Chocolate desserts hit the spot at any time of year, but they're particularly fitting right now. Take note of four of our favorites.
Lavacake: Switch Steak
It doesn’t get any richer than Switch Steak’s intense dark chocolate, cocoa butter and natural vanilla Lavacake (PICTURED ABOVE). Guayaquil chocolate oozes in its center, and puréed bananas sautéed with brown sugar, butter, vanilla bean and dark rum cover the cake in a thick sauce. Sprinkled with bruléed bananas and caramelized popcorn with toasted hazelnuts, the dessert's custard-based dark chocolate ice cream comes along for the ride, too. Encore, 702-248-3463
Chocolate Eggnog Dessert: Valentino's
Nothing says the holidays like Valentino’s Chocolate Eggnog dessert, made of moist white sponge cake sandwiched between layers of Nutella crisp, chocolate mousse and eggnog cream. The cake is sprayed with chocolate and covered in a vin brûlé sauce made of red wine, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and star anise. The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, 702-414-3000
Peppermint Chocolate Trifle: Andre's
Andre’s cools you down with its peppermint chocolate trifle, bursting with mint. To start, a sheet of vanilla and red-striped cake is covered with peppermint chocolate mousse, then stacked with layers of chocolate icebox cookies. The trifle is topped with a layer of minted Chantilly cream; crushed peppermint candy cane is the finishing touch. Monte Carlo Las Vegas Resort and Casino, 702-798-7151
Dessert Trio Sampler: MOzen Bistro
Can’t decide? Satisfy three cravings in one with the Dessert Trio Sampler at MOzen Bistro. Follow EskiMO Bites, mini chocolate macaroon cookies with chocolate gelato centers, with Frosty the sMOw Cone, an iced chocolate sorbet. Wash it all down with a mug of MO hot cocoa with chocolate marshmallows. Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas, 702-590-3170
