It’s hard to find anybody in this world who doesn’t love chocolate. In fact, chocolate making us happy is backed by scientific research—it contains tryptophan, a chemical crucial to producing serotonin. That’s why many of us reach for a bar of chocolate whenever we’ve had a bad day to destress!
Chocolate also has health benefits. It is rich in antioxidants, which help to remove free radicals in the body that causes aging and harmful conditions like cardiovascular diseases. It also helps replenish lost nutrients after physical activity, which is why many athletes eat or drink chocolate after their workouts.
With that said, as long as you control portions in your dishes, there’s no reason chocolate should be a guilty pleasure. It’s good for both physical and mental health and has been for years across the globe! Today, we look at the various ways countries around the world use chocolate in their dishes.
1. Millionaire Shortbread (United Kingdom)
Millionaire’s shortbread is a whole trifecta of a dish! This pretty dessert consists of three layers: a Scottish shortbread bottom layer, a caramel second layer, and a milk chocolate top layer.
Nobody really knows when millionaire’s shortbread was created, though the first recipe for it first appeared around the 1980s. Since then, it’s become very popular around the country, particularly around New Year. In Scotland, where the dessert originated, it’s standard to serve the first guest to enter your home for the new year a slice.
2. Kladdkaka (Sweden)
If you love both brownies and chocolate lava cakes, then you’re going to be very excited about these next chocolate dishes. This Swedish dessert consists of an ooey-gooey chocolate cake that is crisp and crunchy on the outside and soft and moist on the inside. It’s pretty dense, and one slice of this bad boy is enough to get you on a sugar high!
What differentiates kladdkaka from other chocolate cakes is the lack of baking powder. Some say it originated in World War II when baking powder was hard to get hold of in Sweden.
3. Brigadeiro (Brazil)
Brigadeiro is one of the most well-loved chocolate dishes in Brazil. It is made of condensed milk, cocoa powder, and butter, before being rolled into a ball by hand. Then, it’s coated with chocolate sprinkles, shaved coconut, rainbow sprinkles, crushed nuts, or anything else your heart desires!
Brigadeiro was invented in 1946 when Brigadier Eduardo Gomes was running for president. An avid supporter and chocolatier invented the dish and named it after the candidate. Soon, other supporters followed suit, selling it on the streets to help campaign for the brigadier.
4. Chocolate Chip Cookies (United States)
A popular story about chocolate chip cookies suggests that they were made entirely by accident. Ruth Graves Wakefield had run out of cocoa powder but needed to make chocolate cookies. To replace cocoa powder, she instead used chocolate bits which she hoped would melt upon baking. To her surprise, the chocolate bits stayed firm in the oven, and chocolate chip cookies were born!
Chocolate chip cookies are best served with ice-cold milk to dip them in.
5. Chocolate Souffle (France)
Souffles are a classic French dessert that is derived from the French word ‘souffler’, meaning ‘to blow’ or ‘to inflate’. This, of course, refers to the fact that souffles rise in the oven when baked!
In a chocolate souffle, two basic components are added. A chocolate base for the flavor, and stiffly beaten egg whites to help it rise. This puffiness only lasts around five to ten minutes after it’s taken out of the oven, so eat it while it’s still nice and hot. You can serve it up with vanilla ice cream or even more chocolate syrup to enhance the yumminess of the dish.
6. Sachertorte (Austria)
The Sachertorte is an iconic Viennese dessert that was invented by Franz Sacher in 1832. A chef’s apprentice, Sacher invented the cake when his mentor had been ill. The Hotel Sacher has since guarded the original recipe with utmost secrecy, going as far as to have three different chocolate manufacturers produce chocolate just for them.
Sachertorte is a dense chocolate cake that’s been coated with dark chocolate icing all around and topped with whipped cream. In between the layers is apricot jam.
7. Nama Chocolate (Japan)
Can you believe this dessert is only made with five ingredients? It’s made of high percentage chocolate, heavy cream, unsalted butter, cocoa powder, and some type of alcohol (brandy or cognac is the most common).
Nama chocolate comes from the Japanese word for raw, which refers to the simplicity and freshness of the chocolate. Just because it’s simple doesn’t mean the flavor isn’t there!
Nama chocolate is essentially chocolate ganache. It holds its shape for the most part but immediately melts in the mouth. It is very rich and creamy and is the perfect mix of both sweet and slightly bitter. This is undeniably one of the easiest chocolate dishes to make.
8. Nanaimo Bars (Canada)
Nanaimo bars are a no-bake dessert and one of the most iconic Canadian dishes of all time! Like millionaire’s shortbread, Nanaimo bars come in three layers. The first layer is a crunchy wafer made of nuts and coconut crumbs, the second a creamy custard icing, and the third some chocolate ganache.
Nanaimo bars are very popular in Canada and have been voted “Canada’s Favorite Confection”. In fact, this was the dish Prime Minister Justin Trudeau served then-president Barack Obama during one of their dinners!
9. Tim Tam (Australia)
Tim Tam is less of a recipe and more of a brand—indeed, it is perhaps one of Australia’s most recognizable brands! This is a cookie that’s made of two malted cookies sandwiching a creamy chocolate filling. Then, the whole thing is coated in milk chocolate.
If you’ve heard of Tim Tams before, then you’ve probably heard of the Tim Tam Slam. Here, you bite opposite corners of the cookie and submerge one of them in your beverage (we recommend milk!). Use the Tim Tam as a makeshift straw and start drinking the milk. Eventually, the inside of the cookie will become soft and mushy, at which point you eat it.
10. Black Forest Cake (Germany)
Black Forest cake is a decadent chocolate cake made of multiple layers. Between each layer is a generous dollop of whipped cream which is also used to cover the entire cake. It’s topped with chocolate shavings and maraschino cherries around the perimeter of the cake for a pop of color. It’s also popular to infuse some rum into it!
Contrary to popular belief, the Black Forest cake is not named after the Black Forest in Germany. Rather, it’s named after the alcohol from that region, which is derived from cherries. This gives the cake its characteristic cherry and alcohol flavor.
