Chocolate

Vanilla ice cream with malted milk, chocolate, caramel sauce, and crushed malt balls make for a candy bar–inspired treat.

Kids (and more than a few adults) will almost certainly shriek with joy at the sight of this fantasy dessert. Golden, buttery cake layers sandwich chocolate cookie crumbs and are topped with a custard frosting that calls to mind soft-serve ice cream. Crisp wafer cones are filled with batter and baked into their own little cupcakes, then crowned with swirls of ice-cream-style frosting.

All-American hot fudge gets a jolt of flavor from ground coffee beans.

Once you've tried ice cream made with fresh mint leaves — a far cry from the neon-green stuff — you'll never go back. Here, it's enclosed in a thick robe of rich bittersweet chocolate.

These chewy oatmeal cookies are spicy with ginger and not too sweet. Look for candied ginger that's cut into cubes and is not dusted with sugar — it'll be more tender and easier to chop.

This luscious pudding offers a tasty hit of calcium to help build bones. If you can't find hazelnut-flavored chocolate, substitute 1/4 cup Nutella and use 3 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch instead of 2; the result will be milder in taste.

Use one, two, or all three toppings.

Two adored classics come together in this dessert lover's superbrownie.

Satisfy a chocolate craving the healthy way: Serve the sweet stuff in a light crust with nutrient-rich bananas.

Either bittersweet or semisweet chocolate will give great results, but bittersweet will pack more intense chocolate flavor.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, and Sweet Accompaniments. To read Epicurious's review of the cookbook, go to Summer Cooking Guides. This is the perfect chocolate sorbet — very rich and full of bittersweet chocolate flavor. Use a top-quality cocoa powder; it will make a huge difference. And be sure to use a large saucepan, since the mixture will bubble up as it boils.

If there is one dish that could be considered Mexican haute cuisine, then Mole Poblano is surely it. Legend has it that the voluptuous sauce — a blend of chiles, spices, and chocolate — was created by the European Catholic nuns of Puebla to honor a visiting bishop. There are no shortcuts to making a true Mole Poblano: It takes time and patience to develop the layers of flavor that make this sauce fit for royalty. Miguel adapted the restaurant's recipe from one he learned from Diana Kennedy. At Fonda San Miguel, this mole is served with chicken and rice and as a sauce for enchiladas. It is also wonderful on roast turkey and pork.

These little gems stirred up our childhood memories of coconut-filled candy bars. We baked them in extra-large muffin cups to make them more like little individual cakes. If you choose to use regular-sized muffin cups, the recipe will yield 24 cupcakes and the cooking time will be shorter.

This recipe is based on one from senior food editor Sarah Tenaglia's mom.

The unusual duo of honey and chocolate is a winner in this layer cake. It needs to set up overnight, so begin a day ahead.

Editor's note: The recipe below is taken from All the Presidents' Pastries: Twenty-Five Years in the White House by Roland Mesnier with Christian Malard.

Here's a hot chocolate for the coffee lover. Plus, it's decadent enough to serve as dessert.

This over-the-top cake has impressive looks and moistness. Start the cherries ahead: They soak in brandy for a week and then in syrup for at least two days.

For the true pizza lover: a dessert version.