Recipe News: Sweeten your week with our series of dark chocolate recipes

"Americans are giving in to the dark side -- of chocolate, that is. No longer satisfied with standard semisweet chocolate or (gasp!) milquetoast milk chocolate, we're buying ever darker chocolate.

One indication of the trend is that chocolate makers are prominently displaying cacao percentages on their packages, cacao being the basic ingredient in chocolate.

Another is the announcement that Nestle, the world's largest food company, is entering the gourmet dark baking chocolate market. Two new products, 53 percent cacao dark chocolate and 62 percent cacao bittersweet chocolate, should be on supermarket shelves later this month under the "Chocolatier" label.

To help you indulge your darkest chocolate fantasies, here's the first installment in a week's worth of recipes.

CHOCOLATE QUIZ

Sure, you've eaten a ton of the stuff. But take this quiz to see how much you really know about chocolate.

What's the difference between cacao and cocoa?

Cacao is the small tropical tree from which cacao beans come, as well as the pure paste of the beans. Cocoa is extracted from the cacao bean in the form of powder and butter. The term "cocoa" was probably a misspelling by early European traders."

includes recipes for:

• DARK CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE

Full article here.

Read More in: Recipes

Share this Article with others:

Related Articles:

• Recipe News: Want to make your dog carrot cake? - Oct 17, 2009
• Recipe News: Recipe: BRUNCH WEEK: MUSHROOM AND FONTINA QUICHE - Oct 13, 2009
• Recipe News: Recipes that feature leftovers and memories - Sep 22, 2009

Came straight to this page? Visit The Cooking News for all the latest news.