Spicy Coconut Clusters

I've been seeing a lot of spicy chocolate bars lately, and I love the taste of the sweet chocolate with a fiery bite. I went to LiLac Chocolates in the West Village the other week with Barb + Kiley, and we gorged ourselves with their chocolate coconut clusters.

So simple and easy, I decided to make some with some spicy chocolate.

I wanted to make sure I used to right combination of chocolate and spice, so I tried a few different combinations to see what would work best with the coconut: chili powder, red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, Tabasco sauce, and adobo sauce.

I liked most all of the combinations, but the Tabasco + adobo sauce were too powerful and over powered the chocolate. I didn't care for the chili powder, and the red pepper flakes weren't doing it for me either. Low and behold, the cayenne pepper had just enough bite to kick up the chocolate without trumping it.

Melt down some candy melts, in 30 second intervals in the microwave, and stir. Usually takes a minute and a half. I stirred in a teaspoon of cayenne pepper for a kick in the chocolate. Pour a handful of coconut into a bowl and pour the chocolate on top.

Stir with a spoon until well coated. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a spoon and drop the coconut onto parchment paper, and let it plop down.

Place the baking sheet in the fridge to firm up, about 5 minutes. Serve.

I made some with plain dark chocolate and some white chocolate as well. Tasty!