Easter Chocolate Desserts

So, I have my chocolate eggs and bunnies ready, but I thought I'd put together a few other ideas for Chocolate Easter desserts--or for any Springtime celebration.

Chocolate Nests. This is a wonderful recipe from Woman's Day. I particularly like this recipe because it's a mix of what else? sweet and sour. And, it looks so good. It takes 20 minutes to put together and 50 minutes to cook, and your friends and family will think you worked hours! Very artistic.

Ingredients:

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
2 cups (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
2 cans (5 oz each) thin chow mein noodles
Fill with: egg-shaped Easter candies such as Jordan almonds

Preparation:

1. Line 2 baking sheets with foil. Lightly coat with nonstick spray.2. Scrape condensed milk into a medium saucepan or microwave-safe bowl; add chocolate chips. Place over low heat and stir often, or microwave on high 2 to 4 minutes, stirring every minute, until chips melt and mixture is blended and smooth. 3. Put noodles into a large bowl, pour on chocolate mixture and toss with a rubber spatula until noodles are coated.4. Drop generous 1⁄2 cups on prepared baking sheets. Lightly spray fingertips with nonstick spray. Form mounds into nests making a depression in the center to hold candies. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until set. Peel off of the foil; fill with candies.

Planning Tip: The nests can be made up to 3 days before serving. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

Stephanie Jaworski on Joy of Baking has a yummy Chocolate Easter Cake suggestion. Take your favorite chocolate torte recipe (her recipe for the chocolate torte and the ganache is on the page) and cover it with a lovely smooth and shiny chocolate ganache and garnish with colorful sprinkles and candy. Make the torte a day ahead so it becomes dense and fudgy and doesn't break off.

Tyler Florence of the Food Network has lots of 'show-stopping" chocolate desserts for Easter, but this one caught my eye: Truffle tarts with Raspberries, and the "crust" is made with chocolate wafers or oreo crumbs, and the filling consists of truffle cream. The recipe is simple!