Chocolate

When you’ve got your hands full with cleaning, you don’t have time for a full-on dessert stop. But these pecan bars will tempt you and “hit the spot,” in addition to making an incredible snack-pack treat when you’re on the go. Scrumptious brown sugar and chocolate are ooey, gooey, and satisfying, and they’re the perfect reward for a day of hard work.

GINA This is my absolute favorite cake. Tanya has been baking it for me since I was a little girl—which I was yesterday. . . . I can remember when my sister Kim made it for her boyfriend, Tony, who is now her husband. I watched her in that kitchen, baking with such love and care. I begged for a small piece and she said, “No, it’s Tony’s birthday.” So I sat on that stool and swung my feet and waited and waited. It got pretty dark, and Kim was no longer smiling—she’d gotten that evil look on her face that we all have had at one time or another. The wait went on, and then . . . ding-dong. He’d finally arrived, and Kim was all fired up to give him a piece of her mind for being so late. After some loud, angry whispering between Kim and Tony at the front door, Kim took my beautiful, coveted cake, went straight out the door, and threw it into the garbage can outside! I screamed and stood by that can in shock, but Tanya made me come in, and baked me another one just to shut me up. (Hence, you can see where my “spoiledness” comes from, and the reason Tanya knows it’s my favorite.) Now we all love this cake. I am a true chocolate lover, and adding more chocolate on top—really, what more can you say? But you know Pat—he likes to reach into the freezer and throw a big scoop of vanilla on top of his slice.

We’re huge fans of these tartlets; while everyone else is sharing a box of chocolates (nice, but dull), we’re putting ours in a box you can eat! These tartlets are delicious and beautiful, with a pleasant hint of nuttiness when you add hazelnut liqueur. Topped with chocolate shavings and a dollop of whipped cream, they make a perfect Valentine confection. (We like to make a couple of extra tartlets for the girls—plus, they make great midnight snacks!)

GINA Can you imagine life without these two amazing ingredients? Who would want that? It would be like having fabulous shoes without a great handbag. Having chocolate and peanut butter is heaven on earth. If you think I talk a lot, give me chocolate and peanut butter and you won’t hear another word out of me!

They say that pumpkin pie is one of the scents that men react to most strongly. I’m not sure if I agree, but I think that by combining a smooth pumpkin filling with a chocolate crust, you have a good chance of getting your guests’ attention. I roast the pumpkin in the oven to ensure the filling isn’t watery. It’s really not possible to overcook the pumpkin; in fact, the longer you cook it, the more the flavors become concentrated. If you can’t find a sugar pumpkin, butternut squash or another hard-skinned fall squash would make a fine substitute. You can roast the pumpkin and bake the crusts at the same time, speeding the process along.

This is not the chocolate ice cream you used to eat as a kid, though no kid would say no to a big, fat dish of it. This has more depth thanks to brown sugar, and the tang of crème fraîche takes the edge off the sweetness. For an elegant richness, use the very best semisweet chocolate you can find. Please, no chocolate chips. Not only would the flavor suffer, but the emulsifiers added to chocolate chips would ruin the texture of the dessert.

This dessert is layered with toasty, earthy flavors, from the concentrated sweetness of the roasted figs to the nutty brown butter to the chocolate ganache deepened with a touch of coffee. You can ride the sweet-salty wave by sprinkling with a finishing salt at the end, or simply dust with powdered sugar. You can’t go wrong.

The intense dark chocolate flavor in these little tarts is proof that the best things come in small packages. For truly sensational flavor, use high-quality dark chocolate, such as Valrhona or Scharffen Berger, rather than garden-variety baking chocolate.

This pie is a peanut butter cup aficionado’s dream. It was the creation of my friend Jen, who was one of the bakers at Foster’s, and it has since become a Market staple—one of our most popular pies. With layers of crispy chocolate crust, smooth dark chocolate ganache, creamy peanut butter filling, and cool whipped cream, it is a true indulgence.

One of the things I love most about Southern food is how it is constantly evolving, and these days that change has a lot to do with the culinary traditions of recent immigrants from Mexico, Cuba, and Central and South America. I first learned how to make mole from my friend Saul, after I tried his rendition at one of my favorite Durham restaurants, Nana’s, and persuaded him to teach me how to make it myself. The South’s favorite game bird is smothered in this rich, spicy Mexican sauce infused with dark chocolate and spices, thickened with ground seeds and nuts, and spiked with numerous chiles, exemplifying the old-yet-new trend. The result is incredibly complex and distinctive. You will have extra mole, so give it a try on other dishes, like eggs, grilled chicken, or steak.

I remember when I came up with the idea for this dessert and surprised myself by how good it was! Of course, it’s nice to have a pastry chef on hand who can translate my daydreams into reality. But this one is easy enough for anyone. Try using frozen puff pastry sheets if you don’t want to mess with the phyllo dough.

When we first conjured up the notion of this dessert, we weren’t sure if people would go for the chocolate and basil combination in the mousse. But apparently everyone else dug the combination—the basil’s minty quality freshens up the chocolate taste—as much as we did: we couldn’t make these fast enough. When the scorching Crescent City summer rolled around, the kitchen got so hot and humid that the meringues wouldn’t bake properly (they need dry heat to crisp up), so we had to take them off the menu. We still like to make them from time to time when the temperature finally decides to drop.

No, I don’t have an old Sicilian grandmother, but one of my best friends did, and this is her recipe. You will need 12 to 15 cannoli forms, metal tubes about 5 inches long, available at specialty cooking stores. Or do what I did some thirty years ago: buy 3/4-inch wooden dowels and have them cut into 5-inch lengths. If you use the wooden forms, season by frying them in the oil for a few minutes before using them.

I developed this recipe—in very small increments—for a newspaper article celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Easy-Bake Oven. My first impulse was to create something very sophisticated, but then I thought I’d appeal to the kid in everyone with bananas, chocolate, and peanut butter. I have since used this cake recipe with a strawberry-cream cheese icing, with great success. And yes, I did have an Easy-Bake Oven when I was a kid!

Talk about a chocolate lover’s dream! The deep, dark secret to these cookies is the addition of cocoa nibs—ripe, fermented cocoa beans that have been roasted, then separated from their husks and broken into small bits. They have a crunchy-crackly texture and a rich, winey chocolate essence that rivals the flavor of the best chocolate-covered espresso beans. They are available in most specialty food shops. Make these cookies when you feel a need to splurge.

You can prepare the batter through step two up to two hours ahead, then cover and refrigerate. Before baking, uncover and bring the batter to room temperature.

Serve this moist, molasses-rich gingerbread with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Drizzle the chocolate in a zigzag pattern over the batter, then drag a knife through the lines of chocolate, alternating the direction each time.

Here’s a delightful take on the grilled sandwich. Because of the challah and the addition of eggs, butter, and milk, this dessert is richer than most, so it’s best served after a light meal.