The Absolute Best Type Of Miso To Use In Your Chocolate Desserts

Chocolate has an unmistakable flavor that will shine no matter what other ingredient you pair it with, as evidenced by countless chocolate dessert recipes. Chocolate holds its own against the richness of cherries and cherry pie filling in this black forest cake as well as nuanced pairings like chili powder in hot chocolate and flakey sea salt sprinkled over chocolate bars. Miso is yet another nuanced dessert ingredient that chocolate will stand up to and benefit from. We've consulted self-proclaimed queen of easy peasy bakes and cookbook author, Jessie Sheehan, for an expert's opinion on the absolute best type of miso to use in your chocolate desserts.

While there are numerous types of miso made from different ingredients and blends, you'll usually find them categorized as three main varieties at grocery stores in the U.S.: white, yellow, and red. The color of each paste coincides with the intensity of its flavor, and Sheehan recommends starting with the most subtle of the three. "White miso is the best as it has the most mild flavor and therefore will not overpower your dessert."

While all miso pastes pack a strong punch of umami and salt, white miso is the most subtle, often described as nutty and slightly sweet compared to yellow and red. The sweet and nutty notes in white miso along with a more delicate salty, umami profile will enhance the sweetness of your dessert and the flavor of the chocolate itself.

Just as there are different types of miso, there are also varying intensities of chocolate, noted by the percentage of cacao. Darker chocolate has higher content of cacao and is, thus, more bitter with a more robust flavor than milk chocolate. "I think white miso is best no matter the percentage of chocolate you use ... but experiment!" Since it's such a novel ingredient to incorporate into chocolate desserts, Sheehan doesn't want to limit the creative ways you can use miso.

To that effect, she doesn't rule out that "maybe a dark chocolate dessert can handle red miso — or might even benefit from it!" You're free to test whether the super concentrated salty and umami notes of a red miso will balance the bitter, earthy notes of dark chocolate. If you're making a dark chocolate tart, perhaps red miso will bring a buttery savoriness to temper the bitterness and increase the richness.

Whether you're using white or red miso, erring on the side of caution is the best way to approach adding miso to chocolate desserts. Start by stirring a teaspoon into batter, dough, or melted chocolate, increasing in increments as you taste test. There are plenty of dessert recipes that contain miso, chocolate or otherwise, so you can also look at the proportions of miso to other ingredients to gauge a good starting point. You can also blend white and red miso to achieve a mid-range intensity.