12 Easy Chocolate Recipes to Make At Home

Chocolate is a food and flavoring derived from cocoa, which is the processed powder of the cacao bean. Here are some of the variations of this ingredient that you’ll find in chocolate desserts.

1. 1. Bittersweet chocolate: Also known as extra-dark chocolate, this cocoa product has a deep, earthy, and slightly bitter flavor owing to its high cocoa content (sixty-six percent). Use bittersweet chocolate to reduce the sweetness of the most decadent recipes like chocolate cheesecake, fudgy brownies, chocolate-peppermint bark, and Chef Dominique Ansel’s homemade chocolate mousse recipe.
2. 2. Dark chocolate: Dark chocolate, also known as semisweet chocolate, is a popular choice among gourmands for its complex flavor and health benefits. It is primarily made from unsweetened chocolate and sugar, giving it a firm, crisp texture. Dark chocolate also contains no added dairy, making it ideal to satisfy a vegan sweet tooth. Add dark chocolate to recipes for chocolate chip cookies, hot chocolate, chocolate pecan pie, cupcakes, or chocolate ganache truffles.
3. 3. Milk chocolate: Chewy, sweet, and mild milk chocolate is one of the most popular varieties. Its ingredients include unsweetened chocolate, sugar, milk, and emulsifiers like lecithin. This sweet type of candy is the primary ingredient in many chocolate bars and fudges. Milk chocolate is also perfect to add to chocolate chip cookies, homemade brownies, or s’mores.
4. 4. White chocolate: Pastry chefs and confectioners make this non-brown type of decadent chocolate by mixing cocoa butter (the fats extracted from the cocoa bean during processing) with vanilla, sugar, milk, and emulsifiers. This treat has a distinctive vanilla scent and flavor, which enhances a variety of cake and cookie recipes, including mousse, cheesecake, and white chocolate fudge.

There are numerous homemade chocolate dessert recipes that novice and experienced bakers alike can make at home. Some of the best chocolate recipes include:

1. 1. Black Forest gâteau: This layer cake pairs chocolate sponge with whipped cream frosting, cherries, and often kirschwasser, a colorless brandy distilled from sour or tart cherries. This German cake usually has four layers of chocolate sponge cake, which you can brush with the cherry-flavored brandy. Often, the whipped cream used between the chocolaty layers of a Black Forest gâteau features hints of kirschwasser.
2. 2. Chocolate biscotti: Adding cocoa powder to the batter for these crisp Italian cookies—which bakers and diners cut into slices and enjoy with espresso—infuses them with more complexity and flavor. Chop some semisweet chocolate chips and add them to your cocoa-flavored batter to make double chocolate biscotti.
3. 3. Chocolate bundt cake: Add some chocolate flavor to the classic bundt cake with a ganache icing made from a mixture of equal parts chocolate and heavy cream. Begin making this chocolate cake recipe by heating the heavy cream. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chunks, and let the heat of the cream melt the chocolate. Drizzle the chocolate ganache over the bundt cake, or let it cool and then whip it up in a stand mixer for a whipped ganache frosting. Experiment with chocolate caramel.
4. 4. Chocolate cobbler: This rich, rustic baked good made with buttery biscuit dough swaps the traditional cobbler fruit filling for a creamy chocolate one. Incorporate white chocolate chips, espresso, or peanut butter into your chocolate cobbler to create delicious flavor variations.
5. 5. Chocolate chunk cookies: Craft a chocolate lover’s twist on the classic by incorporating healthy chunks of chocolate into cookie dough. Try making Joanne Chang’s chocolate chunk cookie recipe, which features generous chunks of hand-chopped semisweet and milk chocolate, and a bit of bread flour for extra heartiness.
6. 6. Chocolate ice cream: Making chocolate ice cream involves adding melted chocolate and cocoa powder–flavored sugar to a dairy base. Some recipes may incorporate sweetened condensed milk or cornstarch to make creamier, easier-to-scoop ice cream. Churn various toppings into chocolate ice cream to suit your palate.
7. 7. Chocolate truffles: Confectioners traditionally make these no-bake candies out of baking chocolate, butter, and cream. Named after dark, round truffle mushrooms, makers roll these no-bake candies into small balls inspired by the shape of their namesake. Chocolate truffles come in various flavors with an array of sweet toppings, including chopped nuts, cocoa powder, grated coconut, mini chocolate chips, chocolate ganache, and sprinkles.
8. 8. Flourless chocolate cake: This fudgy gluten-free cake relies on eggs to hold it together, resulting in a thin, crispy crust over a creamy center. To make a flourless chocolate cake, combine eggs and sugar and whisk until it quadruples in volume. Next, combine chocolate and espresso and microwave or boil until they melt together. Whisk heavy cream into soft peaks, combine the eggs and melted chocolate, and then fold the melted mixture into the cream before baking.
9. 9. Profiteroles: These cream-filled choux pastry balls are the French take on the cream puff. Chefs sometimes fill this classic dessert with ice cream and top it with warm chocolate sauce. However, you can add any filling to profiteroles, from raspberries to chocolate mousse. Fill your choux balls with chocolate pudding and top them with ganache icing to make a chocolate profiterole.
10. 10. Rum balls: Rich chocolate, cookie crumbs, and rum come together to make these delicious desserts, which resemble chocolate truffles but taste like fudge. To make chocolate rum balls, combine melted dark chocolate, confectioners’ sugar, salt, and corn syrup and whisk until smooth. Add crumbled shortbread or graham crackers and chopped pecans or hazelnuts to the mixture, and roll the resulting batter into one-inch balls. Sprinkle the rum balls with cocoa or sugar and refrigerate them overnight.
11. 11. S’mores: S’mores are a classic dessert featuring toasted marshmallows and melted milk chocolate wedged between two graham cracker halves. Learn to make s’mores.
12. 12. Sourdough chocolate brownies: These chocolate brownies use a fresh or discarded sourdough starter to give it a tangy flavor and a slight lift. A traditional brownie recipe calls for baking powder (for cake-like brownies) or whipped eggs (for fudgy brownies) for lift and texture, but sourdough brownies have a heartier texture.

Become a better baker with the MasterClass Annual Membership. Gain access to exclusive video lessons taught by the world’s best, including Dominique Ansel, Joanne Chang, Gordon Ramsay, Chef Thomas Keller, Mashama Bailey, and more.