14 Spicy Ingredients To Start Adding To Desserts

There are six recognized tastes that chefs mix and match to create complex flavors: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, savory, and our most recent addition to the list, fatty. Ideally, your recipe would have a balance of at least a few of these to create depth, diversity, and intrigue. Even your brownie recipe requires salt, and your famous steak marinade wouldn't be complete without a splash of something sweet. As a chef and recipe designer, I love creating unexpected combinations of tastes, or using tastes alongside sensations like temperature or spiciness. In fact, the addition of the spicy sensation to a sweet flavor can be found in recipes all over the world. There are plenty of hot pepper combinations and spicy ingredients you should start adding to desserts to bring them to the next level.

The most interesting aspect of adding heat to a sweet treat, is that your taste buds pick up on the sugars before the spiciness takes over. It's almost like a two for one flavor, as the heat takes a moment to fully register. In those early moments, you can enjoy the underlying flavor of the hot pepper or other spicy ingredient, that should be thoughtfully coupled with the flavors of the dessert. A mild spice, like black pepper or ginger root, will help to awaken the tastebuds without overwhelming the palate. Be thoughtful about selecting your spicy ingredients, and the quantity in which you add them. Now, let's crank up the heat and get cooking.

Hot honey has made a name for itself in recent years, and has taken the honey industry by storm. There's something about that earthy floral sweetness combined with a slow burning heat that can captivate an audience. It's an easy honey infusion you can make it by simply mixing dried crushed or powdered hot peppers into honey and letting it sit. Making hot honey at home allows for more control over the spice. There are many different types of hot peppers that can be used, but classically cayenne or chili flakes are the star.

Hot honey is an easy ingredient to start adding to desserts because the spice and sweetness are already working in combination. Simply drizzle into batters, on top of baked goods, over fruit, over ice cream, or even stir into glazes. While hot honey is often used in a savory capacity, like over chicken and waffles or pizza, it's an ultra sweet way to boost both the sweetness and heat in your homemade or store bought desert.

When talking about heat, we often picture hot peppers. They range from mild to smoke-coming-out-of-your-ears hot, and often have a grassy, fresh, or mildly fruity undertone. However, there are plenty of other ingredients out there aside from peppers that can carry quite a punch in the spice department. For instance, ginger root, which can be described as warming and peppery, carries a mild spice along with citrusy and sweet flavorings. It can be bought fresh, in juice form, or even powdered, making it easy to add to any sweet treat.

My favorite part about ginger is that the flavor outweighs the heat. Even those who would never even consider putting Sriracha on their sandwich for fear of burning a hold in their tongue would certainly be able to handle ginger spice. It excites the tastebuds, helping them to tap into the surrounding flavors of the dish, including the sugars. Ginger can be paired with citrus-based desserts, fruit dishes like pies or crisps, chocolate (especially if cinnamon is involved), and any sort of cardamom or pumpkin spiced sweet treat. Save yourself the trouble and don't grate fresh ginger with a fork, use a zester or fine cheese grater, instead.

Although you may think black pepper is exclusively for savory dishes, think again. You may be very familiar with the table spice, and add it to just about any meat, vegetable, or grain dish you cook. Perhaps it's one of few go-to spices you actually use. Well, it has more of a range than you might think. While being mildly spicy, black pepper is also quite floral and even a little fruity. Because of this, it's the perfect ingredient to consider in certain sweet settings, but could certainly throw a dessert out of orbit if used incorrectly.

If you're looking to use freshly cracked black pepper in your desserts, consider any recipe that uses "warming" spices like allspice, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and nutmeg. It helps to boost the heat slightly, while matching the energy, and not overpowering the other spices. This is why black pepper can add a new depth of flavor to pumpkin pie, and other pumpkin spiced recipes. Try it in dark chocolate recipes, especially brownies, to add layers of flavor and a subtle kick. It's the perfect topping for vanilla ice cream, creating duality, playing with temperature, texture, and flavor.

Jalapeño poppers are one of my all-time favorite appetizers, mostly because I enjoy the combination of a sharp, spicy pepper stuffed with a creamy, mellow cheese. The contrast is complex and exciting, but the fun doesn't end there. Try using jalapeños in your desserts for the ultimate play on opposites.

Because of its fruity and bright undertones, jalapeño peppers pair beautifully with fruits, especially stone fruits which have a rich and honey-like sweetness. This is why adding jalapeños to a white peach sangria or a mango dessert salsa can make all the difference. Try it in a stone fruit upside down cake, or minced into an ultra-sweet sorbet. In addition to pairing with fruit, jalapeños play nicely with dark chocolate. Try coating jalapeños in chocolate for a spicy sweet treat on Valentines day, for your spice-loving significant other (or yourself!). Because jalapeños are not intensely spicy, you will still be able to appreciate the surrounding flavors, and don't have to worry about overwhelming the palate.

While ghost peppers may have a very intimidating name, they are actually a bit misunderstood. Yes, their heat is intense, perhaps even boarding on painful for some, but the build is slow, and the underlying flavors are incredible. Before the heat hits, ghost peppers have a sweet and fruity flavor that pairs wonderfully with fruit, chocolate, and vanilla. However, you should take caution when choosing quantity, as these little colorful peppers pack a punch of heat. The heat is sharp, slightly smokey, and lingering. Luckily, you have control of how much you'll add, and even a small amount can make a big difference.

For those who enjoy spice, but don't want to drown in it, consider using an incredibly small amount of the minced ghost pepper in your dessert. Mix into a raspberry sorbet, blend into a cinnamon hot chocolate, pair with creamy caramel cookies, and enjoy with cream or cheese-based desserts like cheesecake which will help to mellow the spice. If you're a beginner, follow some tips for cooking with ghost peppers so you don't end up breathing fire, or worse. I particularly enjoy ghost pepper in a dessert drinks, as it's quite enjoyable paired with a frozen or cold mouthfeel.

A more common spice to find in desserts and beyond are cayenne peppers. They are famous for being ultra peppery and earthy, and incredibly warming. It cranks up slowly and steadily, giving your palate time to adjust. However, if added in quantity, cayenne can be quite overpowering and fully take a dish captive. Often, cayenne comes finely ground, so it's easy to adjust the amount you add to your recipe with precision.

Classically, in the dessert world, cayenne is paired with chocolate. You can find hot chocolate cayenne recipes, cayenne pepper chocolate bark, chocolate ganache with cayenne, and cayenne spiced brownies. Often, cinnamon plays a supporting role, and the hot pepper is used in moderation. I prefer to mix cayenne into a batter or recipe than to sprinkle it on top, as the direct contact with your lips can intensify the heat, and even be slightly uncomfortable. However, cayenne is certainly not the hottest pepper out there, and is quite tolerable to most. Cayenne a fantastic way to add warmth to your dish, and pairs in a variety of capacities.

One of my favorite hot peppers to use in a fruity capacity are habaneros. These small bright peppers are common in hot sauces, tropical dishes, used on grilled meats, and alongside fruit. They come in many colors, but are often picked when they are bright orange, although they just get hotter as they ripen and redden. Before the heat hits, habanero peppers have a tropical sweetness, similar to papaya. This is why I love to pair them with mango, pineapple, lime, and even coconut. Although much hotter than a jalapeño, habaneros flavors still shine through the intensity of the heat.

The habanero-mango combination is elite. The honey-like sweetness from the mango, and the mimicked tropical flavors work together to create a cohesive and unified flavor. Try mixing habanero peppers into your mango sorbet, or mango sticky rice. Alternatively, mix it with pineapple before it hits the grill, drizzled with a little honey. If you enjoy sumatra coffee or other fruity smokey combinations, then try using habanero in your chocolate dishes like a spicy chocolate cake or brownies.

While similar to jalapeño peppers, Serrano peppers carry about twice the amount of heat. They share the same grassy undertones, but its heat hits with a sharp, delayed intensity. Serranos are the perfect pepper to select if you enjoy jalapeños but are looking for something with a bit more oomph in the heat department. They pair similarly, so follow the same rules when selecting which sweet treats to incorporate your Serrano peppers into.

Pair with tropical flavors like mango, pineapple, and kiwi. These flavorful fruits tend to hold their own next to the hot pepper, and mimic the underlying flavors. Strawberries tend to play nicely with grassy and green fruits and vegetables, like peas and peppers, so consider Serranos in your strawberry desserts. In particular, Serrano pepper hot sauce could be the perfect topping for your strawberry ice cream, creating contrast with both texture, and temperature. In fact, Serrano pepper hot sauce does well in combination with frozen fruits in general, but can also play a role in dense dark chocolate recipes.

As a Vermonter, I was born with maple syrup in my veins. It's been a part of my culinary journey, making appearances just as often in savory dishes as in desserts. I first discovered spicy maple syrup in my early years of tinkering around in the kitchen, and it became an instant favorite ingredient. Maple syrup is smokey, so it's only natural that you can spice it up using a smokey pepper like chipotle. However, you'll often find spicy maple syrup heated with a grassier pepper like Serrano or jalapeño.

Use spicy maple syrup like you would maple syrup: to sweeten your batters, mixed with fresh fruit, drizzled over ice cream, or whipped into icing. To be completely honest, I don't even have granulated sugar in my kitchen. I use alternative sweeteners because sweetening is always an opportunity to add flavor to a dish, and white sugar just doesn't carry quite the depth as honey, date syrup, molasses, or maple syrup. Spicy maple syrup is smokier, woodier, and richer than hot honey, so it's important to use the two in distinguishing capacities, although there is some acceptable overlap.

99% of the time, dry rubs are used for meat. They typically consist of something sweet, something spicy, something salty, and a slew of herbs and spices. They are often balanced, carry some heat, and help to elevate the flavor of the dish without adding to the moisture content. Well, I think your dessert deserves a dry rub, too. You can certainly use it in a classic way, like rubbed onto fruit before it's grilled. However, there are expansive ways to use a spicy dessert dry rub on your sweet treats.

When deciding how to heat up your sweet dry rub, consider warming spices like ginger, cardamom, black pepper, and cayenne. These create a calming, comforting heat with loads of flavor. A small pinch of salt is necessary for balance, and you are welcome to load on the sugars. Consider brown sugar and date sugar over your standard granulated white sugar for added depth. For intense spiciness, consider choosing from the hottest chile peppers out there, but be sure to use in moderation. Besides grilled fruit, consider using your spicy brown sugar dry rub on baked cheese, sprinkled on ice cream, or even dusted onto brownies or cookies when they are hot from the oven.

Now, if you're hoping to take a mellower approach, then look no further than cardamom. Cardamom is my favorite spice in my cabinet, as it has a wide range of uses, and covers a variety of flavors. Overall, it's classified as a floral, warming, peppery, and citrusy spice, quite aromatic and almost reminiscent of the piney freshness of eucalyptus. As you can tell, it's a complex spice that needs to make an appearance in your desserts, and will add just the smallest hint of peppery spice.

Even if you think mild salsa is hot, you can certainly experiment with cardamom. It's more warming than hot, and can be used in a number of capacities. I like to pair it with citrus baked goods, especially those including zest. It also elevates mild honey-like stone fruits, and pairs well with honey, as well. It can be coupled with other warming spices like cinnamon and black pepper, and deserves a spot next to both dark chocolate and vanilla. Use it to boost your vanilla ice cream, or mix it into your orange zest olive oil cake.

You can certainly top ice cream with hot sauce, but why not mix those hot peppers right into your creamy frozen dessert? Cream and hot peppers create a diverse mouthfeel, as the temperature and fattiness of the ice cream contrasts the sharp heat of the pepper in a very pleasing way. Fruity peppers like jalapeno and habanero are often mixed into fruit and chocolate based ice creams, but feel free to experiment if you're making your own at home. You can even heat up your vanilla ice cream using spicy Tajín seasoning.

However, you can also purchase spicy ice cream from select brands. If you see one at your local scoop shop, you can certainly layer it with more mild flavors to create a complex tasting experience. Use spicy ice cream to top warm desserts like brownies, cobblers, pies, and crisps. You can even use it pressed between two cookies to make an ice cream sandwich. Just be sure the type of pepper or spicy ingredient, and flavor of the ice cream reflects or can work well with the surrounding flavors. Why create basic desserts, when you can spice them up with a little hot pepper? It's simple, and effective in creating a more gourmet, complex dish.

Typically, hot jellies are used in a savory capacity, often paired with cheeses and meats. However, there is no hot jelly police who's going to stop you from incorporating them into your sweet desserts. One of my favorite hot jellies is hot pepper jelly, made typically from peppers, sugar, and vinegar along with a few other ingredients to improve texture like pectin. Many hot peppers have sweet undertones, and often the mild ones are able to display that sweetness proudly. The sugar, of course, helps to boost the overall sweetness of the spread, and the flavor is actually quite candy or dessert-like.

Mix hot jelly into your pie filling, dollop it on your ice cream, enjoy it with your cookies or shortcake, and don't forget to layer it into your parfaits. The key here is to use it in moderation. It should act as an accent to the dessert, and not dominate it with peppery flavors. A small smear of hot pepper jelly will take your dessert from plain and predictable, to a culinary creation toying with contrast and excitement. You can also mix berries into the jam as you cook it, creating layers of flavor. Serve your dessert with hot jelly or jam, and let your guests do the smearing which will allow them to control the heat levels.

Smokey, earthy, rustic, with a tiny pinch of sweetness: This is why I love using chipotle peppers alongside my chocolate, maple, and coffee-based desserts. It's often used in the world of savory cooking, which makes it an unexpected seasoning to add to desserts, but if executed properly it's a game changing ingredient. The smokey element of chipotle is what makes it particularly intriguing and distinct.

My preference is to use dried and ground chipotle peppers in my baking. It's an easy way to incorporate it without altering the texture or liquid to dry ratio. If you're making a dessert with multiple elements, like a cake with icing, brownies with a drizzle, or an ice cream sandwich then consider using chipotle in the secondary element (like the icing) and omitting it from the base. This will help it act as an accent and not overwhelm the recipe, as chipotle is a bold flavor. Use maple syrup as a sweetener to play up on the smokiness, and a little espresso powder never hurts a chocolate dessert, especially when paired with the hot and smokey pepper.