Death by Chocolate is a marketing term for various desserts that feature chocolate (especially dark chocolate or cocoa

Cocoa solids

Cocoa solids are the low-fat component of chocolate. When sold as an end product, it may also be called cocoa powder, cocoa, and cacao....

) as the primary ingredient. The trademark in the United States was owned by S&A Restaurant Group

Metromedia Restaurant Group

The Metromedia Restaurant Group is a United States casual dining company that operates and franchises more than 800 restaurants under the names Bonanza, Ponderosa, The Plano Tavern, The Southlake Tavern and the 29 Degree Tavern. Its headquarters are in Plano, Texas...

, the parent company of Bennigan's

Bennigan's

Bennigan's is an Irish pub-themed casual dining restaurant chain with locations throughout the United States, and in 14 countries and 15 territories outside the continental U.S...

 restaurants, but with the subsequent bankruptcy of the company the current legal status is unclear. In the United Kingdom and European Unionhttp://www.ipo.gov.uk/ohim?ohimnum=E5597761, the registered trade mark rights belong to F.T. Wood & Sons Limited. Nevertheless, unlicensed uses of the term are common though still constitute trade mark infringement under the Trade Marks Act 1994 and Council Regulation (EC) No. 207/2009.

In 1981 Jeffrey Fields opened a restaurant on the Pacific Coast Highway in Los Angeles called Les Anges. He and his French Pastry Chef, Claude Koeberle, invented a chocolate cake which they called "la Mort au Chocolat", translated as "Death by Chocolate" and "Chocolate Death". It was on the menu on opening day and remained very popular throughout the life of the restaurant. Reference to the dessert first appeared in a Los Angeles Times review, by critic Lois Dwan, on 13 September 1981. Subsequent mentions appeared in a January 1982 Travel & Leisure column by Sharon Boorstin, an October 1982 review of Les Anges in Gourmet Magazine, by Caroline Bates, and a feature in the Premier Issue of Chocolatier Magazine in 1984.

The original Les Anges creation included multiple layers of chocolate genoise, mousse, ganache, and meringue. It was dressed with chocolate creme anglaise.
The term was coined by Erik Russell in 1984 whilst working for London-based dessert manufacturer, Kaysens. On tasting the sample for a proposed new chocolate product he exclaimed, "This one's death by chocolate".

A dish called "Death by Chocolate" might be:

• A layered chocolate cake
  Chocolate cake
  Chocolate cake is a cake flavored with melted chocolate or cocoa powder.-History:Chocolate cake is made with chocolate; it can be made with other ingredients, as well. These ingredients include fudge, vanilla creme, and other sweeteners. The history of chocolate cake goes back to 1764, when Dr...
  
  , with fudge
  Fudge
  Fudge is a type of Western confectionery which is usually very sweet, and extremely rich. It is made by mixing sugar, butter, and milk and heating it to the soft-ball stage at , and then beating the mixture while it cools so that it acquires a smooth, creamy consistency...
  
  , ganache
  Ganache
  Ganache is a glaze, icing, or filling for pastries made from chocolate and cream.Ganache is normally made by heating cream, then pouring it over chopped dark semi-sweet chocolate...
  
  , or chocolate mousse between the layers
• A dessert made in a trifle
  Trifle
  Trifle is a dessert dish made from thick custard, fruit, sponge cake, fruit juice or gelatin, and whipped cream. These ingredients are usually arranged in layers with fruit and sponge on the bottom, and custard and cream on top....
  
   bowl from alternating layers of broken-up Kahlúa
  Kahlúa
  Kahlúa is a Mexican coffee-flavored rum-based liqueur. It is dense and sweet, with the distinct taste of coffee, from which it is made. Kahlúa also contains sugar, corn syrup and vanilla bean.-History:...
  
  -soaked brownies
  Chocolate brownie
  A chocolate brownie is a flat, baked square or bar introduced in the United States at the end of the nineteenth century and popularized in both the U.S. and Canada during the first half of the twentieth century. The brownie is sliced from a type of dense, rich chocolate cake, which is, in texture,...
  
  , chocolate mousse, crushed Heath
  Heath bar
  The Heath bar is an American candy bar made of toffee, marketed by L.S. Heath beginning in 1928, subsequently by Leaf, Inc., and since 1996 by Hershey....
  
   bars, and whipped topping
• A molten chocolate cake
  Molten chocolate cake
  Molten chocolate cake, or lava cake, is a popular dessert that combines the elements of a flourless chocolate cake and a soufflé...
  
  
• A flourless chocolate cake
  Flourless chocolate cake
  A flourless chocolate cake is a type of cake made from an aerated chocolate custard. It is prepared with a whole egg foam in a manner similar to a Génoise cake, using low heat from the melted chocolate to stabilize the protein matrix and then baked in a bain-marie...
  
   (sometimes called "chocolate decadence")

"Death by Chocolate" is also the name of an ice cream

Ice cream

Ice cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners...

 flavour. In the ice cream, there is usually chocolate fudge, chocolate chunks and chocolate ice cream.

Chef Marcel Desaulniers

Marcel Desaulniers

Marcel Desaulniers is the American chef and part-owner of the Trellis Restaurant in Williamsburg, Virginia, cookbook author, Director Emeritus of the Culinary Institute of America and self-described "Guru of Ganache."-Personal life:...

 wrote a book, Death by Chocolate, on the theme. Subsequent other books in the series had similar names.

The Scottish band Simple Minds

Simple Minds

Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band who achieved worldwide popularity from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. The band produced a handful of critically acclaimed albums in the early 1980s and best known for their #1 US, Canada and Netherlands hit single "Don't You ", from the soundtrack of the...

 wrote a song called "Death by Chocolate," as did Australian singer Sia Furler

Sia Furler

Sia Kate Isobelle Furler or simply Sia, is an Australian pop, downtempo, and jazz singer and songwriter. In 2000, her single, "Taken for Granted" was a top 10 hit in the United Kingdom. Her 2008 album, Some People Have Real Problems peaked in the top 30 on the Billboard 200...

.