These Mexican Brownies were inspired by a specialty chocolate shop in my town called The Chocolate Fetish. A locally owned business that makes utterly amazing chocolate truffles. We discovered The Chocolate Fetish shortly after moving to Asheville, and have since made plenty of excuses to stroll by its quaint downtown storefront. My personal favorite truffle is the the Ancient Pleasures Truffle, a sexy fusion of dark chocolate and cayenne pepper.
This combination originated in Mexico long ago, and is still evident in many latin dishes like mole’. It is also thought to be an aphrodisiac. wink The Ancient Pleasure Truffles inspired me to incorporate cayenne pepper into my favorite brownie recipe. The spicy heat plays so well with the deep smoky essence of chocolate. I then added instant coffee granules and cinnamon to round out these brownies, to have the flavor of authentic Mexican chocolate disks. Hence the name Mexican Brownies.
Let’s talk about brownie textures for a moment. Generally speaking, there are two types of brownie recipes. Those that use cocoa powder as the chocolate base, and those that use melted chocolate. The use of cocoa generates a “cake-ier” brownie, while the melted chocolate version produces a dense “fudgier” brownie.
Personally, I like fudgy brownies… I usually only make cocoa style brownies when I’m using the brownies as a layer in dessert bars. These fudgy Mexican Brownies are much more decadent than cocoa brownies. Yet the addition of spice balances the rich fudge flavor and texture marvelously!
If you are planning to stay in and cook for a special loved one this Valentine’s Day, these spicy little Mexican Brownies are a good way to finish your meal and create some sparks!
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