Everyone's Irish: Chocolate Irish Cream Pie for Serious Eats

Chocolate cream pie is undoubtedly a thing of beauty, especially when it is encased in a chocolate cookie crust. But when a celebration is in order, you can make it even better by adding a little bit of booze. A simple splash of Irish cream gives this already delicious triple chocolate pie an intoxicating upgrade, adding a creamy and slightly bracing (in a good way) flavor contrast.

Not into alcohol? Not a problem. Simply skip the strong stuff in favor of heavy cream sprinkled with a shake of cocoa powder, or whip up a batch of non-alcoholic Irish cream.

Between the buzz of the spirits and the sugar high from the chocolate, one slice of this pie may find you doing an Irish-style jig.

For the full post and recipe, visit Serious Eats!

Sweet and Salty: Mini Maple Spam Doughnuts Recipe for Serious Eats

Recently, someone called me on behalf of SPAM and asked if I'd like to have a peek at the prize-winning recipe from a contest they hosted last year in celebration of the meaty morsel's 75-year anniversary.

Naturally the answer was yes. But my interest was even more piqued when I learned that the winning recipe was for Mini Maple Spam Doughnuts, a sweet concoction created by Jason Munson; Seattle-area aircraft mechanic by day, SPAM enthusiast by night. And so I went to the grocery store, loaded up on SPAM, and hit the kitchen.

Like so many guilty-pleasure treats, Mini Maple Spam Doughnuts taste way better than they really should. The lightly crunchy, sweet doughnut exterior contrasts with the crisp, crackly fried pork. Finished with a creamy, maple-infused frosting and crunchy SPAM bits on top, it makes for a veritable sea of contrasting textures and sweet and salty flavors—and for an overall wholly enjoyable holey treat.

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats!

Sweets for Your Sweet: Chocolate Covered Chocolates Recipe for Serious Eats

Let's get one thing straight. There is nothing necessary about coating your Valentine's Day chocolates with more chocolate. But oh, does it ever taste good.

The process is really quite simple: melt some chocolate, dip your chocolates in it, and then let them set until solid. You can create a lovely visual by choosing a chocolate coating that complements the chocolates you're dipping: dip dark chocolates in white chocolate for a pretty finish, or coat milk chocolates in dark chocolate for a lovely flavor and visual contrast.

You'll be rewarded with an extremely decadent treat that will melt in your hand, but tastes better when it melts in your mouth.

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats!

Just Doughnut: Doughnut Soup Recipe for Serious Eats

Why eat from "soup to nuts" when you can get all the important stuff in one delicious bowl of Doughnut Soup?

This creamy, dreamy dish is the ultimate in doughnut decadence. It starts by caramelizing glazed doughnuts in a buttery bath, then mixing it with milk and heating the mixture until the flavors merge beautifully in a hot, sweet, very creamy broth. It's my easy-to-prepare take on a dessert served at Chicago'sMoto, a restaurant revered in the world of molecular gastronomy.

Note: Of course, while not mandatory, it's far more adorable when garnished with mini doughnuts before serving.

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats!

Sweets to Eat: Twinkie Tiramisu Recipe for Serious Eats

It's official: Hostess, the maker of Twinkies, has filed for Chapter 11.

While this doesn't necessarily mean the demise of the iconic treat, it's as good an excuse as any to stockpile on the sweet snack cakes and make something amazing:Twinkie Tiramisu.

This dessert is not difficult to make: basically, what you're doing is swapping Twinkies for ladyfingers in a traditional Tiramisu recipe. The sponginess of the Twinkies soaks up the flavors of the espresso-and-cream mixture, and they lend a little extra creaminess to the final dish. It makes for a fine mix of pinkies-out dessert and guilty-pleasure junk food.

Note: This dessert is made with raw eggs. There is a slight risk of salmonella or other food-borne illness. To reduce this risk, it is recommended that you use only fresh, properly refrigerated, clean grade A or AA eggs with intact shells, and avoid contact between the yolks or whites and the shell.

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats!

What a Mug: Microwave Cake in a Mug Recipe for Serious Eats

There's a certain sector of the sweet world that I think of as "Desperation Desserts." Generally dreamed up when the cookie jar is empty and there's no ice cream in the freezer, these typically single-serving concoctions are made up of whatever happens to be on hand in the kitchen.

But happily, here's a quick-fix dessert that doesn't taste like desperation: chocolate cake prepared in a mug, in the microwave. With a consistency something like a steamed pudding, this chocolate cake might not rival a French chocolate cake in sophistication, but nonetheless holds its own as an easy convenience dessert. And should you find some ice cream or whipped cream to top it with, well, all the better.

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats!

La Dulce Vita: Almost Flourless Chocolate Cake with Dulce de Leche Recipe for Serious Eats

Around this time of year, an unnerving amount of people make declarations that they are going to avoid dessert, all under the alarming title of "New Year's Resolution".

Personally, I'd rather resolve to eat more deliciously. And if you resolve similarly, you'll undoubtedly get a lot of pleasure from Almost Flourless Chocolate Cake with Dulce de Leche.

This recipe is largely based on Evelyn Sharpe's 1969 recipe for "French Chocolate Cake", as discovered on Amanda Hesser's now-defunct Recipe Redux column, but is made even better with the addition of dulce de leche and ice cream or whipped cream on top.

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats!

Sweet Idea: Chocolate Covered Candy Canes Recipe for Serious Eats

Candy canes are great and all. But they're even better when they're coated in chocolate.

Coating your candy canes in a rich robe of chocolate raises the bar for the classic holiday sweet, imparting both a delicious flavor contrast and adding a festive visual appeal. They're a sweet party favor, an easy way to make your hot chocolate more awesome, and--bonus--they're really easy and quick to prepare.

Note: This recipe works best with candy canes that are about 6 inches long, or peppermint sticks; if using mini candy canes, use extreme care so you don't burn yourself with the hot melted chocolate!

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats!

You Say Nanaimo: Chocolate Cranberry Nanaimo Bars Recipe for Serious Eats

It's a fact: Nanaimo Bars are delicious. They're a decadent no-bake treat named for the Canadian city in which they were invented, comprised of a chocolate-graham-coconut crust, a custard-buttercream middle, and a chocolate topping.

But they also dress up nicely for Thanksgiving, as proven in this chocolate-cranberry variation.

The Canadian classic takes a tart-but-sweet Thanksgiving turn by adding dried cranberries to each of the three layers. The resulting seasonal variation is bound to delight family and friends at Thanksgiving festivities and start the holiday cookie season off sweetly.

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats!

Sweet and Tart: Cranberry Upside-Down Cake Recipe for Serious Eats

This cake may not redefine every thought you've ever had about cranberries, but it will turn them upside down--literally.

Swapping out cranberries for the classic pineapple in this upside-down cake yields a surprisingly pleasant result: the fresh berries, while still assertively tart, are pleasingly matched by a buttery, sweet cake and a brown sugar-butter topping. The sweet-tart taste has a few advantages: first, it makes it seem vaguely healthy and therefore perfect as a breakfast cake; second, the tartness of the cranberries is sublime when paired with the sweet contrast of a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats!