The Unexpected Sweet Ingredient That Turns Tamales Into Dessert

There's no shortage of ingredients you can put in a tamale — they are a must-have holiday dish for many families. Traditional Mexican-style tamales are commonly filled with slow-cooked pork in red sauce, chicken in verde sauce, or beef, but you can also make delicious tamales with things like roasted chiles and cheese, mushrooms, shrimp, lamb, and all kinds of vegetables. Many people may not realize, however, that tamales don't have to be savory. These hand-held delights are just as enticing when they are sweetened up and offered for dessert. Arguably the most decadent dessert flavor ever — chocolate — can even play a main role in making the mighty tamale.

To create a dessert tamale that Willy Wonka would approve of, you can flavor the corn masa itself with chocolate. For savory tamales, masa is made by mixing masa harina with salt, baking powder, broth, and fat like oil or lard. But, for chocolate tamales, masa harina gets combined with Mexican chocolate discs (such as the Abuelita brand or Ibarra) that have been ground into a powder and mixed with butter, sugar, spices, and milk to form a soft dough. Like traditional tamales, this chocolate masa can be spread on softened corn husks, wrapped into little packages, and steamed. You can add squares of milk chocolate or pour chocolate chips, nuts, or dried fruits into the center. Once these are cooked and removed from the corn husks, they'll look exactly like traditional tamales, only chocolate-colored.

Sweet tamales don't necessarily have to be flavored with chocolate. You can also flavor traditional corn masa with sugar and warm spices, ditch the broth, and add raisins, then wrap a spoonful of the dough in a corn husk and steam. You could also stuff sweet masa tamales with something like shredded pineapple and coconut for a tropical feel. Other ideas for fruit tamales include mixing the dough with canned peaches, mango chunks, strawberries, or dried cherries.

To give your tamales a little bit of color, you can also pulverize freeze-dried fruits like blueberries, strawberries, or raspberries, which will dye the dough with their juices. Coloring the masa with either fruit or food coloring adds a playful touch to your dessert and also gives your guests an idea of the flavors that might be inside. Sweet garnishes can also add to the dessert factor. Drizzle chocolate tamales with chocolate sauce or dulce de leche, add a dollop of jam or whipped cream to fruit tamales, or serve with some fruity boba pearls for a sweet bite.