Celebrate Valentine’s Day with these 22 chocolate dessert recipes

Based on the German dessert known as “Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte,” Black Forest cake is actually called “Black Forest cherry torte,” according to the direct translation. It’s made of multiple layers of chocolate sponge cake, and as the name suggests, it has a cherry filling. The cherry flavor actually comes from a cherry liqueur, as indicated in this recipe from Liv For Cake.

February means cold weather for much of the country, so hot chocolate is the perfect dessert. It can also be the perfect nightcap if you make this “adult hot chocolate” from The Modern Proper. Be forewarned: It contains bourbon, Frangelico, AND Irish cream.

If you’re the kind of person who had a cookie cake for their birthday as a kid (or last year—no judgments), then welcome to the grown-up version: the chocolate chip skillet cookie. Not only is this giant cookie from How Sweet Eats both chewy and gooey, but it’s super fun to make in your cast iron pan.

To make chocolate-covered strawberries, you really only need two ingredients: strawberries and high-quality chocolate. Natasha’s Kitchen can show you how to make them and provide some creative suggestions for more elaborate versions. If you’re in the mood for a romantic cliche, resist the urge to lovingly feed the strawberries to each other—it’s always more messy and awkward than anticipated.

This chocolate cream pie via Tastes Better from Scratch comes complete with three layers: whipped cream on top, chocolate pudding in the middle, and an Oreo crust underneath. It may sound complicated, but the crust can be made in advance and the pudding needs several hours to set, so the prep is broken up nicely.

Chocolate cake is delicious, and chocolate frosting is delicious, which would mean that chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting, like these from Handle the Heat, are twice as good. Except due to a synergy-like situation, the result is actually better than the sum of its two parts—especially if you add chocolate sprinkles.

For some reason, chocolate fondue gives off romantic vibes—and we’re fine with that because it’s easy to make and delicious to eat. This recipe from Chelsea’s Messy Apron calls for just six ingredients, and two of them are chocolate! All you need to do is decide what to dip in it. (We suggest fruit like strawberries and pineapple, or cakes like angel food and pound cake.)

Chocolate fudge is fancy, it’s rich, and it’s tasty—so there’s no way it could be easy, right?  Not according to Show Me the Yummy, who have a five-ingredient version that only requires about five minutes of prep!

A classic dessert for two, chocolate lava cake isn’t as tricky as it looks. In fact, this recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction will show you how to make them in ramekins or muffin pans. And yes, the chocolate will ooze out like a miniature choco-cano. 

Just five simple ingredients are needed for this chocolate mousse from Recipe Tin Eats: chocolate, butter, cream, eggs, and caster sugar. You can use it atop cakes or brownies, or just eat it with a spoon…and whipped cream and chocolate shavings, of course.

There’s a lot of satisfaction that comes with baking a rich, fluffy souffle, but it’s a delicate process. Keep Valentine’s Day shenanigans out of the kitchen while this chocolate souffle from Sally’s Baking Addiction is prepped and baked, as it could fall faster than a fool in love.

If a chocolate cream pie is too much like pudding for your liking, try a chocolate tart instead. Don’t worry, it’s not as complicated or fancy as it sounds—in fact, it’s actually pretty simple, especially with this recipe from the Food Network. 

One of the richest desserts around is chocolate truffles, and that’s a dangerous thing for our diet. But sometimes it’s fun to live dangerously on Valentine’s Day, so why not make some truffles with this recipe from Petite Gourmets?

Devils’ food cake is the darkest of the dark when it comes to cake, as it’s made of layers of rich chocolate cake, and it’s filled and covered with chocolate frosting. The origins of this dessert are at least 120 years old, so we recommend using this “old-fashioned” devil’s food cake recipe from Baker By Nature.

Brownies are already a chocolate dessert thanks to the cocoa powder (get out of here with that blondie talk.) But these brownies from Like Mother Like Daughter call for a heaping half-cup of chocolate chips, which makes them even more chocolatey, and oh so fudgy.

When regular chocolate chip cookies aren’t enough, you call in double chocolate chip cookies. And while some people like their cookies crispy and others like them soft, we prefer ours to be like Han Solo’s best friend: chewy. These cookies from Sugar Geek Show fit the bill.

Desserts don’t get much richer than flourless chocolate cake—and we’re not talking about the money. In fact, you can make this decadent, gluten-free recipe from Gimme Some Oven with just three ingredients: eggs, butter, and a whole lot of chocolate. But if you want to impress your date, dress this dessert up with a sprinkle of powdered sugar (and maybe some raspberries, too).

A layered chocolate cake with a coconut-pecan frosting makes up this German chocolate cake recipe via Tastes Better From Scratch. If you’re wondering what is German about coconuts and pecans, the answer is nothing. Unlike Black Forest cake, German chocolate cake isn’t related to Germany at all—it was invented by an American baker named Samuel German.

Have an ice cream maker that needs a little love & attention? Break it out for Valentine’s Day! Making ice cream can even be a date-night activity, whether it’s your first date or you’ve been married for years. Joy Food Sunshine has an easy seven-ingredient version.

If you think brownies are a bit basic—especially for a special Valentine’s Day dessert—class ‘em up by making marble brownies instead. This version from AllRecipes actually comes from the Philadelphia brand, because, as you may guess, it involves cream cheese. Aside from the cream cheese and brownie mix, all you need are sugar, vanilla, and eggs!

We could have gone with chocolate cheesecake, but Oreo cheesecake is one of our favorite flavors—and the cookie parts are chocolate cookies, so it counts! Life, Love, and Sugar claims to have the best Oreo cheesecake recipe, but make it at home and decide for yourself!

Peanut butter and chocolate are soulmates, and the simplest combination of the two is a peanut butter cup. Not a store-bought one with a long list of ingredients, but a simple version like this recipe from Tasty, which only uses peanut butter, powdered sugar, and chocolate.