There are no desserts in my cook book, Delicious Dishes for Diabetics–A Mediterranean Way of Eating.

This is because I don’t eat desserts.

Well not the whole truth—Meredith sometimes makes a dessert for company that is so good, that not to try it would be churlish—so I have a sliver.

I’m lucky, I don’t have a sweet tooth and have never had a craving for large portions of exotic “afters”—though I do remember the wonderful tall glassed “Knickerbocker Glories” (ice cream sundaes in the U.S.) at the lunch counter on the top floor of Marshall and Snelgroves, once a famous department store on Oxford Street. One of my grandmother’s regular treats in the early 1950s!

For others it‘s a sacrifice to forgo the third course. It’s true that a good meal needs a grace note at the end, something that rounds it off–a contrast to the savory tastes of the main dish–something to complement the coffee or tea to come. Well, all is not lost…!

The answer, surprisingly, is CHOCOLATE–with a high proportion of cacao.

One square eaten with a good cup of coffee is the perfect end to a meal for me.

I have got used to 90%  and find anything lower than 85% too sweet.

The idea has caught on. There often seems to be a choice these days from 70% and upwards in most supermarkets.

This site positively encourages the consumption of high cacao chocolate:

10 Reasons to Eat High Cocoa Content Chocolate