bittersweet chocolate

You might think there's nothing new to learn about chocolate chip cookies, but this recipe by the baker and blogger Sarah Kieffer will prove you wonderfully wrong. The easy trick of banging the pan a few times during baking, causing the cookies to "fall," produces rippled edges that shatter in your mouth and a center that is soft and full of chocolate. Make sure to follow her instructions about freezing the dough and the size of the balls.

Giant Crinkled Chocolate Chip Cookies

all-purpose flour

baking soda

salt

unsalted butter (2 sticks), room temperature

granulated sugar

55 grams packed light or dark brown sugar

vanilla extract

chocolate

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position. Line 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil, parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.

In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter on medium until creamy. Add the granulated and brown sugars and beat on medium until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla and 2 tablespoons water, and mix on low to combine. Add the flour mixture, and mix on low until combined. Add the chocolate and mix on low into the batter. (At this point, the dough can be refrigerated for several hours or overnight.)

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Form the dough into 3 1/2-ounce (100-gram) balls (a heaping 1/3 cup each). Place 4 balls an equal distance apart on a prepared pan, and transfer to the freezer for 15 minutes before baking. After you put the first baking sheet in the oven, put the second one in the freezer.

Place the chilled baking sheet in the oven and bake 10 minutes, until the cookies are puffed slightly in the center. Lift the baking sheet and let it drop down against the oven rack, so the edges of the cookies set and the inside falls back down. (This will feel wrong, but trust me.) Bang it down, if necessary, to make the center fall.

After the cookies puff up again, 2 to 3 minutes later, repeat lifting and dropping the pan. Repeat a few more times, every 3 minutes, to create ridges around the edge of the cookie. Bake 16 to 18 minutes total, until the cookies have spread out, and the edges are golden brown, but the centers are much lighter and not fully cooked.

Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack; let cool before removing the cookies from the pan.

Repeat with remaining cookies, using the first sheet pan for the third batch of cookies.

Make these Best-Ever Chocolate Whoopie Pies for a potluck or bake sale. These whoopie pies feature devil's food cake with a creamy marshmallow filling.

Best-Ever Chocolate Whoopie Pies

pkg. (2-layer size) devil's food cake mix

pkg. (3.9 oz.) JELL-O Chocolate Fudge Flavor Instant Pudding

BAKER'S Bittersweet Chocolate, melted

pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

JET-PUFFED Marshmallow Creme

tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed

Prepare cake batter as directed on package except reduce the water to 3/4 cup. Add dry pudding mix and melted chocolate; mix well. Drop 2 Tbsp. batter, 2 inches apart, into 32 mounds on baking sheets.

Bake 14 to 16 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out almost clean. Cool on baking sheets 3 min. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

Beat cream cheese and marshmallow creme in large bowl with mixer until blended. Gently stir in COOL WHIP.

Place bottom sides of 2 cookies together for each whoopie pie, spreading about 2 Tbsp. COOL WHIP mixture between cookies.

On my first day in Lisbon, I became a statistic: I lost all my credit cards to a talented thief on the No. 28 tram. After “the incident,” I wanted to leave Lisbon, but instead, my husband Michael and I decided to tackle our must-taste list. It was on our last day in Lisbon that we tasted the cake at Landeau Chocolate. It was intense, but not overwhelming; truly chocolate, but somehow each layer’s chocolateness was different. I returned home and made this cake, my version of the cake that cured my pickpocket blues. It’s a dense-but-not-heavy, brownielike cake topped with a whipped chocolate ganache (think: mousse) and a substantial dusting of cocoa. Because this cake is completely about the chocolate, choose one you love.

Lisbon Chocolate Cake

unsalted butter

30 grams unsweetened cocoa powder

cornstarch

baking powder

fine sea salt

eggs,

heavy cream

cocoa powder

Make the cake: Center a rack in the oven, and heat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9-inch cake pan, line with parchment paper and butter the paper.

Sift together the cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk to blend.

Put the 1/2 cup butter in a large heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Scatter the semisweet or bittersweet chocolate on top, and heat, stirring often, until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Remove the bowl from the pan, and stir in the sugar. One by one, energetically stir in the eggs, beating for 1 minute after the last egg is added. The mixture will look like pudding. Stir in the dry ingredients. Scrape the mixture into the cake pan, and give the pan a couple of good raps against the counter to settle the batter.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean (or with only a tiny streak of chocolate). Transfer to a rack, cool for 5 minutes, then unmold the cake. Peel off the paper, invert the cake and cool to room temperature. Wash and dry the cake pan.

Make the ganache: Pour 1 1/4 cups cream into a small saucepan; refrigerate the rest. Scald the cream over medium heat, turn off the heat and stir in the semisweet or bittersweet chocolate until fully incorporated. Transfer to a heatproof bowl. Refrigerate the ganache for 10 minutes, whisk it, then refrigerate again for 10 minutes. Repeat chilling and whisking steps until the ganache is thick enough to make tracks when you stir, 50 to 60 minutes.

Cut two 3-by-16-inch pieces of parchment or foil, and crisscross them in the cake pan. Carefully return the cake to the pan. (The mousse layer is too soft to stand on its own until it's chilled. It needs the support of the pan sides.)

Whip the remaining 1/2 cup cream until it holds medium peaks.

Using a whisk, gently beat the ganache until it’s soft and spreadable. With a spatula, fold in the whipped cream. Spread over the cake, and refrigerate for 2 hours (or cover and keep for up to 2 days). The cake is best served cool or at room temperature, so take it out of the fridge about 20 minutes before serving.

To finish, put the cocoa powder in a fine-mesh strainer, and shake it over the top of the cake. Run a table knife along the sides of the pan. Using the parchment or foil handles, carefully lift the cake out of the pan and onto a serving plate. Discard the strips. Cut the cake using a long knife that has been run under hot water and wiped dry between each cut.

Chocolate lava cakes gained popularity in the late 1990s thanks to the chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and they have stuck around on dessert menus for good reason: They are rich chocolate cake and velvety sauce all in one, and they are surprisingly easy to make in under an hour. If you like to plan ahead, you can prepare the batter a day in advance, refrigerate it, then pop the cake into the oven when you are ready for dessert. This recipe, made in a 10-ounce baking dish, is meant for sharing, but you can also make it in two 6-ounce ramekins. Just cut the baking time to 7 to 9 minutes. Also, be sure to use chopped chocolate bars or chocolate féves rather than chocolate chips here. Chips are made with stabilizers that inhibit melting and will negatively affect the texture of your dessert.

Chocolate Lava Cake for Two

bittersweet chocolate, 70

unsalted butter,

granulated sugar,

Confectioners’ sugar, to serve (optional)

Heat oven to 425 degrees and butter a 10-ounce ramekin. Dust the buttered ramekin with granulated sugar.

2. Combine the chocolate and 3 tablespoons butter in a heat-safe bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth. (Alternatively, combine in a bowl and microwave in 30-second blasts, stirring in between, until melted and smooth, about 1 minute.) Remove from the heat and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the 3 tablespoons sugar, egg, egg yolk, vanilla and salt. Whisk vigorously until the mixture is thick, foamy and pale, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the flour until smooth.

Using a spatula, add the chocolate to the egg mixture and stir gently until combined.

Pour the mixture into the ramekin. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until the edges are set and puffed, but the center is still soft when lightly pressed. (You can also cover and refrigerate the batter up to a day in advance. Add an additional minute or 2 to baking time if you are baking the cake directly from the refrigerator.)

Use an offset spatula or small knife to loosen the edges of the cake from the ramekin. Place a plate over the ramekin and carefully invert the warm cake. Use an oven mitt or clean kitchen towel to remove the ramekin, dust the cake with confectioners’ sugar and serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

While a big slice of German chocolate cake may appeal to many, baking one from scratch may not. That’s where these cookies come in. They satisfy the craving for deep, dark pools of warm chocolate, sweet pecans and fragrant coconut with only a fraction of the work. To toast the coconut, spread it out on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 5 to 10 minutes. Take it out of the oven when the edges and some of the coconut in the center are deep golden brown. It’s fine if some of the coconut is still pale.

German Chocolate Cookies

unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature

dark brown sugar

coconut

170 grams chopped bittersweet chocolate

119 grams chopped pecans

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar together with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla until smooth.

Reduce the speed to low and beat in the flour mixture. Add coconut, chocolate and pecans and mix to just combine.

Portion the dough in 2 tablespoon scoops and roll them into balls. Place them on parchment-lined baking sheets, at least 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies until dry on top but still soft in the center, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately tap the sheets against a work surface to deflate them slightly. Let the cookies sit on the sheets for 3 minutes, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.

When my Paris friend, Bernard Collet, told me about this cake, a favorite for over 60 years in his family, I was expecting something tall, soft, frosted and fit for candles. I expected a gâteau but got an icebox cake: four layers of cookies held together with four layers of frosting. The cake, originally a back-of-the-box recipe, was created for a French tea biscuit called Thé Brun, but I could never find them, so I used Petit Beurre cookies. Lately I can’t find them either, so I use old-fashioned Nabisco Social Teas. You can use whatever cookies you’d like, but they should be plain, flat, square or rectangular. Depending on the size of your cookies, you might need fewer of them; depending on how big or small you make the cake, you might need to juggle the number of layers or the amount of frosting. It’s a recipe made for improvisation.

Moka Dupont: A French Icebox Cake

bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

hot espresso (made fresh or with instant espresso powder)

Nabisco

chocolate,

Before you start assembling the cake, decide on the size you want. I make a cake that’s 4 cookies wide, 4 cookies long and 4 layers high. Choose a plate to build and serve the cake.

Make the buttercream frosting: Put the butter in a small bowl, and beat it with a flexible spatula until smooth. Add 1/2 cup sugar, and beat again with the spatula until it’s thoroughly incorporated. Separate the egg, putting the yolk in a cup and the white in a small bowl. Whip the white until it holds soft peaks using a mixer or, for a short but strenuous exercise, a whisk. Give the yolk a quick whisk, just to break it up, then stir it into the white.

Add the egg to the bowl with the butter, and using the spatula, stir and fold until blended. Scrape in the melted chocolate, then stir and fold again until the frosting is homogeneous. (It won’t be perfectly smooth.) Taste the buttercream, and you’ll feel grains of sugar on your tongue — that’s the way it’s meant to be.

Pour the hot espresso into a wide, shallow bowl, and stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.

One by one, drop each cookie into the espresso, count 3 seconds, flip it over, count 3 seconds more, then place the espresso-soaked cookie on the serving plate. Continue until you have your first layer of cookies in place.

Using a small offset spatula or a table knife, spread a quarter of the buttercream over the cookies, working the cream to the edges of the cookies. Build 3 more layers of dunked cookies and smoothed buttercream. Top the last layer of buttercream with grated chocolate.

Refrigerate the cake until the frosting is set, at least 3 hours. The cake can be kept covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. (Once the frosting is set, the cake could also be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months. To serve, simply let it defrost, still wrapped, in the refrigerator for about 4 hours or at room temperature for about 1 hour.)

Chocolate and cherry is a classic combination, but how these scones come together is what makes them really special: Lightly whipping the cream before folding it into the dough creates tiny air bubbles that result in a scone that leans more toward cake than bread. They also develop a delicate, crackly crust and a melt-in-your-mouth creaminess. On top of the chocolate chunks, tart cherries and the fluffiness, here’s another reason to love these scones: The dough is made by hand and doesn’t require rolling or cutting, meaning less mess in the kitchen.

Whipped Cream Scones With Chocolate and Cherries

salted butter

bittersweet chocolate, chopped

tart cherries

Sparkling sugar, for sprinkling (optional)

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Whisk the cream in a medium bowl until thickened to the consistency of pancake batter.

Toss the butter in the flour mixture to coat, then press the cubes flat using your fingers. Add the chocolate and cherries and toss until well coated. Add the whipped cream and rake through the dry ingredients with fingers spread wide on one hand while rotating the bowl with the other hand. Keep mixing, scraping clumps off your hand as needed, until all the dry bits are moistened and form large, shaggy clumps.

Gently gather small handfuls of dough (about 1/4 cup each) and gently roll into 12 balls. Place on the prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart.

Sprinkle with sparkling sugar, if using, and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let cool, about 5 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature.

You do not have to be a chocolate person to love this perfect, unfussy, snacky dessert, which is like the edge of a chewy brownie but in cookie form. Adapted from "Nothing Fancy" by Alison Roman (Clarkson Potter, 2019), these cookies require no special equipment, fancy techniques or chilling time, which means that even if you bake only once a year, you can still make these. Lightly sweet and definitely salty, it's ideal for the end of a meal.

Tiny, Salty, Chocolaty Cookies

unsalted butter (3/4 stick)

confectioners’ sugar

cocoa

bittersweet chocolate (at least 67 percent cacao), chopped

hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios, pecans or walnuts (optional)

Flaky sea salt,

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Melt the butter in a small pot over medium heat, swirling, until it's starting to foam and brown, 3 to 4 minutes. (Whisk the butter from time to time so that the solids don’t stick to the bottom of the pot.) Let cool.

Whisk the confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a medium bowl, ridding it of as many lumps as possible. (If you really want to, feel free to sift everything.)

Using a spatula, mix in the egg whites, whole egg and browned butter, stirring until you’ve got a good, smoothish mixture (any small lumps will take care of themselves), followed by the chocolate and any nuts you may want to add.

Using a spoon, drop quarter-size blobs of dough (the texture is really somewhere between a dough and a batter) onto the baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart (they spread a lot). Sprinkle with flaky salt and bake until the cookies have flattened considerably and look baked through and a little wrinkled, 6 to 8 minutes. Let cool before eating so they can firm up.

Baking a chocolate babka is no casual undertaking. The Eastern European yeast-risen coffee cake has 14 steps and takes all day to make. But the results are worth every sugarcoated second – with a moist, deeply flavored brioche-like cake wrapped around a dark fudge filling, then topped with cocoa streusel crumbs.

If you want to save yourself a little work and love Nutella, you can substitute 1 1/2 cup (420 grams) of it for the homemade fudge filling. Also note that you can make this over a few days instead of all at once. Babka freezes well for up to 3 months, so if you  need only one loaf now, freeze the other for later.

Chocolate Babka

118 milliliters whole milk

(1/4 ounce 7 grams) active dry yeast

all-purpose flour, more as needed

lemon

nutmeg

kosher salt

112 grams/1 stick unsalted butter, diced, at room temperature

unsalted butter, melted

60 grams mini semisweet chocolate chips

Prepare the dough: In a small saucepan or a bowl in the microwave, warm the milk until it’s lukewarm but not hot (about 110 degrees). Add yeast and a pinch of sugar and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes, until slightly foamy.

In an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, or in a food processor, mix together flour, 1/3 cup sugar, the salt, the vanilla, the lemon zest (if using) and the nutmeg. (If you don't have a mixer or processor, use a large bowl and a wooden spoon.) Beat or process in the yeast mixture and eggs until the dough comes together in a soft mass, about 2 minutes. If the dough sticks to the side of the bowl and doesn’t come together, add a tablespoon more flour at a time until it does, beating very well in between additions.

Add half the butter and beat or pulse until the dough is smooth and elastic, 3 to 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed. Beat in the rest of the butter and continue to beat or pulse until the dough is smooth and stretchy, another 5 to 7 minutes. Again, if the dough sticks to the sides of the bowl, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Butter a clean bowl, form the dough into a ball and roll it around in the bowl so all sides are buttered. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let it rise in a warm, draft-free place (inside of a turned-off oven with the oven light on is good) until it puffs and rises, about 1 to 2 hours. It may not double in bulk but it should rise.

Press the dough down with your hands, re-cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight (or, in a pinch, for at least 4 hours, but the flavor won't be as developed).

Prepare the filling: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, cream and salt. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until sugar completely dissolves, about 5 minutes. Scrape mixture into a bowl. Stir in chocolate, butter and vanilla until smooth. Let cool to room temperature. Filling can be made up to a week ahead and stored, covered, in the fridge. Let come to room temperature before using.

Prepare the streusel: In a bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Stir in melted butter until it is evenly distributed and forms large, moist crumbs. Stir in the chocolate chips. Streusel can be prepared up to 3 days ahead and stored, covered, in the fridge.

Prepare the syrup: In a small saucepan, combine sugar and 2/3 cup/158 milliliters water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then simmer for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves.

Butter two 9-inch loaf pans, then line with parchment paper, leaving 2 inches of paper hanging over on the sides to use as handles later.

Remove dough from refrigerator and divide in half. On a floured surface, roll one piece into a 9-by-17-inch rectangle. Spread with half the filling (there's no need to leave a border). Starting with a long side, roll into a tight coil. Transfer the coil onto a dish towel or piece of plastic wrap and stick it in the freezer for 10 minutes. Repeat with the other piece of dough.

Slice one of the dough coils in half lengthwise to expose the filling. Twist the halves together as if you were braiding them, then fold the braid in half so it’s about 9 inches long. Place into a prepared pan, letting it curl around itself if it’s a little too long for the pan. Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until puffy (it won’t quite double). Alternatively, you can cover the pans with plastic wrap and let them rise in the refrigerator overnight; bring them back to room temperature for an hour before baking.

When you're ready to bake, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Use your fingers to clump streusel together and scatter all over the tops of the cakes. Transfer to oven and bake until a tester goes into the cakes without any rubbery resistance and comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. The cakes will also sound hollow if you unmold them and tap on the bottom. An instant-read thermometer will read between 185 and 210 degrees.

As soon as the cakes come out of the oven, use a skewer or paring knife to pierce them all over going all the way to the bottom of the cakes, and then pour the syrup on top of the cakes, making sure to use half the syrup for each cake.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.

A fudge center and chocolate crumb topping give this babka a serious upgrade.

Sherry Yard's iconic chocolate-chip cookies are just the right mix of chewy and crisp, with a bittersweet morsel of chocolate in each bite. They are the cookies anyone who asks you to make chocolate chip cookies are asking for -- the kind of chocolate cookie that demands to be dunked into a glass of ice-cold milk.

Quintessential Chocolate Chip Cookies

all-purpose flour (1 1/2 cups)

baking soda (1/2 teaspoon)

butter (4 ounces 1 stick)

sugar (1/2 cup)

light brown sugar (1/2 cup packed)

salt (1/4 teaspoon)

vanilla (1 teaspoon)

bittersweet chocolate (8 ounces), cut in 1-inch pieces (or use coins)

Sift together flour and baking soda and set aside. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until lemony yellow, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl and paddle. Add sugar, brown sugar and salt. Continue creaming mixture on medium speed until it is smooth and lump free, about 1 minute. Stop mixer and scrape down sides of bowl and paddle.

Add egg and vanilla and beat on low speed for 15 seconds, or until they are fully incorporated. Do not over-beat. Scrape down sides of bowl and paddle.

On low speed, add sifted flour mixture. Beat slowly until all of the flour is incorporated. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add chocolate chunks and mix in.

Heat oven to 350 degrees with the rack positioned in the lower third of the oven. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Spoon heaping teaspoons of dough 2 inches apart onto baking sheets. If not baking right away, remove small handfuls or spoonfuls of dough from mixer and plop them down on the middle of a sheet of parchment or wax paper, creating a log about 1 1/2 inches wide and 12 inches long. Fold parchment over, creating a sausage. Chill for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight. Using a serrated knife, slice chilled dough into 1/3-inch-thick rounds and place them 2 inches apart, in staggered rows, on parchment-lined sheets and proceed. (Dough will keep nicely, tightly wrapped, in the refrigerator for 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Thaw frozen dough at room temperature for 30 minutes before slicing.)



Bake one sheet at a time for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned, rotating the baking sheet front to back halfway through. Remove from heat and slide parchment off baking sheet and onto a work surface. Allow cookies to cool for at least 5 minutes before serving, or for at least 20 minutes before storing in an airtight container. They will keep for up to 3 days at room temperature.

These are like those three-ingredient peanut butter cookies everyone loves, but with a little cocoa powder and bittersweet chocolate thrown in to make them fancy. You only need five ingredients and a bit of elbow grease to put them together. While semisweet chocolate (in bar or chip form) would certainly work here, bittersweet chocolate is a better choice. The darker chocolate, along with the cocoa powder, adds a fruity bitterness that contrasts nicely with the sweet peanut butter.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Swirl Cookies

(16-ounce 455-gram) jar smooth peanut butter (not natural)

eggs

85 grams chopped bittersweet chocolate

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, or using a handheld mixer, beat the peanut butter and sugar on high until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and salt and beat on medium until well combined, about 1 minute. Transfer half the dough to a bowl or a clean work surface.

Add the chocolate, cocoa powder and salt to the remaining dough in the bowl of the electric mixer and beat on medium until combined.

Portion the peanut butter dough into 1 tablespoon scoops and the chocolate dough into heaping 1 tablespoon scoops. Squeeze together one scoop of peanut butter dough and one scoop of chocolate dough and roll into a neat ball. Transfer the balls to the prepared pans, at least 1 1/2 inches apart. Using the flat bottom of a glass dipped in granulated sugar, press each ball into a flat circle that is 1/2-inch thick. (After pressing the first cookie, the glass will be greasy enough for the sugar to adhere to it.)

Bake the cookies until set and slightly puffed, 14 to 16 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through baking. Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks to cool. (Cookies will be quite crumbly and delicate right after baking and need a few minutes to firm up.)

Dense, creamy and fudgy, this pudding is meant to be made in a 6- to 8-quart electric pressure cooker like an Instant Pot. You can bake this recipe as one larger pudding or as individual servings. 

It can be made in a stovetop pressure cooker, by trimming a few minutes off the cooking time, or you can also bake the individual servings in a water bath in the oven. To do so, heat the oven to 300 degrees. Set the filled, uncovered custard cups in a large roasting pan positioned on the oven's center rack. Add hot tap water to the pan, halfway up the sides of cups. Cover the entire pan with foil, and use a fork to prick holes in foil. Bake until edges are lightly set (lifting the foil to check) but the centers are still jiggly – they will set as they cool – 30 to 35 minutes.

Pressure Cooker Chocolate Pudding

milk

bittersweet chocolate (preferably 60 percent to 65 percent), chopped

brown sugar

vanilla extract, dark rum or bourbon

cardamom

Crème fraîche, cream,

Chocolate shavings,

In a heavy saucepan, bring cream and milk to a simmer. Remove from heat; whisk in chocolate until melted and smooth.

In a large bowl, whisk together yolks, sugar, vanilla (or rum or bourbon), cardamom or cinnamon (if using) and salt. Whisking constantly, pour hot chocolate into yolk mixture. Strain through a very fine mesh sieve into a large measuring cup or bowl. This can be made up to 2 days ahead and stored in the refrigerator.

Pour into a 1-quart, 7-inch soufflé dish, or divide chocolate mixture among six (4- to 6-ounce) custard cups, espresso cups or small ramekins. Cover with foil.

Place steamer rack in pressure cooker, and fill cooker with 1 1/2 cups water. If baking the larger pudding, place dish on top of rack. Cook on low pressure for 18 minutes. Wait 5 minutes, then manually release pressure. If making the individual servings, place 3 custard cups on top of rack. Cook for 5 minutes on low pressure, then manually release pressure. Repeat with remaining three cups. 

After cooking puddings, remove foil covers to allow the steam to evaporate, and cool to room temperature. Cover puddings with plastic wrap, and chill at least 3 hours and up to 3 days before serving with crème fraîche and chocolate shavings, if you like.

These chocolate cookies are irresistible warm from the oven, when the chips or chunks inside are still luxuriously liquidy. They then cool to a fudgy, brownielike texture with a chewy edge — if any manage to stay around that long. Both fresh and candied ginger lend sophistication, but feel free to leave them out if you want a pure chocolate experience. These cookies are also ideal for late-night cravings: You can be eating them 30 minutes after you start measuring the cocoa powder.

Gingery Brownie Crinkle Cookies

Dutch-processed cocoa powder

unsalted butter (1/2 stick)

light brown sugar

ginger

bittersweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (about 2/3 cup)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl, and whisk to combine. Set aside.

Combine the 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate and the butter in a small heatproof bowl that fits on top of a small saucepan without falling in. Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in the saucepan over high, reduce to a simmer, then set the bowl on top. Stir occasionally until completely melted. Remove bowl from saucepan to cool slightly.

Combine eggs, granulated sugar and light brown sugar in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment. Beat on medium speed to combine, scraping down the sides once. Increase speed to high and beat until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed. Add the ginger and vanilla. Beat to combine.

Add the melted chocolate mixture and beat on medium speed to combine. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until just combined. Remove bowl from mixer, scrape sides and fold a few times to make sure everything is well combined. Add the 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips and fold to combine.

Use a small cookie scoop to scoop dough (which will be pretty runny) into generous 1-tablespoon portions. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, setting each scoop 3 inches apart. Top each cookie with a good pinch of candied ginger. Bake until surface is crinkled and edges are firm, 8 to 10 minutes, rotating sheets from front to back and top to bottom halfway through.

Let cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets, and transfer them to a wire rack to cool further. Scoop any remaining dough onto one of the baking sheets — it’s O.K. to reuse the parchment — and repeat. Cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.

Crème fraîche enriches this flourless cake, and dark cocoa powder bolsters its chocolate flavor. Both fresh and dry ginger add a nuance of heat and spice that show why ginger pairs so well with chocolate. Even though this cake is wonderful on its own, unsweetened crème fraîche dolloped on top and chewy, citrusy <a href="https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021693-clementine-confit">clementine confit</a> takes this into a very sophisticated neighborhood.

Ginger Chocolate Cake

butter butter

Dutch-processed cocoa powder,

(8-ounce 225-gram) container crème fraîche (1 cup)

ginger liqueur

Clementine Confit,

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan with the softened butter. Line the bottom with parchment and butter the paper.

Combine the butter and chocolate in a medium bowl, and set the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir occasionally until mostly melted and remove from heat. Continue stirring until smooth and let cool slightly. Add cocoa, fresh ginger, ground ginger, vanilla, salt, 1/4 cup/55 grams crème fraîche, 1/4 cup/50 grams sugar and the liqueur, if using. Whisk until smooth. Lightly beat the egg yolks in another bowl and whisk into the chocolate mixture until smooth. Set aside in a warm place to keep the mixture loose.

Meanwhile, use a stand mixer fitted with the whisk or a hand mixer and large bowl to beat the egg whites on medium speed until evenly foamy. Gradually sprinkle in the remaining 3/4 cup/150 grams sugar. Increase the speed to high and continue beating until the egg whites are very billowy and hold a peak.

Add 1/4 of the whites to the chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth, then scrape into the bowl with the whites. Fold gently until no white streaks remain. Scrape into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Place on a baking sheet and onto the center oven rack.

Bake until the center bounces a little when you gently shake the pan and a toothpick inserted 1 1/2 inches from the edge comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool completely on a rack.

Remove the ring and slide onto a serving plate from the pan bottom. You can leave the paper in place. Gently pat any crumbling edges back onto the cake. The cake will last well wrapped at room temperature for a few days and can also be frozen.

When ready to serve, chill a bowl and whisk, and use them to whip the remaining 3/4 cup/180 milliliters crème fraîche. It will thin out at first, then hold its shape. Dust the cake with cocoa powder and slice with a hot knife. Serve each slice with a dollop of crème fraîche and some of the clementine confit.

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