Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Mmm, definitely the chocolate tasting at Alan Wong's. I'm pretty sure it was intended for 2 people, but I had it all to myself! Delightful.

Alice Medrich's cocoa nib ice cream was a revelation for me. I never knew that such a delicate chocolate flavor could have such an impact.

When I was very young, we were visiting in Chicago and a restaurant featured a flourless chocolate cake that was practically a solid brick of chocolate. It made a significant impact on me-- I'd never had anything like it before.

My mom's brownies. They were my birthday "cake" every year.

The chocolate mousse I had in a small cafe in Switzerland. I still remember the taste!

I'm not vegan or vegetarian, but for some reason the best chocolate cake I have ever devoured was from this vegan restaurant in Toronto. It was so rich and flavorful.

My very first taste of chocolate lava cakes. Mmmmm.

My first taster of a milk chocolate lavender bar,yum!

A flourless chocolate cake at a nice restaurant. Delicious!

A milkshake in a chocolate bag at Domaine Chandon, when I was 15, about 28 years ago.

Chocolate creme brulee in New Orleans

During my freshman year in college, the girl who was in the dorm room next to mine (and now one of my best friends) received a care package from her mom in Texas - filled with homemade chocolate fudge! She was kind enough to share and it was like heaven! The. Best. Fudge. Ever. I'm still trying to get the recipe from her. :-)

The salted-caramel "Hawaiian" hot chocolate from Naked Chocolate in Philadelphia. I dream about it. Frequently.

I honestly dont think I have ever had anything chocolate that wasnt great- but what I remember best is a warm brownie sundae with hot fudge.mmmm

Hot fudge sundae at Friendly's.

A chocolate cake I had in a restaurant, It was fantastic!

the mexican chocolate pudding that i make - sweet with a bit of a kick

Perfect Churros con Chocolate in Barcelona. The chocolate is surreally rich and thick, somewhere between pudding and hot fudge, with light, crispy, not-too-sweet churros as the perfect dipper.

a hot chocolate cake from the first nice restaurant that my then-boyfriend (now-husband) and I went to together.

thai chile chocolate from Kee's Chocolates

brownie with cholocate ice cream, hot fudge, and oreo cookie crumbs. this was a college cafeteria treat that i had regularly. too bad i can't eat dairy anymore.

Raw chocolate in Switzerland- never had anything like it before!

I used to work at a Rest. that served a Chocolate Bread Pudding with Brandy Soaked Dried Peaches in a Jack Daniel's Creme Anglaise. It was made with chocolate bread and had tons of chocolate in it.

Man was it tasty.

My mom used to make this very involved chocolate cake for my dad every year for his birthday when I was a kid. Recently, I needed to bake a cake and she suggested that one and I made it, and it was delicious and wonderful and such a great thing to bring to a party attended by an ex-boyfriend, demonstrating my status as [an intermittent] domestic goddess.

Chocolate gelato in italy.

The famous Le Cirque chocolate mousse -- back when Jacques Torres was making it!

Taza Chocolate olive oil mousse at Craigie Street Bistro last fall was pretty nice.

I LOVE making Hershey's Hot Fudge Pudding Cake, and I make it every Valentine's Day. With a dollop of freshly-whipped cream, it's literally out of this world!

http://www.hersheys.com/recipes/recipes/detail.asp?id=4761

Death by Chocolate's signature chocolate cake, Vancouver, BC

Marcel Desaulniers' pumpkin chocolate cheesecake. You can only eat a sliver.

My first chocolate mousse when I was a little girl
pots de creme
truffles
French silk pie
my homemade hot fudge sauce

The first taste of my first homemade chocolate bacon ice cream.

Pretty much anything from the Chocolate Fetish in Asheville, NC, falls under a favorite for me - they put nationally-known chocolates to shame with their truffles!

This may sound strange, but when I was a child my mother repeated attempted to make cooked homemade fudge without success. What she ended up with thick, runny fudge SAUCE -- which I loved! We'd laugh and happily eat it by the spoonfuls. :)

I have this amazing recipe for chocolate macaroons which, when I tasted them for the first time, I swear I heard angels singing. I save them for very special occasions...they are rich and dark and decadent.

my memory might be blowing things out of proportion, but back when Faletti's was on Fulton and had a Just Desserts in between the checkers and the photo-development booth I used to live for the chocolate cake. A birthday wasn't a birthday unless it included that triple-decker Just Desserts chocolate cake!

A red chili pepper dark chocolate concoction from a small Swiss chocolate factory. It was sweet, bitter, spicy, and all in perfect balance.

The chocolate mousse from a restaurant in Berkeley, CA.

chocolate decadence at cocolat in berkeley back in the 70's. i'd never dreamed that something like that even existed.

{flourless chocolate cake with raspberry coulis and whipped cream. another alice medrich creation!}

chocolate truffles from shop in London

Homemade Lava cakes using 100%-cocoa Italian chocolate :)

Chocolate filled and dipped jalapenos from the Green & Black's cookbook. Amazing.

The Vegan Chocolate Death Cake at the Grit in Athens, GA!

I think it was called a Dark Chocolate Pastille but it was basically a pastry consisting of a very thin and flaky crust filled with the most decadent tasting dark chocolate filling ever. It was accompanied by a very refreshing raspberry sorbet to help cut the richness of the chocolate. I thought I'd die and gone to chocolate heaven.

ina's outrageous brownies are the first thing to come to mind

Everytime I make a New York egg cream I'm in heaven.

I recently had the best chocolate and peanut butter gelato. The chocolate gelato was so creamy and smooth. The pair of them was truely the best combination of gelato that I have ever had.

The chocolate hazelnut brownies I made from the Cook's Illustrated cookbook. So, so good.

my girlfriends Italian grandmother made us truffels last christmas. nothing beats homemade!!

It would be a Hot Fudge sundae at Beaches and Cream in Disney World.

A 'flourless' chocolate torte with raspberry sauce. This was a precursor to the lava cakes that became so popular. Those on the 'inside' knew the torte had about a teaspoon of flour in it.

guinness chocolate cake

homemade chocolate pudding. With the skin of course!

Absolutely exquisite handmade chocolates from Belgium. Relatives brought them when they visited. They were highly coveted and doled out carefully-we tried our darnedest to make them last, but it definitely didn't work!

We've made a very rich chocolate bread pudding... the recipe is downstairs, and I might have to buy two loaves the next time I go out, so we'll be sure to have some stale bread...

Belgian chocolate ice cream made locally in Austin.

Homemade hot fudge sauce over ice cream. Mmmmm.

My mom's brownies

Dark chocolate-raspberry poundcake. So moist and tender, yet rich and almost fudgy. Served with raspberry whipped cream and a rum-raspberry sauce it is beyond delicious.

a flourless chocolate cake that my sister and I made

A chocolate birthday cake from a bakery in Calgary called Decadent Deserts. It involved 2 pounds of Bernard Callebaut chocolate and not a lot else. BLISS.

molten chocolate/raspberry cake at my anniversary dinner 4 years ago

Serendipity's Frozen Hot Chocolate-It's a classic.

Molten lava cake at Morton's.

Baked fudge at a little cafe in Utica Square, Tulsa, OK.

when I was 10 my mom went to Paris - without me :*( - but she brought me a super-fancy version of a snickers bar at Fauchon. I could only eat a bite at a time, it was so rich, and I put it down for a second and walked away, and when I came back my dog had eaten the rest of it! I was so upset! but I'm glad my dog was ok even after all that chocolate...

my wedding cake

The first time I ever received a hand-packed pound of See's Candies, I proceeded to eat the entire thing in one evening. Nauseating, delicious, and definitely unforgettable. I've learned to pace myself.

chocolate mousse at La Chaumiere in Georgetown (DC)-- a formative dining experience for me as a youth

My husbands hot cocoa using top quality chocolate.

A milk chocolate truffle from a little chocolate shop in Brussels. I can't remember the name, but we went through a pound in a day and had to go back the following day because we ate them all.

nutella filled doughnuts

a chocolate tasting at Copia in Napa, California
hundreds of vendors, fabulous chocolate, but:
there CAN be too much of a good thing!

chocolate tart with pretzel crust

City Bakery's hot chocolate, Lora Brody's recipe for "Le Trianon" and Nobu's Bento box molten chocolate cake with green tea ice cream

vanilla cake with chocolate ganache filling and real chocolate buttercream frosting.

The time we accidentally froze some truffles while trying to cool them down quickly. I'll never eat them room temperature again.

A olive oil and sea salt dark chocolate truffle--sublime!

I made a flourless chocolate from Orangette's blog for an old friend who was visiting. I think it was the extra dark valrhona I used or the homemade grand marnier spiked whipped cream I served it with, or maybe it was the presence of good friends, but it was the best thing I've ever baked and I recreate it when I need a dessert to really shine.

turtle chocolate fondue at the melting pot

flourless chocolate torte with warm chocolate sauce on top. yum.

A trio of chocolate creme brulee (dark chocolate/milk chocolate/white chocolate) in San Diego in a hotel restaurant overlooking a golf course at sunset. Mmmm.

Chocolate truffle cake.

The chocolate sorbet parfait from Mora. Dear goodness, it was decadence.

Cuban Opera Cake

chocolate baklava with almonds and yummy chocolate sauce.

i was five, it was my sister's third birthday. my mom spent the entire morning making the super dark and dense fudgy cake. i stood on tippy toes at her side and watched her swoooosh! the nearly black ganache into wild curliques and swirls. with my mouth watering, brain nearly twitching with olfactory oveload, i nearly swooned when she scooped a finger into the frosting and popped it into my mouth. weak knees! palpitating heart! true love!
before we were to eat the cake, mom walked all us kids over to a nearby park (strawberry place park, really!) where we played games for a bit. i couldn't stop thinking about that frosting and after what seemed like a lifetime, i walked home alone, just to get another look at the swirly, swoopy thing. i walked through the back door and there it sat on the countertop, beckoning, taunting, calling me to it. i only meant to look at it, maybe just steal a tiny bit of frosting. but i couldn't control myself and i pulled a stool along side the counter, pulled the rotating cake plate to within an inch of my face, stuck my tongue out, gave the cake a spin and licked! and licked and licked until i'd eaten all the frosting off the sides. surely no one would notice! the top was still intact!
the rest of the party showed up shortly and i waited in my bedroom behind the door, holding my breath and my stomach. when it what i'd done was discovered, my mother chased me through the yard with a switch and when she finally caught me, she "beat the devil" out of me while she cried over her ruined cake and her rotten daughter! still it was the best and most memorable chocolate dessert and i'd take another switchin' for just one bite of that ganache frosting.

A friend was going to enter a desert in a state wide contest and he asked me to be his chief tester (taster?) By the time I had gained about twenty pounds, we decided he should enter his Molten Lava Double Chocolate Cake. He won a scholarship to chef school, so we all came out ahead.

Chocolate fondue with homemade marshmallows from the Chocolate room in Brooklyn.

A flourless chocolate cake with raspberry sauce and ice cream. It was so dense and rich... I've never had another that was that good.

the first time i had death by chocolate pie... when i was about 7. oh my.

Vosges Haut Chocolat's bacon chocolate bar

My most unforgettable chocolate cake was 'death by chocolate cake' which I ate at Olio Dome in Singapore. It was rich and very very chocolaty ;p

A tunnel of fudge cake with pecans that came out perfect on my third try. Warm with real whipped cream...sigh.

Rogue Chocolatier - mmm

The smoky chocolate with sea salt caramel tart at Nectar Desserts here in Calgary is soooo good.

the first time I had hot chocolate that was homemade, not made from a foil pouch.

pot de creme, can be so special

JeansandTs@hotmail.com
I want to try all the recipes in this book! I love the creamy goodness of european chocolate. I really miss living in Bavaria Germany!

The original brownie recipe, which is almost fudge, but thankfully not that sweet. Then I topped it with a thick layer of ganache as a frosting.

Very simple- Traditional Mayan drinking chocolate in a tiny restaurant(?) in a town outside of Puerto Vallarta Mexico. Dark, spicy, amazing!

Real chocolate pudding, made from scratch, with unsweetened whipped cream on top.

white chocolate cake with strawberry filling and white chocolate icing. a single slice would put me out of commission for at least an hour, and it was totally worth it.

Coupe de Cote - triple-bittersweet chocolate ice cream with caramel cream, pralines, and brownies

chocoplosion in my mouth

brownies from a deli that's no longer there in NYC
it was huge, cheap and delicious

the homemade ice cream cake my grandma used to make me for my birthday. the ice cream wasn't homemade, but the cake was, and while it wasn't the BEST cake i've ever had (though it was pretty darn good), it was the most memorable because she made it for me.

Chocolate Heaven Cake from Jeanine's Bakery in Santa Barbara, CA is my all time favorite

I love chocolate so it is hard to pick my favorite. I guess I would have to say german chocolate cake.

I was a sucker early on for Joseph Schmidt Chocolates, brought to us years ago by friends who visited SF.

Growing up, my mother worked as a bartender at Le Vichyssois in Lakemoor, IL and she would occasionally bring home slices of desserts to share around with us. What I remember most was the 'Torte au chocolat' that had a nice moist crumb and the cocoa powder and powdered sugar on top helped round out the flavor. This is still my 'birthday cake' of choice to this day!

chocolate budino, brandied cherries, whipped cream, yum...

I just love coconut haystacks. They're so expensive- but sooo darm fantastic!

It would have to be a chocolate cake that was made with ground walnuts instead of flour. It was the most perfect chocolate thing I ever had...and I can no longer find the recipe.

My husband and I went to Disney for our honeymoon. While there we had the chocolate slipper dessert with mousse. It was great. Thanks for the chance.

Pot de creme with ancho chile. Silky, chocolately and spicy. Realy terrific.

Chocolate & strawberry crepes from a little cafe in New Orleans (don't remember the name).

Chocolate Lava Cake with Ghirardelli chocolate. We had been in San Francisco and bought a chunk of their dark chocolate at the wharf. Oh, my.

My very first hot fudge sundae got me hooked on the goodness that is CHOCOLATE.

a scoop of Chocolat Mendiant ice cream from Berthillon

A chocolate brownie & a glass of port

I once made a chocolate pecan fudge that was melt in your mouth delicious and I've spent many a batch trying to recreate it. One day, I will again! Perhaps with the help of a certain book?

Churros and chocolate in Madrid!

There is a local restaurant to me that makes the most devine mounds cheesecake.

I had these raspberry white chocolate cookies in Disney World when I was younger. I'll never forget them...

I made a Chocolate Hazelnut Torte that was filled with chocolate mousse and covered in a dark chocolate ganache that was better than anything I had ever tasted in a restaurant. Unfortunately, it was a lot of work, so I only made it once, but I keep thinking about making it again...maybe someday.

dark chocolate olive oil brownies

I just love chocolate-covered marzipan with hazelnut paste bought in Germany.

Classic lava cake with an oozy inside really is the pinnacle of choco-dom.

Fran Bigelow's Belgian Chocolate Cheesecake!
A must try!

The chocolate cake recipe from the back of the Hershey's Cocoa box.

first chocolate souffle from a french restaurant

It was a small chocolate cake with melted chocolate on the inside seated in a raspberry pool with raspberry drizzle on top. To die for.

flourless chocolate cake

chocolate cake from spotted pig!!!

Since the contest is for most unforgettable, not the best chocolate dessert, I'm going to have to go with Bill Knapp's chocolate cake. As a kid I though that was the best stuff on earth. I used to beg my mom to take me there on my birthday every year.

In the spirit of this post, a chocolate and mint martini. It kind of tasted like Andes candies, but with a kick. A dangerous combination.

flourless chocolate cake

Has to be hot chocolate cake with ice cream - the second you dig your spoon in the chocolate sauce on the inside starts running out and mixing with the ice cream...until you want to lick the plate clean in public.

http://bakingandmistaking.blogspot.com

nothing too profound or adventurous yet. probably a brownie shortcake with berries that a friend brought to a dinner party. that's the only stand out "holy cow, this is good" moment that's coming to me.

Chocolate molten cake in San Francisco
gkstratos@yahoo.com

The only souffle I've ever had -- at a French restaurant, naturally -- was a chocolate souffle, and it was fabulous. I've cut out recipes for dessert souffles since then but have never tried to make them.

The very first time I ever tasted chocolate souffle. I was in high school, and it was, of all places, at California Pizza Kitchen. I have moved on to bigger and better chocolate exeriences since then, but nothing compares to feeling of revelation I had that chocolate could be so much more than a Hershey's bar...

At a cafe in Michigan which tragically is closed now, they would periodically have a dessert called "Unbelievable Chocolate Cake." I always looked at it with skepticism, but when I finally tried it I was shocked that it lived up to it's name. It was fluffy upon first entering my mouth, and after a brief moment it melted away into an incredibly smooth cream. Additionally it was a bitter dark chocolate taste with minimal sugar... truly a cake for grown-up chocolate lovers! Not only was it "Unbelievable", it was unforgettable!!!

It has to be the chocolate silk banana pie. It is a chocolate crumb crust, then a layer of the chocolate, an entire layer of banana slices, more chocolate, whipped cream and then some cocoa powder and chocolate curls.

Chocolate Mint Mousse!!!!!!!!

We were at a French restaurant in St. Maarten a week ago and had the most delicious Chocolate Souffle and a Poached Pear with chocolate inside of it. They were both amazing.

Julia Child's Reine de Saba with Glacage au Chocolat from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", to die for.

The first time I made chocolate truffles... I was covered head to toe in cocoa and later when I was cleaning up somehow I got melted chocolate on the ceiling. It might have been ganache. It is still my favorite recipe: from Nick Malgieri's "Chocolate". And everyone LOVES it when they are made... I am suddenly inspired to cook. Thanks.

The Black Gold cookies I make from the recipe in Marcel Desaulniers "Death By Chocolate Cookies". I have shown my gratitude to caregivers, etc, with these, and they've always been a hit. And no wonder, there is a ratio of Two tsp of chocolate for every tsp of flour. Need I say more?

Mississippi Mud Pie--that's chocolate!

Ah, posted in the wrong place ^^;
the Triple Chocolate cupcake @ Trophy Cupcakes in Seattle! The first time I went, my boyfriend bought it for me, and we ate it together ^^ Really the most amazingly light and creamy and fluffy frosting, with soft chocolate sprinkle squares, all topping a delicious but not too sweet cake. Serious love.

On a cold day in Praha in November, there was literally nothing in the whole world more than a chocolate palacinky from the palacinky lady at namesti trida before taking a walk down to Cafe Slavia for a cup of that unforgettable hot chocolate with oranges--so much more chocolate than milk that it was nearly the consistently of hot, unset chocolate pudding...

Truly heaven on earth.

The NY style chocolate macadamia cheesecake I made for Christmas. Completely from scratch - I even made my own chocolate graham crackers for the crust! It was amazing!

XOX Truffles in San Francisco shortly after DH proposed.

The Chocolate Mousse I had on vacation in Victoria Canada...Yum!

a rich dark chocolate torte from the steakhouse at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, TX

Anyone(geezers like me) remember the Qulilted Giraffe restaurant run by Barry Wine in the 80s, now long gone? Well, he served 2 fantastic, memorable desserts, Mocha Fantasy and Frozen Chocolate Souffle. I would luv to get my hands on those recipes!

A warm chocolate lava cake. Just right! Thanks for a great giveaway!

chocolate tasting at the ritz

choc molten cake and brownies with caramel. yummm

I made Ina Garten's Beatty's Chocolate cake with Chocolate buttercream icing a couple of weeks for girl's night. That cake was gone by the end of the night (there were only a few of us there)! It's the best cake I've ever had, maybe more so because I made it myself!

Jake's Steaks in St. Louis has a 'Chocolate Molten Cake' that defines everything I look for in an 'insane chocolate overdose' cake.

yum, can't wait to make it!

chocolate creme brulee, madelines, ithaca new york

A restaurant in Chicago where I dined as a kid had the most outrageous chocolate mousse I have ever eaten.

I was in a small Bolivian cafe in La Paz and tasted the most amazing chocolate cake (aka "pastel de chocolate) with a thick chocolate shell icing.

A triple chocolate mousse made from Milk, Dark and White Chocolate. Made from Hawaiin Chocolate.

The first flourless chocolate cake I ever made. I made it on a whim for a potluck, I just baked it and ran; when I finally had a chance to taste it I wanted to whisk it off the table and not share another bite.

My mother's chocolate pudding. It was dark, bittersweet and nothing like the usual overly sweet pudding that my friends' mothers made. My mom made chocolate pudding every Friday night for dessert, and every Saturday morning my sister and I would take the leftover pudding out of the fridge and eat it sitting on the floor, the bowl between us, in front of the television while watching cartoons. It was years before I realized my mom doubled the recipe so that there would be leftovers for us on Saturday morning.

Chocolate souffle, still warm and slowly sinking.

The chocolate mousse my mother used to make

Giant Chocolate Toffee Cookies which my grandson calls "Chocolate Gigis"

Chocolate chip cookies, just baked

The Chocolate Mousse Tower at Max's Downtown, Hartford CT.

Hot chocolate in a cafe near Notre Dame - not so much for the chocolate (which was good enough) but for the experience itself.

ahhh, chocolat chaud from Laduree after a romantic evening stroll down Champs Elysees with my husband. We saw the Arc de Tromphe illuminated at night and the view of the Eiffel Tower from the roof of the Arc was amazing. I miss Paris...

I love chocolate fondue.

teusher champagne truffles.

the memory of those childhood Droste oranges

Chocolate ovaltine when I was pregnant.

It's a really delicious cake called "Mike's Mom's Chocolate Cake," that used to be on the menu at a lovely spa resort in Bodega Bay, CA. It was a really moist, three layer, dark chocolate cake with a cooked sugar vanilla buttercream frosting just piled on. It was best eaten right before bed and after an in-room lavender oil massage, with a glass of ice cold whole milk while sitting near the dying embers in the fireplace. Then you snuggle into the soft bed under a down comforter and listen to the waves crash on the beach outside while drifting off to sleep. Ahhh, heaven.

Oh, the tsunami tower @ Tsunami in Chicago

This past Christmas, I made a chocolate cake, with chocolate chips, and a chocolate cream cheese frosting and chocolate mousse between the layers. It was absolutely divine. The best part is that it was low fat (even my family, the most critical people in the world, could not tell!)!!

The first time I made & tasted Alice Medrich's New Classic Brownies... I believe they are the ultimate chocolate mouthful.

Honestly, the Dark Chocolate Azteca Cupcakes from Kat at A Good Appetite that I made last week. My husband and I both flipped over these things, and neither of us are really cupcake people (and, in fact, he doesn't really have much of a sweet tooth). Just from looking at the recipe, I figured they'd be good, but I had no idea just how good they were going to be. I've already committed to naming all my children after Kat!

I wish I had a sexier answer, but hey... sometimes the best things come in homemade packages.

My first taste of molten chocolate cake will always remain with me.

My mother makes a wonderful chocolate pudding cake, and a wonderful chocolate brownie, too, but the mention in this article of the original name for the cake named Orbit Cake (Idiot Cake) reminded me of an old family favorite, Crazy Cake (or sometimes called Cockeyed Cake) - a lovely dark chocolate cake which was mixed in the pan - I think I've seen it named Depression Cake, too - no eggs, I believe. We love that cake to this day, and when you need a quick chocolate "fix", it is ideal. It is amazing how many memorable chocolate experiences all of us have, once we begin thinking about it. I also have fond memories of some callebaut chocolate (an easter gift), and the awesome heart shaped box of Moonstruck truffles my husband gave me for Valentine's day a few years back. Yum! We nursed that box along for nearly a month, and were so sad when it was gone. Fortunately, when we go to Moonstruck for coffee, they often sample their truffles (1/2 a truffle sample!) We just love their chocolate! It makes lovely gifts for friends and family at Christmas, and we look forward to their changes in decor at their store each holiday.

The best chocolate dessert I ever had were my own home made brownies - they are better every single time!

Best chocolate experience ......a hot , molten brownie cup with chocolate sauce and whipped cream and topped with chocolate shavings and cocoa powder . I'm salivating all over my keyboard just writing this .

I took Orangette's recipe for chewy ginger molasses cookies, and added 6 oz. coarsely chopped Scharffenberger bittersweet chocolate (including all the waste and tiny shavings from the cutting board, so they spread through the cookie!) plus chopped crystallized ginger and a tiny bit of cayenne pepper. So delicious and chocolatey with a slight burn, it is my favorite fix.

I made a baked Alaska with a double chocolate brownie base. It was incredible

jason@allworldautomotive.com

the quick pots de creme from the pioneer woman. they're freaking awesome.

Molten chocolate cake at a local restaurant

triple chocolate cheesecake

Three friends and I were in Montreal for a bachelorette party; we took the bride-to-be to dinner at the restaurant Europea and, at the end of our numerous-course tasting menu, were served a chocolate dessert of such ridiculous goodness that we were stunned into silence [...we are not the quietest of people to begin with]: chocolate maracon atop chocolate mousse, all atop a thin, rectangular slab of chocolate cake - adorned by a mint sprig, one raspberry and a solid dark chocolate sliver. Bliss.

My Aunt Margies Chocolate Trifle!
YYYYYUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

It was simply a piece of chocolate from Belgium - a green tea chocolate with sea salt on top. Believe it or not, sooo good!

Hillary
Chew on That

An homemade chocolate mousse made by my dad.

It was the European style drinkable chocolate at Les Halles in Washington DC (now gone!). Warm, thick and delicious. Not so sweet that you couldn't taste the chocolate flavor. The consistency was thick yet pourable, like warm gananche. A single serving could be one's entire lunch. I wanted to sing an aria after gulping it down.

a chocolate souffle in Paris! I miss it every single day.

Chocolate Cheesecake

The brownies in Maida Heatter's "Book Of Great Desserts" - I make them regularly and add extra chocolate and instant espresso powder. It was the basis for the Soho Charcuterie's Soho Globs cookies, which I also make (a long lost old friend was one of their original pastry chefs, and turned me on to the recipe).

A friend of mine has a recipe for chocolate covered cherries. The cherries are marinated in brandy first. YUMMMM!!

"most unforgettable chocolate dessert you've ever tasted. "

A high-calorie messy thing called "Death by chocolate".

The chocolate stove at Le Cirque

My mom makes amazing chocolate brownies. Thank you for the terrific give-away.

I still yearn for the Besos I had in Mexico a number of years ago. Basically a "lava cake" but, I hadn't yet encountered those before the Besos so they kinda blew my mind.
I even smuggled some back to CA in my backpack and heated them up and enjoyed them with my mom and friends haha...

So hard to choose....I'll go with my first ever Nutella crepe.

I had a perfect chocolate mousse on my first trip to New York. I seriously thought there was no reason to keep on living after that.

dark chocolate lava cake at pooleville country inn in upstate ny. divine!

Brownies made from ghiardelli boxed mix. Not necessarily the best chocolate I've ever encountered, but I don't ever forget the way it tastes (even though I very rarely actually make them)

A flourless chocolate cake my mom made one year. I wish I had the recipe.

chocolate cheesecake my sister makes

We have a restaurant here called Fresco. They made "chocolate balls". It is chocolate cake, chocolate ganache, all covered in chocolate and drizzed with white chocolate. Yum!!!! sbcashortie (at) hotmail (dot) com

Chocolate and banana crepes from a little street cart in the main square in Stuttgart, Germany.

chocolate blackout torte at ikea. they've stopped making it at my ikea now :(

When I was a kid (a million years ago,) I went somewhere and was offered a brownie - I was flabberghasted to find not only did the brown have delicious nuts and was goey, but, and to me, this was amazing, it had marshmallows in it. It was called, "Rocky Road Brownie" - I had never heard of such a thing - I couldn't imagine the marshmallows not melting - and to this day, whenever I see a Rocky Road Brownie, that feeling of sheer pleasure and surprised overcomes me.

Many years ago my husband introduced me to a wonderful bakery in Rhode Island...their specialty was rich fudgy dark brownies served with a scoop of homemade raspberry ice cream..excellent!

Seven Layer Cake with seven layers and kinds of chocolate!

My very first taste of chocolate: My parents had been told they had to wait until I was one year old to give me chocolate. My father fed me a Teuscher chocolate champagne truffle and watched closely--our relationship was in the balance. I swallowed and smiled. A done deal.

warm soft chocolate cake

I can't remember the restaurant in Maryland, but about 20 years ago I had the first dessert I had seen called "Death By Chocolate". It was so awesome, and because the cake part was very light, I didn't feel sick to my stomach after consuming the whole thing!

chocolate decadence at chocolat in davis, ca.

I had a dark chocolate orange tart once at a party that was the best dessert I have ever eaten! Thanks for the giveaway.

i had a chocolate brownie with chocolate frosting topped with whipped cream - oh so decadent - but oh so delicious - still brings a smile to my face

My dad's girlfriend worked in a French Restaurant when I was just a kid. It was called Jean Paul's, in Milwaukee, and it was there that I first had flourless chocolate cake. I have had it since at other places, but it is never as good as that first time!

With regards to the 'unforgettable' element it would have to be the midwest classic Dirt Cake. Having left home a long time ago it makes me nostalgic to think of the crushed up chocolate oreo cookies mixed with the chocolate pudding and whipped cream with a few gummy worms thrown in for good measure. As a kid it gave me an unbeatable sugar high and in my globe trotting travels I have yet to find anything that comes close in sugary taste and kitschiness!

Double chocolate cake is my favorite, especially when it's extra rich and chocolatey!

Chocolate rum balls that I make every year at the holidays - people ask me when I will make them again all year long

The first time i had chocolate w/ cinnamon, I was totally floored. I believe it was a chocolate zucchini cake my grandma made. Now I add cinnamon to chocolate almost to a fault (@ least according to my s.o.).

Impossible to choose. Maybe my grandmother's chocolate cream pie, or the chocolate creme brulee at a lovely little restaurant in Los Angeles, or a Death by Chocolate cake my friend makes, or . . . gosh, I don't know. If it's choclate, I love it.

Definitely the Brownstone front cake my mother made. It is inextricably wrapped up with all my best childhood memories.

I loved my granny's chocolate sheet cake. I remember it had buttermilk in it which at that time I found odd - but it was always the greatest!!!

A chocolate cake served at a Christmas luncheon I attended about five years. The cake was rich and moist and the frosting was almost fudgelike!

Homemade chocolate pudding
strimble_25@comcast.net

I love my trips to Maine each year and stopping at Stonewall kitchens for flourless chocolate cake

chocolate tapioca pudding

A simple crepe with chocolate and strawberries.

My girlfriend made this chocolate cake type dessert with godiva chocolates and topped with homemade mint ice cream - she wont give out recipe. It was amazing.

In Paris we had a chocolate souffle that had a bittersweet sauce and fresh berries and cream

A triple-layer dark chocolate cake - yum.

i once had this awesome fudge, it was awesome!

My sister makes the most amazing brownies!

My dad makes a 3 layer chocolate birthday cake with chocolate mousse inside and covered in whipped cream and strawberries. It's ridiculous, but it reminds me of home.

I made Martha's triple chocolate mousse cake for my best friend's birthday a couple years back, and it was a-mazing. People are still talking about it. A bit of hard work, since this was before I had any nice equipment, but worth it.

my mama's chocolate covered strawberries. yeah, pretty plain but they were the best! 3 kinds of chocolate. amazing.

The one that comes to mind first is the chocolate lava cake.

Just made flourless chocolate cake similar to David Lebovitz's recipe mentioned above...it was heavenly! Perfect for V-day or everyday...

My best friend and I decided to make a homemade Chocolate Lava Cake recipe and the results were outstanding.

I have celiac disease and must follow a strict gluten free diet. When dining out desserts are the biggest challenge and often means having coffee and dessert at home. I recently went to a restaurant for a family celebration and much to my surprise the dessert menu listed a flourless chocolate brownie AND the menu clearly declared the gluten free status of each component! I checked with the wait staff and after a few questions, I was satisfied that they followed all the "rules'.

When the dessert arrived, I was more than pleasantly surprised. The warm rich chocolate brownie was topped with freshly whipped cream and a warm raspberry reduction syrup; with the first bite I was "lost". It was a soul satisfying indulgence.

Chocolate Mousse

standing in the kitchen, age 8, licking brownie batter off my fingers from the ancient metal saucepan my mom always mixed them in. she had just showed me how to make them, and i was anticipating 30 minutes of cooking time agony before i could taste them.

it was almost as good as the finished brownies- dark, rich, gooey and addictive. that was over 20 years ago, and i've been making them ever since.

My mother-in-laws fudge -- wow!

Hot chocolate in Italy was the greatest chocolate experience of my life, followed by a basic, fudgy chocolate gateaux with fresh cream poured over it.

bittersweet mocha custard

When I was in high school my Mom worked in the cafeteria and her best freind was the baker. She made the BEST brownies I've ever had. My Mom got the recipe and I still make them for my son today. They're still the best brownies I've ever had.

this chocolate hazelnut thing at the suisse chalet restaurant in aruba

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