everything nice
Bludorn turns up the heat with spicy chocolate collaboration
Find the new chocolates at Mostly Chocolates or order online.
One thing people know about chefs in Houston is they’re collaborative. From Burger Bodega’s well-documented pop-ups with a range of chefs to Neo hosting one of Mexico’s rising culinary stars, Houston restaurants are always looking for a way to join forces.
Houston’s latest culinary collab features one of the city’s most well-regarded fine dining restaurants teaming up with a local chocolate shop to create a one-of-a-kind, sweet and spicy treat. Mostly Chocolate and Bludorn recently released a new chocolate called Spicy Cinnamon Roll that gets a kick from Bludorn’s signature hot sauce.
Available now at Mostly Chocolate’s shop near Spring Branch or online, Spicy Cinnamon Roll contains a cream cheese and cinnamon ganache that’s infused with Bludorn hot sauce set atop a cookie crust.
Chocolatier Dany Kamkhagi tells CultureMap he first got the idea of using Bludorn’s hot sauce in a chocolate during a dinner at the restaurant. He appreciated its well-balanced pepper flavor that’s spicy but not too spicy. He thought it could be a good fit for the company’s monthly subscription box that always contains two new chocolates.
“Most hot sauces have garlic and onion and all these spices that wouldn’t taste good with chocolate. It’s rare to find a brand that’s just using peppers,” Kamkhagi says. “The heat and the flavor, both of those things are so well balanced in Aaron’s hot sauce.”
The secret is the cream cheese ganache. Kamkhagi infuses it with cinnamon sticks before adding in the Bludorn hot sauce. “You get cinnamon right up in the beginning, a little sweetness from the crust, and then the hot sauce kicks in at the end. I think it all bundles together really nicely,” he says.
Count Bludorn chef and co-owner Aaron Bludorn as a fan of Kamkhagi’s creation. Having already hosted guest chef dinners with talents from Houston and beyond, he tells CultureMap he was excited about the opportunity to work with Mostly Chocolate
“When Dany approached me about using our hot sauce for a chocolate I was thrilled. His chocolates are so inventive and delicious,” he says. “After tasting it, I was really excited that the flavor really comes through and pairs beautifully with the chocolate and cinnamon without being too overpowering.”
The Spicy Cinnamon chocolates are available now in any of Mostly Chocolates build-your-own boxes or as a standalone, four-piece box that comes with a bottle of Bludorn hot sauce for $25. Initially intended as a limited time offering, Kamkhagi now expects to keep it on the menu permanently. It could even evolve into more flavors down the road.
“There’s more opportunities to work with his sauce in different ways. I feel like this is the tip of the iceberg,” he says. “There’s a lot of spice lovers. I think there’s a way to incorporate that into different confections.
