6 chocolate desserts

01 of 6Sweets

Chocolate Mug Cake

• 5 mintotal
• 8 gprotein
• 560kcal
• Beginnerlevel
• 1serving

Why it's here: The fastest one here.

9 ingredients · 6 steps

The fastest dessert here: 5 minutes, one mug, one serving. Flour, cocoa, sugar and baking powder are mixed with milk and oil, and there is no egg in the batter. It comes to 560 kcal with 8 g of protein, and the chocolate chips inside and the hazelnut spread on top make it a proper chocolate fix. It is rated beginner, and the mug is the only dish to wash.

Mix the dry ingredients until there are no lumps, then add the milk and oil. Wipe the edges of the mug clean before it goes in, so they do not overcook and burn. Microwave for 1 to 2 minutes, depending on your microwave, and eat it warm. Made for the night a craving shows up and the oven feels like too much.

02 of 6Sweets

Chocolate Nice Cream

• 5 mintotal
• 22 gprotein
• 280kcal
• Beginnerlevel
• 2servings

Why it's here: The most protein on this list. The fastest one here.

7 ingredients · 4 steps

Only 280 kcal a serving, with 22 g of protein, the most protein of any dessert on this list. Frozen bananas are blended with milk, cocoa and chocolate protein powder into something thick and scoopable, then topped with coconut, blueberries and strawberries. Five minutes, two servings, beginner level, with a blender as the only equipment you need. Nothing here goes near a hob or an oven.

Everything goes in the blender: the frozen bananas, milk, cocoa and protein powder. Blend until smooth and creamy, scoop into a bowl and swirl the top with the back of a spoon. Toppings go on last, a row of blueberries and a row of sliced strawberries. The protein powder is optional, but it is a big part of those 22 g.

03 of 6Sweets

Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 20 mintotal
• 3 gprotein
• 160kcal
• Beginnerlevel
• 18servings

Why it's here: Makes 18 servings, so it covers several days.

8 ingredients · 6 steps

Gluten-free cookies built on almond flour, with butter, brown sugar, an egg and chocolate chips. The recipe makes 18, at 160 kcal and 3 g of protein each, in 20 minutes. It uses 190 g of almond flour, 113 g of butter, 110 g of brown sugar and 85 g of chocolate chips. They come out golden at the edges and soft and chewy in the middle.

The dough does not spread in the oven, so flatten each ball with your fingers before baking. Bake about 10 minutes and start checking from 8, because two minutes too long turns chewy into crisp. Let them cool until firm enough to lift. They keep a week in an airtight tin or the fridge, or 3 months frozen, so a batch of 18 is not a problem.

04 of 6Sweets

Banana Peanut Butter Protein Brownies

• 30 mintotal
• 10 gprotein
• 170kcal
• Intermediatelevel
• 8servings

Why it's here: Makes 8 servings, so it covers several days.

5 ingredients · 6 steps

Brownie squares from five ingredients: bananas, peanut butter, cocoa, chocolate protein powder and chocolate chips on top. Each of the 8 squares has 170 kcal and 10 g of protein. There is no flour and no egg, and no sugar in the ingredient list either, because the bananas do the sweetening. Thirty minutes in total, rated intermediate, with 15 to 18 of them in the oven.

Use very ripe bananas and mash them until smooth, since they sweeten and bind the batter. Bake at 180 °C for 15 to 18 minutes and take the tin out while the middle is just set. They firm up as they cool. Cool them fully in the tin before cutting, or they fall apart. They keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.

05 of 6Sweets

Chocolate Egg Mousse

• 30 mintotal
• 9 gprotein
• 320kcal
• Intermediatelevel
• 6servings

Why it's here: Makes 6 servings, so it covers several days.

4 ingredients · 5 steps

The one to serve in glasses. Milk chocolate, butter and hazelnut spread are melted together, mixed with six yolks and lightened with whipped egg whites. A glass has 320 kcal and 9 g of protein. It serves 6 and takes 30 minutes, so it works for a table of guests as well as a quiet weekend. The recipe is rated intermediate, mainly for the folding.

Let the melted chocolate cool a little before the yolks go in, so they do not scramble. Whip the whites to stiff peaks in a clean, dry bowl, since any trace of yolk stops them, then fold them in a little at a time to keep the mousse airy. The eggs are not cooked, so use very fresh ones and keep it chilled. It keeps 1 day.

06 of 6Sweets

Protein Brownies

• 30 mintotal
• 12 gprotein
• 110kcal
• Beginnerlevel
• 9servings

Why it's here: 11 g of protein for every 100 kcal, which is very lean. Makes 9 servings, so it covers several days.

11 ingredients · 5 steps

The lightest sweet on the list at 110 kcal, with 12 g of protein, and the recipe cuts it into 9 large brownies. The base is cocoa, flour, chocolate protein powder, cottage cheese, eggs and applesauce. Thirty minutes from the first whisk to the tray, rated beginner, and the batter is thick enough to pour into a lined baking tray.

Whisk the dry mix first, then blend the cottage cheese, egg whites, eggs, vanilla, maple syrup and applesauce for only 10 seconds. Pour the blend slowly into the dry mix while whisking, to a thick batter. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, depending on how fudgy you want them, then cool completely so they set. They are best out of the fridge.