Desserts

Desserts

Dinner with a lover is a special occasion, and special occasions call for dessert. There are numerous
dessert spices and foods with aphrodisiac qualities. Not everyone has a sweet tooth, but few humans can deny the appeal of fine chocolate or fresh summer fruits. These dishes are all designed to enhance a sensual atmosphere and inspire the mind and body to perform. Dessert is a treat, a special food for special occasions. So in preparing these recipes, give some thought to appearance and presentation.
One word of advice: save dessert until well after the main meal has ended. Sweet foods do not combine well with proteins and starches, and indigestion may result. At least two hours between dinner and dessert is a good rule of thumb. You may even finish up a night out on the town (dinner, drinks, a film or dancing) with a dessert at home that you prepared earlier. This provides a nice surprise, and no need to interrupt the progression of the evening.

Chocolate Desserts
Aphrodisiacs are a combination of traditional perceptions and science; but you need look no further
than the commercial success of Valentine’s Day in America to know that chocolate has a close and obvious relationship to love and sex. Chocolate has a long and illustrious history. It was brought to Europe, Asia and later North America from South America. But its the twin island of Trinidad and Tobago the worlds highest rated cocoa can be found, Producing chocolate from the coca bean is complicated: it must be roasted and the paste scraped out. Cafes serving chocolate drinks were all the rage in the 18th century. First nuns, and then all women, were banned from drinking chocolate for years in some countries, because it was believed the dark, sensual drink excited lasciviousness. Imagine! Now we know the fastest way to a lady’s heart is a bit of chocolate.

The beans that produce cocoa contain a range of minerals and nutrients, including a substance known
as theobromine, which literally means “food of the gods”: is there a better way to describe the divine
effect of this special food? Chocolate also contains magnesium, which is necessary to help us contain
stress and anxiety, and which is especially prone to depletion in women. Many fine chocolates are available these days, in bars from your local gourmet shop. Do yourself a favor and buy the finest kind you can afford, with the highest percentage possible of pure cocoa (at least 70%).