Kakao Chocolate introduces dark chocolate–infused mole sauce

As Kakao Chocolate celebrates its tenth anniversary this year, the local chocolate maker’s debuted a new, unexpected product.

Introducing, Kakao’s mole sauce. Mole is a traditional Mexican sauce often used at celebrations and holidays, and one particular kind uses chocolate. To develop her own recipe, Kakao chef Amanda Calvert combined 28 different ingredients.

“It takes approximately forever to make,” she says with a laugh.

Calvert describes her version as not “a Mexican grandmother’s sauce.” One distinct difference, she says, is that instead of using the usual milk chocolate and cinnamon, she uses a blend of Kakao’s dark chocolate.

“I’m using quite a bit more of it than a Mexican sauce would have,” Calvert says.

Kakao’s mole sauce will debut this weekend at the St. Louis Earth Day Festival in Forest Park and the Tower Grove Farmers’ Market this Saturday, April 21. Immediately following those events, it’ll be available in jars at both Kakao locations in downtown Clayton (7720 Forsyth) and Maplewood (7272 Manchester).

For those not sure how to utilize mole sauce, Calvert will soon post recipes on Kakao’s website, including one for slow-cooked shredded chicken; a vegan enchilada stuffed with black beans, mushrooms, and squash; and a pork chili (pictured below). 

“That’s what Kakao has been about from the beginning,” Kakao owner Brian Pelletier says of the unexpected product. “It’s trying new things, playing outside the box, and coloring outside the lines. We wanted to do something really unexpected and fun—and chocolate-y.”

He adds, “[Mole] is not something where you can just grab a few things and make it. When it’s done right, it’s fantastic.”

Looking ahead, Calvert says the mole has sparked more ideas for ways to make chocolate savory.

“I think chocolate is a fantastic ingredient,” she says. “The darker chocolates are not all that sweet and would really lend themselves well to savory applications.”