How often has it been that you opt for chocolate ice cream every single time at the ice cream store? Well, this blog is definitely for you chocolate lovers! Be it 80% dark chocolate or the smooth, creamy milk chocolate we have all grown up with, chocolate and its desserts are an overwhelming favourite of many.
So this World Chocolate Day, here are a few delicious chocolate desserts you can try out:
The perfect gooey chocolate delight which is a definite crowd pleaser!
Ingredients: butter 100g, dark chocolate 200g, 4 eggs, golden caster sugar 250g, plain flour 100g, baking powder 1 tsp and cocoa 30g
Method:
Step 1
Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. And line a 22cm square brownie tin with baking parchment. Melt the butter and chocolate together in a microwave or in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Cool to room temperature.
Step 2
Whisk the eggs and sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy. Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and sift on the flour, baking powder and cocoa.
Step 3
Fold this in to give a fudgy batter. And bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is cracked but the middle just set. Cool completely, then lift out of the tin and cut.
Treat yourself to some dairy-free, egg-free chocolate chip cookies.
Ingredients: plain flour 125g, cocoa powder 4 tbsp, baking powder ½ tsp, bicarbonate of soda ¼ tsp, sugar 100g, dark chocolate chips, coconut oil 75g and vanilla paste or extract 1 tsp
Method:
Step 1
Mix the flour, cocoa, baking powder, bicarb, sugar and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Step 2
Stir in the coconut oil, vanilla and 2 tbsp water until you have a rough dough. It will look a bit crumbly but should come together if you squeeze a lump together in your hand – if not, add a little more water.
Step 3
Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Scoop out a generous tbsp of dough and mold into a ball using your hands. Push down on the baking tray into a cookie shape and repeat with the remaining dough – don’t worry about spacing them too far apart as they won’t expand much in the oven.
Step 4
Bake for 12 minutes then leave to cool before eating. Stored in an airtight container the cookies will keep for a few days.
Nutella Cheesecake 
Enjoy this indulgent dessert teeming with deliciousness.
Ingredients: full-fat soft cheese 200g, vanilla extract 1 tsp, eggs 2 large, Nutella 125g, golden caster sugar 100g, whipping cream 300ml pot, hazelnuts 75g, roasted and roughly chopped, single cream to serve (optional), bourbon biscuits 250g and salted butter 75g
Method:
Step 1
Line a 900g loaf tin with clingfilm (oiling the tin lightly first helps it to stick). Put the soft cheese, vanilla, egg yolks from the separated eggs, Nutella and 50g of the sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk using electric beaters until smooth. Clean the whisks and, in another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff. Add the remaining 50g of sugar, beat until glossy and thick, and then fold into the soft-cheese mixture. Finally, whisk the whipping cream until thick, then fold this in, too.
Step 2
Tip the hazelnuts into the base of the tin and spread evenly. Scrape the cheesecake filling on top, spread to flatten the top, then freeze for 3 hours until almost solid.
Step 3
Crush the bourbon biscuits in a bowl with the end of a rolling pin to rough crumbs, then mix with the melted butter. When the filling is ready, scatter the biscuit base over, press to compact on the frozen cheesecake, and freeze again overnight.
Step 4
To serve, remove the cheesecake from the freezer 15 minutes before you want to serve it, and invert carefully onto a serving plate, peeling away the clingfilm. Slice and serve with single cream, if you like.
Your favourite melt-in-the-middle dessert is easy to whip up and serve!
Ingredients: cocoa 4 tbsp, white chocolate 50g, 70% dark chocolate 200g, butter 200g, eggs 4 whole, plus 3 yolks, golden caster sugar 90g and plain flour 25g
Method:
Step 1
Lightly butter 8 × 150ml pudding moulds. Spoon some cocoa into each and turn to coat the inside right up to the rim. Tap out the excess cocoa, you just want a thin dusting.
Step 2
Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Gently melt the white and dark chocolate with 200g butter in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Don’t let the bowl touch the water, or it will get too hot and could cause the chocolate to go grainy.
Step 3
Put the egg yolks, whole eggs and sugar in a bowl and sit over another pan of simmering water. Whisk with electric beaters until the volume has increased and the mix is thick, pale and fluffy. It will leave a trail behind when you lift up the beaters.
Step 4
Stir the flour into the chocolate mixture until it disappears, then fold the chocolate into the egg mixture. Don’t worry if you knock air out of it, you want to get the chocolate really well mixed in.
Step 5
Pour into the moulds leaving a space of about 1 cm at the top for it to expand. Put them onto a baking sheet and cook for 9-10 minutes. The puddings will have formed a crust on the top and start to come away from the side of the moulds. Leave to stand for 30 seconds before turning out onto serving plates. Serve with cream if you like.
