Eclectic Echoes

Fiery Hot Dessert

I have recently been treated to all the fiery foods I could possibly want. Some real burners and some that are subtler but almost all of them delicious. Tonight however my father and I decided to have a taste testing of a couple of dessert sauces of a spicy variety. We got a pint of plain vanilla ice cream as the base, trying each topping in turn with a fresh scoop (small scoop). In hindsight we should have gone from mildest to wildest but…

First up was Sweet Agony Habanero Dessert Syrup. Dad got this one from Salsa Express’ catalog – Wow, does that have a kick to it! On vanilla ice cream it works great for real fiery food lovers. The ice cream tries to keep the habanero sauce from building, but unless you only use a few drops, it’s a losing battle. The sauce has a nice sweet taste, with a definite fruity habanero kick a second or two after it hits your tongue. Like most habanero-based sauces it builds up heat real well too. This one got me sweating and my nose was running. With the ice cream I was able to stay on top of it well, but it really got my attention! I’d say this one was an 8 on a heat scale of 1–10. I can see why it was a 2003 Fiery Foods Challenge award winner!

Next up was a new sauce from the same people – Sweet Agony InCINNerator Habanero Cinnamon Syrup. Hey the Habanero syrup for cinnamon lovers! If you love cinnamon and want a fiery dessert syrup (mmm… maybe on a cheesecake?) this one is for you. The cinnamon definitely comes through and adds a second type of heat to it. Overall still an 8 heat wise, but now it has both cinnamon and habanero heat dancing across your tongue. This one also won an award for the 2005 Fiery Foods Challenge, taking 3rd place in the Best New Food Product category.

Third in the parade was Cibolo Junction’s Raspberry Diablo Dessert Topping from Salsa Express. This one has a little nip, but not so much that those folks (like my wife) who prefer the heat levels a little less intense can still really enjoy it. Heat wise I would say on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being raw Habaneros), it’s a 2. The chocolate and raspberry are the main flavors with just that subtle hint of a chili nip and taste. This one will be a keeper for my family, especially as even though it’s a chocolate-based dessert sauce, it has no dairy (allergies).

Overall my favorite would have to be the Raspberry Diablo Topping, even though it’s a mild sauce, I think it would work real nice on a lot of desserts. Having said that there are a lot of nights when I would reach for one of the Sweet Agony syrups especially for a cheesecake or vanilla ice cream. One thing for sure none of these makes for a boring dessert!

Still have a ton of GMAIL account invites…see the Mystic Seaport Trivia game if you want one…