If you love the decadent, rich flavor of chocolate, you’re in the right place! I am an extreme chocolate lover (considering I like my chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting), and I decided to put together a few super chocolatey recipes from easy to hard. Each is delicious and destined to make your mouth water.

1. Salted Chocolate Truffles (Easy)

https://www.completelydelicious.com/chocolate-truffles-with-sea-salt/

Ingredients:

• Bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate for the truffle filling (I personally prefer semi-sweet)
• Milk or semi-sweet chocolate for dipping
• Sweetened condensed milk
• Vanilla extract
• Flaky or sea salt

Recipe:

1. Melt chocolate. Melt dark chocolate in either the microwave or over a double boiler (keep reading for more info on both).

2. Add sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Stir into the melted chocolate until combined, mixture will thicken and look slightly grainy.

3. Portion into rounds and chill. Use a spoon or cookie scoop to portion chocolate into desired truffle size. Roll in your hands until round. Chill in the fridge while you prep the chocolate for dipping.

4. Melt chocolate for dipping. Melt dark and/or milk chocolate separately, tempering if desired (info on tempering below).

5. Dip truffles in chocolate coating. Working quickly, dip chilled truffle rounds into the melted chocolate. Use a fork to roll rounds in the chocolate until covered, then lift out of the bowl. Gently tap the fork on the edge of the bowl, letting excess chocolate drip back into the bowl. Use a toothpick to scrape the chocolate on the bottom of the fork, then carefully use the toothpick to push the covered truffle off of the fork onto parchment or wax paper.

6. Add flaky salt and let truffles set. Sprinkle tops of flaky salt while they are still wet so salt will stick. Let truffles set up at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

2. No Bake Chocolate Custard (Easy/Intermediate)

   

https://www.recipetineats.com/chocolate-pudding-pots/  and https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/no-bake-chocolate-custard

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 1 large egg yolk
• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped, plus shaved chocolate, for serving
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Pinch of ground cinnamon

Recipe:

1. In a small saucepan, combine the milk and 2 tablespoons of the sugar; heat the mixture until steaming and the sugar is dissolved. Put the egg yolk in a small bowl and gradually whisk in the hot milk. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over moderate heat, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened for about 2 minutes.

2. Off the heat, add the chopped chocolate and salt and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the butter. Pour the custard into 2 shallow bowls and refrigerate briefly for about 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat the heavy cream with the cinnamon and the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar until softly whipped. Dollop the cream on the custards, sprinkle the chocolate shavings on the cream, and serve.

3. Creamy Milk Chocolate Pudding Pie

https://www.hersheyland.com/recipes/creamy-milk-chocolate-pudding-pie.html

Ingredients:

• 2⁄3 cup sugar
• 6 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 4 egg yolks
• 3 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 crumb crust, packaged (6 oz)
• 1 cup sweetened whipped cream or whipped topping
• 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
• Hershey’s Chocolate Bar (1.55 oz) Additional, cut into sections along score lines (optional)

Recipe:

1. Remove wrappers from chocolate bars, break into pieces, and set aside. Stir together sugar, cornstarch, cocoa, and salt in a (2-quart) saucepan. Combine egg yolks and milk in a bowl. Gradually blend milk mixture into sugar mixture.

2. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Boil and stir for 1 minute.

3. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Add chocolate bar pieces; stir until melted and mixture is well blended. Pour into crumb crust; press plastic wrap onto filling.

4. Let cool. Refrigerate for several hours or until chilled and firm. Remove plastic wrap and garnish with whipped cream and chocolate bar sections, if desired. Cover; refrigerate leftovers.

4. Mini Chocolate Ganache Tarts (Hard/Intermediate)

https://noblepig.com/mini-chocolate-ganache-tarts/

Ingredients:

• 28 Oreo cookies
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips
• 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter (cut into small cubes)

Recipe:

1. Place the Oreo cookies into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until you have fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and process again until the mixture looks like wet sand.
2. Divide the crumbs between six (4-inch) mini tart pans (or one 9-inch tart pan) with removable bottoms. Use the back of a spoon to firmly press the crumbs into the base and up the sides. Place the tart crusts in the refrigerator while you make the chocolate ganache filling.

3. Pour the cream into a small saucepan and set it over low heat. Bring the cream to a simmer, but remove it from the heat before it boils. Add the chocolate chips and cubed butter to a large bowl. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit for five minutes.

4. After five minutes, use a rubber spatula to slowly stir the mixture until it is fully combined, smooth, and uniform in color. (See the recipe notes in the post if your chocolate didn’t melt properly.)

5. Remove the tart crusts from the fridge and pour the ganache into each one, filling them to the top. (The ganache should settle into an even layer. If it doesn’t, give each tart pan a gentle shake or use an offset spatula to smooth it out.)

6. Let the mini tarts sit at room temperature for about 2 hours. Once set, remove them from the tart pans. Decorate with fresh fruit and edible flowers if you like.

By Caroline McRoskey ‘29, Ask Alice Editor and Food and Wellness Editor

29cmcroskey@montroseschool.org