Listen, I am not going to pretend I am not biased here — when it comes to chocolate, I have been the designated chocolate person in my family since I was probably eight years old. So when I say I have spent years collecting the very best of the very best chocolate 18 chocolate desserts that are worth the calories, please know that I am not throwing that word around lightly. Every single recipe in this roundup has earned its spot.
What you are about to scroll through is the cream of the crop — the recipes I make on repeat, the ones I bring to friends’ houses, and the ones my kids request by name. Whether you are in the mood for something quick and weeknight-friendly or something that needs a slow Saturday afternoon to come together properly, there is at least a few in here that are about to become your new go-tos.
I have also tried to include a mix of styles, difficulty levels, and chocolate intensities. Skip ahead, save what catches your eye, and definitely do not feel like you need to make all 15 of these in one weekend. Pace yourself — that is what leftovers are for.
What’s Inside
- Chocolate Cake Recipe
- Classic Chocolate Cream Pie Recipe
- Cookies and Cream Ice Cream Recipe
- Bittersweet Chocolate and Walnut Fudge Recipe
- Flourless Chocolate
- Double and By Double I Mean Triple Chocolate Cookies Recipe
- Chocolate Semifreddo with Chile
- Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe
- Hot
- Fudgy Vegan Brownie Cookies
- 4
- 5
- Vegan Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies
- Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Black Bean Brownies
The 15 Recipes
Each recipe links to the original source — give those blogs the love, they are doing the Lord’s work.
Chocolate Cake Recipe
Recipe from King Arthur Baking
This is one of those chocolate lighter chocolate dessert that you make once and immediately add to your permanent rotation. It hits all the right notes — rich, balanced, and impossible to stop eating. The King Arthur Baking version has been tested by hundreds of home cooks and always comes out exactly right when you follow the recipe.
What to expect: Rich chocolate flavor, the kind of texture that makes you close your eyes on the first bite, and a finish that has everyone at the table asking for seconds. Plan on about 20 minutes of active time, give or take depending on how fast you move through a recipe.
Classic Chocolate Cream Pie Recipe
Recipe from King Arthur Baking
This is one of those chocolate lighter chocolate dessert that you make once and immediately add to your permanent rotation. It hits all the right notes — rich, balanced, and impossible to stop eating. The King Arthur Baking version has been tested by hundreds of home cooks and always comes out exactly right when you follow the recipe.
What to expect: Rich chocolate flavor, the kind of texture that makes you close your eyes on the first bite, and a finish that has everyone at the table asking for seconds. Plan on about 20 minutes of active time, give or take depending on how fast you move through a recipe.
Cookies and Cream Ice Cream Recipe
Recipe from King Arthur Baking
This is one of those chocolate lighter chocolate dessert that you make once and immediately add to your permanent rotation. It hits all the right notes — rich, balanced, and impossible to stop eating. The King Arthur Baking version has been tested by hundreds of home cooks and always comes out exactly right when you follow the recipe.
What to expect: Rich chocolate flavor, the kind of texture that makes you close your eyes on the first bite, and a finish that has everyone at the table asking for seconds. Plan on about 20 minutes of active time, give or take depending on how fast you move through a recipe.
Bittersweet Chocolate and Walnut Fudge Recipe
Recipe from Bon Appétit
This is one of those chocolate lighter chocolate dessert that you make once and immediately add to your permanent rotation. It hits all the right notes — rich, balanced, and impossible to stop eating. The Bon Appétit version has been tested by hundreds of home cooks and always comes out exactly right when you follow the recipe.
What to expect: Rich chocolate flavor, the kind of texture that makes you close your eyes on the first bite, and a finish that has everyone at the table asking for seconds. Plan on about 20 minutes of active time, give or take depending on how fast you move through a recipe.
Flourless Chocolate
Recipe from Bon Appétit
This is one of those chocolate lighter chocolate dessert that you make once and immediately add to your permanent rotation. It hits all the right notes — rich, balanced, and impossible to stop eating. The Bon Appétit version has been tested by hundreds of home cooks and always comes out exactly right when you follow the recipe.
What to expect: Rich chocolate flavor, the kind of texture that makes you close your eyes on the first bite, and a finish that has everyone at the table asking for seconds. Plan on about 20 minutes of active time, give or take depending on how fast you move through a recipe.
Double and By Double I Mean Triple Chocolate Cookies Recipe
Recipe from Bon Appétit
This is one of those chocolate lighter chocolate dessert that you make once and immediately add to your permanent rotation. It hits all the right notes — rich, balanced, and impossible to stop eating. The Bon Appétit version has been tested by hundreds of home cooks and always comes out exactly right when you follow the recipe.
What to expect: Rich chocolate flavor, the kind of texture that makes you close your eyes on the first bite, and a finish that has everyone at the table asking for seconds. Plan on about 20 minutes of active time, give or take depending on how fast you move through a recipe.
Chocolate Semifreddo with Chile
Recipe from Bon Appétit
This is one of those chocolate lighter chocolate dessert that you make once and immediately add to your permanent rotation. It hits all the right notes — rich, balanced, and impossible to stop eating. The Bon Appétit version has been tested by hundreds of home cooks and always comes out exactly right when you follow the recipe.
What to expect: Rich chocolate flavor, the kind of texture that makes you close your eyes on the first bite, and a finish that has everyone at the table asking for seconds. Plan on about 20 minutes of active time, give or take depending on how fast you move through a recipe.
Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe
Recipe from Bon Appétit
This is one of those chocolate lighter chocolate dessert that you make once and immediately add to your permanent rotation. It hits all the right notes — rich, balanced, and impossible to stop eating. The Bon Appétit version has been tested by hundreds of home cooks and always comes out exactly right when you follow the recipe.
What to expect: Rich chocolate flavor, the kind of texture that makes you close your eyes on the first bite, and a finish that has everyone at the table asking for seconds. Plan on about 20 minutes of active time, give or take depending on how fast you move through a recipe.
Hot
Recipe from Bon Appétit
This is one of those chocolate lighter chocolate dessert that you make once and immediately add to your permanent rotation. It hits all the right notes — rich, balanced, and impossible to stop eating. The Bon Appétit version has been tested by hundreds of home cooks and always comes out exactly right when you follow the recipe.
What to expect: Rich chocolate flavor, the kind of texture that makes you close your eyes on the first bite, and a finish that has everyone at the table asking for seconds. Plan on about 20 minutes of active time, give or take depending on how fast you move through a recipe.
Fudgy Vegan Brownie Cookies
Recipe from Minimalist Baker
This is one of those chocolate lighter chocolate dessert that you make once and immediately add to your permanent rotation. It hits all the right notes — rich, balanced, and impossible to stop eating. The Minimalist Baker version has been tested by hundreds of home cooks and always comes out exactly right when you follow the recipe.
What to expect: Rich chocolate flavor, the kind of texture that makes you close your eyes on the first bite, and a finish that has everyone at the table asking for seconds. Plan on about 20 minutes of active time, give or take depending on how fast you move through a recipe.
4
Recipe from Minimalist Baker
This is one of those chocolate lighter chocolate dessert that you make once and immediately add to your permanent rotation. It hits all the right notes — rich, balanced, and impossible to stop eating. The Minimalist Baker version has been tested by hundreds of home cooks and always comes out exactly right when you follow the recipe.
What to expect: Rich chocolate flavor, the kind of texture that makes you close your eyes on the first bite, and a finish that has everyone at the table asking for seconds. Plan on about 20 minutes of active time, give or take depending on how fast you move through a recipe.
5
Recipe from Minimalist Baker
This is one of those chocolate lighter chocolate dessert that you make once and immediately add to your permanent rotation. It hits all the right notes — rich, balanced, and impossible to stop eating. The Minimalist Baker version has been tested by hundreds of home cooks and always comes out exactly right when you follow the recipe.
What to expect: Rich chocolate flavor, the kind of texture that makes you close your eyes on the first bite, and a finish that has everyone at the table asking for seconds. Plan on about 20 minutes of active time, give or take depending on how fast you move through a recipe.
Vegan Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies
Recipe from Minimalist Baker
This is one of those chocolate lighter chocolate dessert that you make once and immediately add to your permanent rotation. It hits all the right notes — rich, balanced, and impossible to stop eating. The Minimalist Baker version has been tested by hundreds of home cooks and always comes out exactly right when you follow the recipe.
What to expect: Rich chocolate flavor, the kind of texture that makes you close your eyes on the first bite, and a finish that has everyone at the table asking for seconds. Plan on about 20 minutes of active time, give or take depending on how fast you move through a recipe.
Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe from Minimalist Baker
This is one of those chocolate lighter chocolate dessert that you make once and immediately add to your permanent rotation. It hits all the right notes — rich, balanced, and impossible to stop eating. The Minimalist Baker version has been tested by hundreds of home cooks and always comes out exactly right when you follow the recipe.
What to expect: Rich chocolate flavor, the kind of texture that makes you close your eyes on the first bite, and a finish that has everyone at the table asking for seconds. Plan on about 20 minutes of active time, give or take depending on how fast you move through a recipe.
Black Bean Brownies
Recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie
This is one of those chocolate lighter chocolate dessert that you make once and immediately add to your permanent rotation. It hits all the right notes — rich, balanced, and impossible to stop eating. The Chocolate Covered Katie version has been tested by hundreds of home cooks and always comes out exactly right when you follow the recipe.
What to expect: Rich chocolate flavor, the kind of texture that makes you close your eyes on the first bite, and a finish that has everyone at the table asking for seconds. Plan on about 20 minutes of active time, give or take depending on how fast you move through a recipe.
That’s a Lot of Chocolate
So there you have it — 15 of my absolute favorite chocolate 18 chocolate desserts that are worth the calories recipes, all in one place. If I had to pick just one from this list to bake this weekend, I would probably start with Chocolate Cake Recipe from King Arthur Baking, but honestly, you really cannot go wrong with any of them.
Make one, make all of them, save the post and come back to it the next time you need a chocolate fix. And if you try one of these, I would genuinely love to hear how it turned out — leave a comment, tag me, send me a photo. I read every single one.
Happy baking, friends.
—Marina Caldwell
Sources & Credits
Every recipe in this roundup links back to the original source. Please visit the source blogs, leave comments, share the love, and support the food creators doing the work. These are the real chocolate heroes.
- Chocolate Cake Recipe — King Arthur Baking
- Classic Chocolate Cream Pie Recipe — King Arthur Baking
- Cookies and Cream Ice Cream Recipe — King Arthur Baking
- Bittersweet Chocolate and Walnut Fudge Recipe — Bon Appétit
- Flourless Chocolate — Bon Appétit
- Double and By Double I Mean Triple Chocolate Cookies Recipe — Bon Appétit
- Chocolate Semifreddo with Chile — Bon Appétit
- Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe — Bon Appétit
- Hot — Bon Appétit
- Fudgy Vegan Brownie Cookies — Minimalist Baker
- 4 — Minimalist Baker
- 5 — Minimalist Baker
- Vegan Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies — Minimalist Baker
- Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies — Minimalist Baker
- Black Bean Brownies — Chocolate Covered Katie
