Creative ways to use chocolate for a romantic night

Chocolate's seductive qualities

Although this divine treat isn't the true aphrodisiac the Aztecs believed, it does contain phenylethylamine and serotonin, mood-boosting chemicals thought to evoke similar feelings in the body as falling in love. Chocolate also keeps your engine revved due to the mild stimulating effects of theobromine, an alkaloid related to caffeine. Plus, it just tastes so darn good!

Dress up your chicken

Mexican chefs and creative culinary artists have long been using chocolate and cocoa powder as savory additions to sauces and marinades. Chocolate adds complexity and richness to some recipes. Tempt your partner's passion and palate with this Chicken With Mole Sauce recipe.

Become a chocolatier

Chocolatiers talk chocolate the way sommeliers talk wine, reading chocolate labels to find region, bean blend and year. Head to a gourmet goodie shop for bars from different countries. Take turns with your partner, sampling bites from each region while pairing with wines or liqueurs. Follow four simple pairing steps:

1. Choose a wine that's sweeter than the chocolate you're tasting.
2. Look for wine and chocolate pairings with similar flavors.
3. Choose a wine that's "big" enough to cut through the richness of chocolate.
4. Cleanse your palette with a sip of water or bite of bread between each sampling.

Not a big wine fan? Pair your chocolate treats with a rich chocolate liqueur to really up the chocolate factor!

Play With your food

Add fun to your food with your favorite chocolate fondue recipe. Arrange a tray of dippers such as brownie and cheesecake bites, gourmet marshmallows, angel food cake, strawberries... or just drizzle cooled spoonfuls into your partner's eager mouth.

For something a bit less messy, try our recipe for Chocolate Orange Mascarpone Mousse!

Sip some sexy

Nothing shows off sexy like a martini. Shake or stir a batch of sinful chocolate martinis, like these by Godiva, or sip after-dinner liqueurs. Godiva's luscious White Chocolate, Mocha Caramel and Milk Chocolate liqueurs will bring out your inner goddess. 

Have dessert for dinner

Who says dessert has to wait? Dine by the fire or under the moon with a big tray of divine desserts. Simple but sultry chocolate-covered strawberries, espresso spiked with liqueur, and chocolate cheesecake will put you in feel-good chocolate ecstasy.

Soak it in

Do you love chocolate so much you could roll in it? Soap up together with the scent of chocolate bubbles. This lavish bubble bath will leave you smelling delicious enough to, umm, nibble.

1. Grate or chop 3 ounces dark chocolate into fine pieces.
2. Heat 1/3 cup of soya milk in a saucepan until hot but not boiling.
3. Add grated chocolate to the hot soya milk. Stir slowly until chocolate melts.
4. Let the mixture cool, then mix with unscented bubble bath.
5. Use as much as you would put in a normal bath. Mix the bath water around vigorously to create fluffy, luxurious chocolate bubbles.

Make an all-chocolate night with your partner in passion and dive deeply into this decadent but oh-so-worthy indulgence. You'll catch yourself moaning in cocoa pleasure as you rev up your engine in these sweetly creative ways.