10 Delicious Desserts That Taste Better With A Touch Of Heat

Anyone can cook, but baking requires you to become a master of both science and flavor. In some sense, you become a professional matchmaker; knowing which ingredients pair well together to create a full-bodied flavor and then finding creative date ideas for them to explore their chemistry and further their relationship. While desserts are often hailed for their sweet qualities, they're a category of food that attracts the opposite crowd of flavors — including spicy ones. Spicy ingredients do well in an array of sweet desserts because they help balance the sweetness and illustrate certain flavor notes that may be suppressed by the dominant sweet profile.

If you don't have much experience match-making, but still have an interest in upgrading your desserts, you've come to the right place. We've curated a list of some excellent desserts that are deserving of a date with a spicy companion, and found some of the best potential ingredient matches for each dessert based on its texture, flavor, and other ingredients present.

There's something very classic and charming about the chocolate chip cookie. This timeless dessert mainstay is a popular choice for all audiences, from children to adults, and can come in many variations. You might see bakeries near you try funky renditions on the cookie, including miso sea salt chocolate chunk (our personal favorite), oatmeal chocolate chip (for extra moisture and chew), and even spicy chocolate chip.

Spice and chocolate are in good company with one another. Chocolate and chili, specifically, are both known for their aphrodisiac qualities, and when eaten together, they can liven up your taste buds. The bold heat from the chili powder highlights the bitterness and milkiness of the chocolate, while the brown sugar cookie base supplements with sweetness. It's the whole spectrum of flavors in a single bite. Ginger and chocolate is another excellent pairing, as the root adds a spicy kick that will open up your sinuses and singe the back of your throat, only to have the relief from the sweet cookie base come to the rescue.

If you're going the classic chili route, try to select a pepper that will complement the flavor of your chocolate. If you're using plain chocolate morsels in your cookies, you may want to go for a smoky chipotle, while cayenne is an excellent addition to a cookie that needs a fiery kick. As with all desserts, add this chili in small doses to your batter; it's easy to overwhelm a conventionally sweet dessert with too much heat.

Peach pie and cobbler are summertime classics, perfect for when your kitchen is overrun with the fruit and you don't know what to do with it (we have some ideas). Peaches, accented with a syrupy and sticky sauce, are floral, bright, and the feeling of summer materialized into a juicy, fleshy fruit. Besides the fruit, you also get sweetness from the cobbler topping and/or butteriness from the pie crust. It can be a lot of sweetness and richness at once, which is where spice and heat come in handy.

Cayenne is an excellent warming spice to add to your peach cobbler. Like cinnamon, it helps to ground the flavors of the dessert, and if you use just a pinch, you may not even realize it's there. You can add the spice to the filling, along with other staples like cinnamon and nutmeg. If you want to add a little warmth to your peach pie or cobbler, but not necessarily send yourself gulping for water, you may also want to try adding smoked paprika. It's warming and complex, but doesn't have the same back-of-the-mouth heat as cayenne. You could also add peppers, like habaneros, directly to your pie filling, but this may be reserved for folks who have absolutely no fear of raw, unadulterated heat. Any of these spicy pie variations would be excellent paired with a scoop of plain vanilla ice cream to help recalibrate the spice.

Most scoop shops you visit probably aren't going to have spicy ice cream on the menu... but it's high time they start considering it. Mexican hot chocolate-inspired ice cream, mango sorbet with a sprinkle of Tajín, and even a plain vanilla ice cream doused in hot honey are all viable options. Ice cream and sorbets tend to be very sweet, making spicy and hot elements an excellent pairing with frozen desserts as a whole. As with any dessert, some flavors are going to pair better with spicy elements than others. In short, you still want the flavor of the ice cream to come through — and it will hopefully be amplified by whatever spice you pair it with.

There are numerous pathways possible for adding heat and spice to ice cream. One of our favorites is doing a spice infusion into the cream base. Of course, this only works if you're making your own ice cream — which doesn't always require a machine; simply add your spices to the cream and simmer it on the stove until those flavors infuse. Then, strain your cream and prepare your ice cream as instructed. You could also opt for an ice cream topping, which is more ideal if you're turning your store-bought ice cream into a sundae. Gochujang caramel sauce, spicy peanut brittle, or chili crisp are all viable options. And if push comes to shove, you could always just sprinkle cayenne or Tajín — the latter of which is ideal for tropical or fruity flavors — on the ice cream itself.

We've already established that chocolate and spice are an excellent pairing. And there is perhaps no better way to experience this indulgent combo than by whipping up a very chocolatey dessert and adding spice to it. "Chocolate cake" covers a wide umbrella of desserts from chocolate lava cake and Black Forest cake to fudge cake and brownies (the latter of which you may disagree with calling a "cake," but it's close enough in structure). Besides being very chocolate-forward, the one thing these desserts tend to have in common is that they're heavy on the palate. Spicy flavors help offset that weightiness, balancing the bite and lightening its mouthfeel.

Since a cake has many components — the base, the frosting, and the garnish — there are numerous ways to integrate hot elements into it. If you're looking to intertwine the traditional and the novel, consider a gochujang Texas sheet cake. The hot Korean spice paste is an excellent foil to the heavy frosting. You may also make some spiced chocolate curls with baking chocolate and cayenne powder to adorn your dessert with. They'll be the first thing to hit your palate, yet still allow you to enjoy the decadence of a well-crafted and perfectly moist chocolate sponge.

The sponge itself also allows offers room for experimentation. Add a little (emphasis on little) bit of cinnamon and cayenne to the batter to give it a warming but not overwhelming edge.

Gingersnap cookies, and other cookies in the ginger family, like gingerbread and ginger-molasses cookies, are excellent playgrounds for spice because they already contain a somewhat-warm ingredient: the ginger. Ground ginger is a staple in these recipes, as it adds a flavor that complements other ingredients like brown sugar and cinnamon.

This root powder is only the start of your spice-filled journey. Chinese five-spice is an excellent blend to consider adding to your ginger cookies. Composed of star anise, cinnamon, cloves, fennel seeds, and Sichuan peppercorns, it will highlight those gingery notes and act as a savory foil to the sweet cookie. It is a blend that you have to be careful with, though, as it can become too licorice-like and spicy if used in large quantities. Start with a scant amount (like, absolutely no more than a teaspoon for a standard-sized batch) and experiment from there.

You can also look to chilis for inspiration here. A dash of cayenne or chili powder could add warmth without distracting from the flavor of the ginger. You could also turn up the ginger flavor by integrating crystallized ginger into your recipe, or even freshly grated ginger. This will not only amplify the impact of the ground ginger, but also help curb the sweetness of the cookie.

Poached pears probably aren't winning the award for the most popular dessert in recent years, but that doesn't make them any less delicious. As their name suggests, the fruits are dropped into a simmering vat of spices and liquid (which can include tea, cider, and/or wine) so that they soften and soak up all of those flavors. Traditionally, pears are poached with spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, which offer a subtle flavor to an otherwise neutral-tasting fruit.

If you're looking for a bolder rendition of poached pears, consider reaching for ginger and peppercorns. Pink peppercorns work especially well for this recipe because they are fragrant and sharp — meaning they don't have that lingering spicy bite that chilis and other spicy ingredients have. The cloves in the recipe act as a cooling flavor, while the cinnamon increases its earthiness. You can also swap the honey or sweetener in a recipe with hot honey (either in full or in part). Just remember that poached pears are a dainty dessert that requires a caring and light hand; you don't want to absolutely bombard every bite with unadulterated heat.

Ah, we've come to the most under-appreciated of cake flavors: carrot. This springtime favorite, a popular addition to Easter gatherings and spring festivities, is rife with flavor and moisture. The cake, which is essentially just spice cake with added texture from the grated root vegetable, typically contains spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove, though you could also give it a unique edge by adding more piquant ingredients. Ginger is an excellent place to start, as it offers the sponge a subtly sweet yet peppery bite, and will cut through the richness of the decadent sponge. If you are comfortable venturing into a more savory territory, consider adding a dash of cayenne to your cake batter along with your spice. Its back-of-mouth heat will liven up the bite and contrast even the sweetest of cream cheese frostings (the only proper icing for carrot cake, if you ask us).

You can also add spice to your cake by playing with different garnishes and adornments. If you like to add a nut garnish — using pecans or walnuts — try candying them in a spicy ginger maple sauce before spooning them onto your cake. The syrup is traditionally quite sweet — along with the tooth-hurtingly sugary icing — so the heat will be a welcome touch. And, if your guests end up not liking the spice, they can always pick the garnish off and enjoy the rest of the sweet cake, kind of like a dessert-centric, choose-your-own-adventure experience.

Peanut brittle may not be a dessert that you're familiar with, especially if you don't venture into more "vintage" confections. While peanut brittle may not be the most popular candy of today's generation, it's still delicious. The stovetop sweet is made by boiling a thick sugar syrup before stirring in peanuts and vanilla. The candy hits the hard-crack stage, then is left to cool and set before being broken into shards. It's crunchy, sweet, and peanut-y — making it a prime spot to incorporate some hot elements.

If you like spicy peanut recipes, like a spicy satay sauce or a burn-your-mouth pad Thai, you may like adding a hint of chili to your peanut brittle. Ancho chili is an excellent flavor to play with, as its subtle smokiness will pair well with fresh peanuts and contrast the cloying candy base. You can also opt for a chipotle addition as well, and tweak the amount based on how hot you like things to be. Add your spice in with your baking soda (before the candy foams) and stir well to incorporate.

Peanut brittle can be eaten solo or used as a garnish for cupcakes, cakes, and confections galore. You may even want to try a chocolate-covered peanut brittle recipe — adding your spicy element to the candy, the chocolate, or potentially both — for a twist on a nutty Mexican hot chocolate.

There's nothing more homey than walking down the stairs and noticing the smell of freshly baked cinnamon rolls wafting from the oven. Cinnamon rolls are a labor of love, don't get us wrong, but making your own rather than using canned cinnamon rolls allows you to experiment with new flavors and create something suited to your tastes. While nothing's wrong with the classic cinnamon roll, which is a tad spicy on its own, you can also experiment with different warming flavors to elevate your rolls. A touch of cayenne or black pepper would draw your palate's attention to the cinnamon. Chinese five-spice powder would be at home in a cinnamon roll, too. While there is cinnamon already in the spice blend, you'll want to supplement your own. Meanwhile, the Sichuan peppercorns, cloves, anise, and fennel will add a slightly savory spin to this breakfast classic.

As with all of the creations on this list, you'll want to avoid making these rolls too spicy or venturing too far off into the savory realm. One of the ways we like to ground our cinnamon roll recipe is by using a flavored icing, like an oaky maple syrup-based frosting rather than a plain vanilla one. The woody notes of the maple are the perfect segue into a spicy filling, and it's less abrupt than using a one-note vanilla icing, instead.

Baklava is one treat that we will always pick up from the bakery because the thought of making it at home is downright scary. All of those layers of phyllo, nuts, and syrup seem like a nightmare to construct. But if you want to experiment with the flavors of this delectably sweet treat, making it at home is a fear that you'll have to face — and we can assure you that it'll be worth it.

Instead of using regular honey for your treat, for example, you can swap it out with hot honey. This sticky, spicy, and tasty spread is very versatile, and it's right at home with the nutty base and crunchy layers. You'll still get the sweetness that you'd normally get from soaking the treat in honey, along with a piquant bite from the chili. If you like even more heat, you could even infuse spicy Sichuan peppercorns into your honey to give you a warmer bite than mild chilis offers. Alternatively, you can spice the nut layer by adding ginger, chili powder, and more. Just make sure not to skip the cinnamon, as you still want the baklava to be sweet. Using either a spicy nut filling or a syrup (rather than both) is ideal for keeping this dessert's classically sweet flavor in balance.