I've held my nerve. Averted my head. Showed a will of iron. But I can't hold out for much longer.

My chocolate cravings have peaks and troughs - the troughs are low and extended and I can go for months without thinking about it.

But boom, my resistance can crumble overnight, the peaks spike and I'm left quivering, helpless in the face of it.

But don't tell me about small thin squares of fine dark chocolate employing only the finest cacao beans plucked by lissom virgins on some single-origin, fair-trade, organic plantation in some prosperous South American nation. Don't tell me about cult Tuscan chocolate more precious than gold.

I'm drawn first to the mudcake in the work canteen cake cabinet, the "ultra chocolate" ice-cream tub in the supermarket freezer, the mass-produced chocolate bar in a wrapper in a vending machine, the oozing-est chocolate dessert on a restaurant menu.

I have no shame. I'm a woman possessed and barely discriminating.

And it's happening again. I'm trying to hold my nerve - minutes ago I averted my head at the sight of a mediocre mudcake - but I can feel myself buckling. I can see that the quick fix will soon be essential.

After that I might have time to ponder, to submit to some slow-release nurturing of this need.

To that end, I've been looking around for recipes. I've looked for the best, and nothing but. I wanted cakes and cupcakes, hot chocolate and chocolate pots. This is what I've found.
 
1. Neil Perry's Chocolate and Ricotta Cake.

2. Gary Mehigan's Chocolate Fondants.

3. Devil's Food Cupcakes from Martha Stewart.

4. Dave Lebovitz's Iced Chocolate.

5. Chocolate Mousse from Hervé This.

6. The Perfect Hot Chocolate.

7. Chocolate Pistachio Pots de Crème.

8. Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Molten Chocolate Cakes.

9. Tiramisu from Jamie Oliver.

10. Classic chocolate truffles from Nigel Slater.

Anything you want to add?

-Daily Life

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