The Mind Behind the Cronut Just Launched a Dessert Soup Dumpling

This week, make some dumplings for dinner — and dessert. MìLà, a food brand known for its top-quality frozen soup dumplings, is collaborating with pastry legend Dominique Ansel for a limited edition flavor: chocolate black sesame. 

“I’m excited to team up with MìLà to bring you our first-ever dessert soup dumplings,” Ansel said in a statement provided to Food & Wine. “In both of our traditions — whether it’s pastry or dumplings — we’re always striving to bring something new to your family table that’s delicious and authentic as it is creative.”

MìLà founders Jen Liao and Caleb Wang have been waiting for the right opportunity to release a dessert soup dumpling inspired by the sweets they grew up eating. “We’re always thinking about how we can blend traditional Chinese formats and flavors with modern formats and flavors to create new food experiences that celebrate our third culture heritage,” says Liao. “That lens allows us to get creative when we’re dreaming up fillings. At some point, the two ideas converged and we thought, why do we have to limit ourselves to savory fillings?”

Liao and Wang connected with Ansel and they quickly began brainstorming flavor ideas. “He shared that his wife and partner, Amy [Ma], is Taiwanese, and that they incorporate classic Asian flavors like black sesame into his pastries.” That reminded Liao of a traditional Chinese dessert that her parents always had in the house — tang yuan, sweet glutinous rice balls filled with black sesame paste. “We immediately had common ground over that ingredient.”

They tested several ideas that highlighted black sesame, but had a lightbulb moment when they experimented with chocolate blends. “The texture and flavor of black sesame — silky, creamy, a little bit nutty — is so decadent and comforting,” says Liao. “It felt like a true fusion of our respective backgrounds."

Available today through early spring, MìLà’s Chocolate Black Sesame Lava soup dumplings are filled with black sesame and an oat milk-cocoa butter blend.

The soup dumplings can be prepared in eight minutes — simply steam them in a bamboo basket or a pan. Serve them over a scoop of ice cream, dip them in whipped cream (a pro move inspired by the chocolate mochi soup dumplings at Din Tai Fung), or eat them as is. To be among the first to try this new creation, order a bag at eatmila.com.

Editor's Note: In response to the ingredient list not including chocolate or cocoa, MìLà co-founder provided Food & Wine the following statement on November 4, 2024: "Our ingredient list mistakenly omitted cocoa butter; we’re terribly sorry for the oversight. This has now been updated on our website, and we’re looking into how we can also update future printed packaging to avoid any confusion."