A touch of heat: 10 great chilli and chocolate recipes

The richness of chocolate and the heat and flavour of chilli are a special pairing. Here, we've rounded up a brace of chocolate recipes that bring a hint (or more) of heat, from cakes and biscuits to a drink and a nutty edible gift.

Ancho chilli and date chocolate tart

A glorious example of how chillis can star in sweet dishes, this Mexican chilli chocolate tart is a rich and decadent dessert. An ancho chilli and date filling sits under a layer of smooth chocolate ganache. Dust with ground chilli to serve, if you like!

Chocolate chilli cookies

Chilli and chocolate are ancient Inca lovers. Fast-forward to a modern cookie-munching age and you've got a chocolate brownie biscuit with a deliciously fudgey texture and a kick of heat from chilli powder. Turn up the fire as desired!

Whipped chocolate yoghurt mousse

This rich but easy egg-free mousse, shared on The Cook Up, is made by whipping melted dark chocolate and cocoa powder into Greek yoghurt. The chilli comes in the form of a honey chilli drizzle.

Mexican hot chocolate popcorn

Want to spice up your snacking? Spiced with chilli and cinnamon, this Aztec-inspired popcorn is not too sweet, so you can eat it any time of the day. The key is to toss the popcorn while it's piping hot to create a candy-like chocolate shell on the popcorn.

Spicy iced chocolate drink

When you need cold and a touch of heat at the same time ... this iced chocolate recipe infuses a cream and milk mixture with chilli, creating a creamy, refreshing drink to serve over ice. Add a scoop of ice-cream and chocolate garnishes to finish, if you like.

Mexi brownies

These gluten-free brownies take inspiration from Mexico's mole sauce, a richly flavoured sauce made with chilli and spices and, often, chocolate. Make them plain, or add raspberries or walnuts to add colour and crunch.

Chilli chocolate mousse

There are several surprises in the making of this comfort-in-a-cup chocolate mousse. There's the pinch of chilli to add warmth, and then there's the mousse itself, made with avocado, banana and cacao. It's simply made, in a blender, and then chilled before serving.

Sweet chilli macadamia bark

Add a little heat to a treat with this sweet chilli macadamia bark, share on The Chocolate Queen. This version brings together chocolate, chilli macadamias, popcorn and pretzels, but you can play with the combinations, too - try other cereal or nuts. Serve as snacks or give as gifts.

Coal cookies (spiced dark cocoa cookies)

Studded with choc chunks (you can use chilli chocolate to really punch up the flavour!), these dark delights are crunchy-ish on the outside and soft on the inside. A little chilli powder, cayenne pepper and cinnamon adds warmth to the cookie dough.

Chocolate chilli cake (pastel de chocolate y chile)

There's a triple chilli hit happening here: there's chilli paste in the chocolate cake batter, the icing is made with chilli-infused milk, and the iced cake is topped with candied chillies!