Chocolate. The ultimate experience, it belongs at the very top of the five food groups. How many delicious ways can it be presented? Not enough!

Below is a selection of the very scrummiest of chocolate recipes from some of Australia's top chefs.

Chocolate souffle with a soft truffle centre
From Philippa Sibley-Cooke of est est est.

Ingredients
(serves 8)
Ganache
110g good quality dark chocolate, finely chopped
150g thickened cream

* Bring the cream to the boil over a medium heat and pour over the chocolate.
* Stir vigorously until chocolate is smooth, shiny and elastic.
* Line a slice-tray with greaseproof paper.
* Pour chocolate into the tray and refrigerate until firm. Cut into 4cm squares. Keep cold.

Souffle
225g good quality chocolate, finely chopped
40g butter
200g egg white (approx 7 eggs)
115g castor sugar
50g egg yolk (approx 3 eggs)

* Melt chocolate slowly over low heat, then add the soft butter and stir until emulsified. Beat the egg white until soft peaks form.
* Sprinkle in sugar and beat until firm peaks form. Mix the egg yolk into the warm chocolate mixture.
* Fold in one-third of the egg white first, then add the rest.
* Fill a piping bag with half the mixture and pipe into greased individual souffle dishes.
* Drop a square of the ganache in the middle, then top up the souffle mould to cover the ganache.
* Bake souffles at 200C for 8 min. Serve immediately with cream or ice cream and a bottle of Maison.

Self-saucing chocolate pudding
From Darryl Stringer of Planet Dagsy

Ingredients
(serves 8)
1 cup self-raising flour
3/4 cup sugar
3 dessert spoons of cocoa
1 tablespoon of butter
1/2 cup milk
1 egg

Sauce
1 1/2 - 2 cups boiling water
2 tablespoons cocoa + 2 tablespoons sugar

* Place all ingredients in baking bowl and mix together
* Add sauce - sprinkle cocoa/sugar over mixture and pour boiling water over it
* Put lid on, cook immediately in 180C for 30 minutes
* Serve with cream or ice cream

Chocolate mousse
From Phillippa Grogan of Phillippa's Breads, Pastries and Provisions.

Ingredients
(serves 6)
6 eggs, separated
200g dark chocolate
3 tbsp framboise eau de vie (or other liqueur to taste)
3 tbsp water

* Melt chocolate with water over low heat until smooth.
* Mix in liqueur, add egg yolks one by one and mix well.
* Fold in stiffly beaten egg white and pour into one large or 6 individual pots.
* Cool in fridge. Alternatively, bake for 10-20 minutes, depending on the size of the container, until the outside is cakey and the centre soft and saucy.
* Serve with whipped cream.

Chocolate macadamia nut pudding
From Alex Schembri, head chef, Marios Cafe.

Ingredients
(serves 4)
100g dark chocolate
100g butter
4 eggs (separated)
1 tsp vanilla essence
100g castor sugar
60g self-raising flour
120g ground roasted macadamia nuts

* Melt chocolate. Mix ground macadamia nuts and self-raising flour.
* Beat butter until light and fluffy.
* Combine slightly cooled chocolate, yolks, vanilla essence and half the sugar with the butter until smooth.
* Whisk the egg whites with the remaining sugar until it forms a stiff peak.
* Fold egg whites into creamed butter mixture, together with flour/nut mixture.
* Place mixture into individual greased moulds, cover with foil until completely wrapped.
* Place pudding containers into a water bath and bake in a hot oven until firm (approx 30-40 minutes).
* Serve with a sauce of your choice, e.g. custard, cream, a fruit sauce such as cherry, or ice cream.