Sink Your Teeth into Films Through These Desserts Designed to Mimic Moods of Film Noir

Noir films are all about suspense and keeping one on the edge of their seats. So while watching one, there’s nothing like digging into a dark and sinful dessert that captures the essence of these films that makes your brain tingle and work overtime.

Noir films are dark, moody affairs, the kind that keep you guessing till the very end. You might say they're shrouded in more shadows than a detective trailing a suspect at midnight. These gritty guttersnipes of the silver screen love piquing our interest without spilling all their secrets. Just like how a dimly lit alley can hide more than it shows.

So, we decided to dish out dark, molten, and rich desserts that represent and embody the underdog noir trope of movies. If you haven’t watched these movies, we suggest baking these desserts and serving them to your movie buddies at your next movie night. Warning, there will be spoilers ahead.

1. Rebecca’s Dark Chocolate Mousse

Centered around the Manderley mansion, Rebecca revolves around the young wife of a charismatic, elite Englishman, named Maximilian (Maxim’s) de Winter. Rebecca was Maxim’s first wife and her invisible presence looms over the whole mansion. The housekeeper’s fondness for Maxim’s first wife gives way to madness, as slowly seen through the second wife’s eyes. The plot unravels like that, quite so, and we feel a dark chocolate mousse best represents this film for the luxury that it portrays, and also the cranium contorting absurd second half of the film. Here’s how you can make the dark chocolate mousse at home, and remember to replace plain chocolate with Cadbury Bournville Dark Chocolate for that sinister edge portrayed by the film.

2. Knives Out’s Nutty Fudge

Daniel Craig surprises in this film with his not-so-serious character that he projects onto other people (he does this weird dance in one of the scenes). But he’s the outsider looking in, to a possible murder that has taken place in a wealthy family.

A family patriarch, Harlan, who had died under mysterious circumstances, was the one who held the family purse. Craig’s job was to find out who did it. Hint: It was a family member who was the obvious, but not-so-obvious suspect, from the first appearance.

A nutty fudge suits this neo-noir film because the whole family was nuts and the ending was the best thing that could have happened to them. Here is the recipe for nutty fudge for you to snack on.

3. Shutter Island’s Mud Cake

Leonardo di Caprio delivers a remarkable performance in Shutter Island, where the line between being a patient in the psych ward or actually being the investigator of the shady islands for the mentally ill, is blurred. It keeps you guessing till the very end, and leaves you bitter without providing any answers. It is known for sure that Leo’s character, Teddy, had a severe case of PTSD, which was portrayed quite vividly through his range of emotions and actions. A mud cake that is loaded with chocolate in every bite suits this dark film the best, as the audience feels the confusion, sorrow and panic that Teddy goes through on screen. Bake your own chocolate mud cake with this recipe.

4. The Nice Guys’ Banana Muffins

The Nice Guys takes viewers on a twisted neo-noir caper through the seedy underbelly of 1970s’ Los Angeles. On the surface, it appears to be a straightforward buddy cop comedy as Holland March and Jackson Healy bumble their way through the case. However, when you feel the proverbial onion, it slowly reveals deeper mysteries and surprises around every corner, from corrupt auto industry executives to unexpected twists in the plot. Typical of suspense movies, the mysteries explode in your face towards the end, leaving you craving for more just like the Oreo Streusel Banana Muffins. These muffins, much like the detective-tough guy duo, seem like an innocent dessert treat, but contain unexpected depths of flavor in each bite, pairing classic ingredients and crowd favorites. Here is the recipe for the Oreo Streusel Banana Muffins.

5. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’s Black Bottom Cupcakes

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang finds petty thief Harry unwittingly dragged into a murder case in LA. He teams up with private eye Harry Perez to solve it. Through twists and double-crosses, they follow clues around a colorful cast of suspects. The classic noir plot keeps viewers guessing with its tangled web of deception and danger. Harry and Perez's banter adds humor to the intrigue. Black bottom cupcakes are the perfect representation of this film, for they equally tease with their plain look hiding a surprise cheesecake filling, much like the film's conventions sheltering its wit and charm. A bite reveals the sweet and salty pleasures hidden within this slick neo-noir film’s shadows. Find the recipe for the black-bottom cupcakes here.