Silky Chocolate Terrine
By David YuPublished on October 16, 2025
Time
1½ hours, plus 5 hours cooling and chilling
Yield
Serves 16
Ingredients
Before You Begin
While any high-quality chocolate can be used here, our preferred bittersweet chocolates are Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Premium Baking Bar and Callebaut Intense Dark Chocolate, L-60-40NV, and our favorite milk chocolate is Endangered Species Chocolate Smooth + Creamy Milk Chocolate. We recommend serving the terrine slices with fresh fruit, whipped cream, fruit sauce, caramel sauce, or ice cream. If you would like to present the full terrine as a centerpiece dessert, dust the block with cocoa powder through a fine-mesh strainer and top with garnishes such as chopped nuts or flaky salt before slicing.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Microwave 8 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate; 8 ounces chopped milk chocolate; 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1-tablespoon pieces; and ½ teaspoon table salt in large bowl at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally until melted, 2 to 4 minutes. Let cool briefly, about 5 minutes.
- Whisk 4 room temperature large eggs and 2 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl until sugar is fully dissolved. While whisking, slowly add egg mixture to chocolate mixture; whisk until combined. Whisk in 1 cup half-and-half until well combined. Bring kettle of water to boil.
- Lightly grease 8½ by 4½-inch loaf pan with vegetable oil spray. Line with 2 strips of parchment paper, 1 that is 14 by 4½ inches and another that is 10 by 8½ inches, laying them perpendicular to one another and smoothing so parchment is flush with pan sides. Pour chocolate mixture through fine-mesh strainer into prepared pan. Gently tap pan against counter to release air bubbles. Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil (foil should not touch surface of chocolate mixture).
- Place loaf pan in 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Set dish on oven rack and pour enough boiling water into dish to come halfway up sides of loaf pan. Bake until outer 1 inch of terrine is set and center is still slightly jiggly (check by gently peeling foil back from 1 corner of pan), 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. Remove dish from oven and immediately peel off foil from terrine and discard. Let terrine cool in water bath for 1 hour. Wrap loaf pan tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
- When ready to serve, remove plastic, then run paring knife along edges of loaf pan. Invert pan onto cutting board and give several taps against board to release terrine. Gently peel off parchment strips and discard. Dip slicing knife in very hot water and wipe dry. Slice terrine into ½-inch-thick slices, transferring slices to individual plates and dipping and wiping knife after each slice. Serve immediately. (Any unsliced terrine can be tightly wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, thaw fully in the refrigerator before slicing.)
Time
1½ hours, plus 5 hours cooling and chillingYield
Serves 16Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
A chocolate terrine, made of chocolate, butter, dairy, and eggs, falls somewhere between an airy chocolate mousse and a dense flourless chocolate cake. The decadent dessert is baked in a loaf pan in a water bath and then refrigerated until serving time when it is unmolded, sliced into slabs, and adorned with simple garnishes. For complex flavor, we used equal parts milk and bittersweet chocolate in our terrine, along with plenty of butter for a satiny consistency and four whole eggs to ensure that it baked up firm and sliceable. The choice of dairy was critical too: Since dairy fat is solid at room temperature, it affects the structure of the finished terrine. After whole milk made a terrine that was too delicate and heavy cream made one that was too dense, we landed on half-and-half for a sliceable but not-too-rich result.
Want more? Read the whole storyBefore You Begin
While any high-quality chocolate can be used here, our preferred bittersweet chocolates are Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Premium Baking Bar and Callebaut Intense Dark Chocolate, L-60-40NV, and our favorite milk chocolate is Endangered Species Chocolate Smooth + Creamy Milk Chocolate. We recommend serving the terrine slices with fresh fruit, whipped cream, fruit sauce, caramel sauce, or ice cream. If you would like to present the full terrine as a centerpiece dessert, dust the block with cocoa powder through a fine-mesh strainer and top with garnishes such as chopped nuts or flaky salt before slicing.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Microwave 8 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate; 8 ounces chopped milk chocolate; 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1-tablespoon pieces; and ½ teaspoon table salt in large bowl at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally until melted, 2 to 4 minutes. Let cool briefly, about 5 minutes.
- Whisk 4 room temperature large eggs and 2 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl until sugar is fully dissolved. While whisking, slowly add egg mixture to chocolate mixture; whisk until combined. Whisk in 1 cup half-and-half until well combined. Bring kettle of water to boil.
- Lightly grease 8½ by 4½-inch loaf pan with vegetable oil spray. Line with 2 strips of parchment paper, 1 that is 14 by 4½ inches and another that is 10 by 8½ inches, laying them perpendicular to one another and smoothing so parchment is flush with pan sides. Pour chocolate mixture through fine-mesh strainer into prepared pan. Gently tap pan against counter to release air bubbles. Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil (foil should not touch surface of chocolate mixture).
- Place loaf pan in 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Set dish on oven rack and pour enough boiling water into dish to come halfway up sides of loaf pan. Bake until outer 1 inch of terrine is set and center is still slightly jiggly (check by gently peeling foil back from 1 corner of pan), 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. Remove dish from oven and immediately peel off foil from terrine and discard. Let terrine cool in water bath for 1 hour. Wrap loaf pan tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
- When ready to serve, remove plastic, then run paring knife along edges of loaf pan. Invert pan onto cutting board and give several taps against board to release terrine. Gently peel off parchment strips and discard. Dip slicing knife in very hot water and wipe dry. Slice terrine into ½-inch-thick slices, transferring slices to individual plates and dipping and wiping knife after each slice. Serve immediately. (Any unsliced terrine can be tightly wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, thaw fully in the refrigerator before slicing.)
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