Sarra Ina Garten chocolate recipes run deep, from towering layer cakes with buttercream frosting to warm lava cakes with molten centers and fudgy brownie pudding baked until just set. These twenty tested recipes cover cakes, cookies, pies, mousses, and even a chocolate babka, all built on real butter, good chocolate, and plenty of cocoa.
1. Beatty’s Chocolate Cake
Buttermilk, vegetable oil, and a full cup of hot coffee make this two-layer cake incredibly moist with a tender, fine crumb. A semisweet chocolate buttercream frosting made with butter, powdered sugar, and an egg yolk goes on thick. Ready in about 45 minutes, it’s Ina’s most famous chocolate cake for a reason.
2. Chocolate Fudge Cake
Cocoa powder and hot coffee in the batter create deep chocolate flavor, while buttermilk keeps the layers soft and springy. A glossy ganache made from semisweet chocolate and heavy cream gets poured right over the top. Done in 50 minutes and rich enough to serve in thin slices.
3. Chocolate Bundt Cake
Sour cream stirred into a cocoa-rich batter with brewed coffee gives this bundt its famously moist, velvety crumb. Semisweet chocolate chips melted with heavy cream make a quick ganache that drips down every ridge. Bakes for about 50 minutes and looks stunning with almost no effort.
4. Chocolate Orange Cake
Orange zest, fresh orange juice, and cocoa powder come together in a batter that’s fruity and deeply chocolatey at the same time. Whole milk and vegetable oil keep it moist without being heavy. Ready in 45 minutes and perfect for anyone who loves the chocolate-orange combination.
5. German Chocolate Cake
Coconut-pecan frosting made with evaporated milk, brown sugar, and butter is what sets this apart from every other chocolate layer cake. The cocoa and buttermilk cake layers bake up moist with sour cream adding extra richness. Total time is about 50 minutes before assembling.
6. Bittersweet Chocolate Cake
Bittersweet chocolate melted with a full pound of butter creates an intensely rich, almost truffle-like cake with a crackly top. Six eggs and cocoa powder give it structure without any flour, so it’s naturally dense and fudgy. Serve warm with crème fraîche or whipped cream.
7. Chocolate Flourless Cake
Dense, fudgy, and gluten-free, this cake relies on bittersweet chocolate, butter, and four eggs for its incredibly smooth texture. A dusting of powdered sugar is the only decoration it needs. Bakes in just 25 minutes and slices beautifully when chilled.
8. Chocolate Lava Cake
Six ounces of dark chocolate and butter melted together form the base of these individual cakes with warm, molten centers that spill out when you break the crust. Only two tablespoons of flour keep them barely set on the outside. They bake in just 12 minutes and need to be served immediately.
9. Chocolate Mousse Cake
Light cocoa cake layers sandwiching a billowy chocolate mousse made with bittersweet chocolate, separated eggs, and whipped cream. The contrast between the tender cake and the airy mousse filling makes every forkful interesting. Ready in about 35 minutes of active time plus chilling.
10. Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
Dark cocoa powder in the dough and a pound and a half of semisweet chocolate chunks make these cookies fudgy, rich, and deeply chocolatey in every bite. Brown sugar and vanilla extract keep the flavor complex while the edges get just crispy enough. Done in about 35 minutes total.
11. Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
Peanut butter and cocoa powder swirled into the dough with semisweet chocolate chips hit every salty-sweet note you could want in a cookie. Light brown sugar and vanilla keep the centers soft and chewy. Ready in just 20 minutes from bowl to cooling rack.
12. Chocolate Chunk Blondies
Brown sugar and butter create a golden, butterscotch-flavored base studded with big chocolate chunks and optional walnuts. They bake in one pan in about 25 minutes, and the center stays soft and chewy while the edges get slightly crispy. Slice into squares and stack them for easy gifting.
13. Chocolate Silk Pie
Silky smooth chocolate filling made from bittersweet chocolate, a full cup of butter, sugar, and eggs gets poured into a graham cracker crust and chilled until set. The texture is somewhere between mousse and ganache, rich and cool on the tongue. Only 25 minutes of prep, then the fridge does the rest.
14. Dark Chocolate Tart
Heavy cream heated and poured over chopped dark chocolate creates a ganache filling inside a buttery shortcrust shell. A touch of instant coffee and vanilla deepen the flavor without tasting like coffee. Ready in about 20 minutes of active time and elegant enough for a dinner party.
15. Chocolate Pecan Pie
Pecans layered over a homemade butter crust with dark corn syrup, brown sugar, and semisweet chocolate chips bake into a gooey, nutty, chocolatey filling. The chocolate melts into the custard and adds a rich depth to the classic pecan pie. Bakes for about an hour and five minutes.
16. Chocolate Brownie Pudding
Melted butter, cocoa powder, and optional espresso powder bake into a dessert that’s part brownie, part pudding, with a crackly top and gooey center. Four eggs and two cups of sugar give it a rich, custard-like interior. Done in about an hour and best served warm with vanilla ice cream.
17. Chocolate Mousse
Whipped egg whites and heavy cream folded into melted semisweet chocolate with a touch of espresso powder create a mousse that’s airy but intensely flavored. Butter stirred in while warm adds a velvety richness. Only 15 minutes of active time, then chill until set.
18. White Chocolate Bark
Cranberries, dried apricots, roasted pistachios, and cashews scattered over melted white chocolate, then snapped into pieces once set. No baking required and the whole thing comes together in about five minutes. Perfect for holiday gift boxes and cookie tins.
19. Chocolate Babka
Swirled layers of yeasted dough and a rich semisweet chocolate filling with melted butter and sugar create a pull-apart bread that’s part cake, part pastry. The chocolate streaks through every slice in thick ribbons. Bakes for about 40 minutes and fills the kitchen with an incredible smell.
20. Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Grated zucchini keeps this cocoa-based quick bread incredibly moist while chocolate chips stirred into the batter add melty pockets of sweetness. Brown sugar and a touch of cinnamon round out the flavor. Done in about an hour, and nobody will guess there’s a vegetable hidden inside.
