My mother-in-law makes this chocolate dessert every now and then, and this is a definite crowd pleaser. Everyone loves this dessert. The best thing about it is that it is really easy to make, and it only takes about ten minutes to make it! That means if you have guests who drop in for a meal unannounced or if you need a last minute dessert, you can make this and people will think you put lots of time and effort into dessert, when you really didn’t!
Quick & Easy Chocolate Dessert
What makes me smile when I think of this chocolate dessert is that my mother-in-law’s instructions include “a pinch of this, and a smidge of that, and butter the size of an egg.” Her notes are all chocolate stained and have pencil marks and stars next to all the alterations she has made over the years. I find it amusing that she still refers to her recipe, because she can do this in her sleep. She has it down to a science. Her dessert is always perfect. This always amazes me because I grew up in a family that only had fruit for dessert. We had cakes, cookies, and special treats only for birthdays, parties, and holidays. This whole dessert after dinner thing was brand new to me when I married my farmer.
- 1 heaping Tbsp cocoa powder (I use Fry's Cocoa)
- 3 heaping Tbsp flour (all-purpose - I haven't tested any gluten-free flours in this yet)
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 c sugar (granulated white sugar)
- a bit of cold water
- 2 c boiling water
- ¼ c butter
- ½ tsp vanilla
- * To garnish: sliced strawberries and a dollop of plain natural yogurt, Greek yogurt, or whipped cream.
- Mix together your dry ingredients (cocoa, flour, sugar, and salt). Add a little cold water and make a paste.
- In a pot, add your chocolate mixture and add 2 cups boiling water. Cook until thickened (about 10 minutes).
- Remove from heat when thickened. Add vanilla and butter, and mix until smooth.
- Ladle into dessert dishes and refrigerate OR serve warm. We like to eat it warm and garnish it with sliced strawberries and a dollop of natural plain yogurt or Greek yogurt.
Another thing I learned about life on the farm is that we always have to be prepared for unexpected dinner guests. Fellow farmers coming over to help with chores or help mend pagewire or cedar rail fences? Make sure you set an extra table setting at lunch! Seed company coming to deliver seed? Get that pot of coffee on and make sure you have some treats! We have people in for meals at our farm pretty regularly, so I have had to learn to make sure meals are ready in a pinch and to always have treats for dessert. Big batches of cookie dough in the freezer that are ready to throw in the oven, banana bread, cake, and whatnot are always handy. This chocolate dessert is handy too, because I can whip this up in ten minutes!
Here’s a little video I made for you:
If you try this chocolate dessert recipe, let me know what you think!
I made this on the weekend and everyone loved it! Thank You! Will be making this again and again!
OMG. I made this for our Valentine’s dessert and it was so good. Such an easy recipe and so delicious. Definitely a KEEPER for sure. Will be making this again soon 🙂
Thanks so much for your kind words! So glad to hear you enjoyed the dessert!