate Factory in Lyons, France when he was only 26. He was trained in the art of chocolate making by his parents at the young age of 14. Today, 60 years later, the Bernachon factory is still famous for its delicious chocolate.

In 1660, a Frenchman named Debauve was dubbed the first “Royal Chocolate Maker”, by King Louis the 14th of France after he had received a wedding gift of chocolate from his wife Marie Therese. In 1800, approximately a century and ½ later, one of his descendents named Sulpice Debauve established a chocolate shop in Paris.

Guide - Make your own chocolates. It’s easy to make many chocolate delights yourself, with the exact ingredients you want.

His chocolate was so revered that he was able to open additional shops and had established 60 of them by 1804. He had a nephew named Antoine Gallais, who partnered up with him in 1823 and the name of his shops changed to Debauve and Gaillais. Continuing in the tradition of his ancestor, Kings Louis XVIII and Charles X appointed them the Official Chocolatiers of the French Court. Although Sulpice Debauve died in 1836, his legacy still continues with the company he founded in 1804.

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

French chocolate has had a strong impact on history. Many of the delicious chocolates that you enjoy today are due to the innovations of the French who took the simple cocoa bean and turned it into an entire industry.

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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.

France is famous for many things, such as the Eiffel Tower, and high fashion. They are also famous for their rich cuisine such as crepes and quiche lorraine. They are well noted for their pastries, wine and of course, chocolate.

Chocolate has been around for centuries, beginning in 1500 BC where the Olmec Indians grew crops containing the cocoa bean. From there it went to the Mayans where only the wealthiest were allowed to consume it. In 600 AD they established plantations dedicated to the coveted bean and from there, the Aztec elite took it over.

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

The popularity of liquid chocolate continued to spread and the famous explorer, Christopher Columbus brought it back with him to Spain in 1502. The Spaniards added sugar to it, which enhanced its flavor and removed the bitterness from it. Oddly, when it reached France, it was scorned and called a “barbarous” and “noxious”. It was Anne of Austria and King Louis XIII that adopted it as the favored drink of the French court which was the beginning of its popularity in France. Chocolate became known as an aphrodisiac in France. It was used by Casanova to seduce women. He would add it to champagne and then present it to his lovers. Madame De Pompador would also serve it to her lovers to energize them before seducing them. Chocolate was also used for intrigue by the Marquis du Sade. He would add poison to it and then give it to those he wished to harm.

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

The supply of cocoa beans to France increased after they conquered Haiti and Cuba in 1684. It was then that they first established plantations. In 1657 a Frenchman opened the first chocolate shop in London, where it was so expensive that only wealthy people could hope to afford it. A Frenchman named Doret discovered how to grind the beans and invented a hydraulic press for this purpose, circa 1778. This was the beginning of the chocolate production on a grand scale.

Between World Wars I and II, the French became famous for chocolate pralines.Many people consider French Chocolate to be the best in the world. Its rich smooth flavor is internationally famous and it is coveted by all who love this confection. The French are famous for their chocolate candies such as truffles and nonpareils, which means “without equal”. They put it in scrumptious pastries, cakes and puddings. One of their most famous deserts that feature chocolate is the French eclair. Another favorite is chocolate mousse. There’s nothing like the rich aroma that emanates from a French bakery. Few can resist entering them once they catch the scent and are lured inside where they can find a wide array of treats that feature chocolate.

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.

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