Mexican Chocolate Cake with Cinnamon Frosting

The history of chocolate began more than 4000 years ago in ancient Mesoamerica, which today is Mexico and Mexico is the birthplace of chocolate. The first cacao plants-the plant that chocolate is made from-were cultivated in Mexico.

The cacao tree is unusual because it produces flowers directly on the trunk and branches rather than on new shoots.

I made this cake for my good friend Marina del Castillo, originally from Magdalena, Mexico. Once a month we celebrate birthdays at our weekly canasta game. Everyone brings wonderful food and we feast before the cards begin. This month was Marina’s turn!

This cake is rich, moist, flavorful and very chocolatey. The cinnamon butter frosting enhances the cinnamon in the cake and I decided to top with some homemade cinnamon ice cream, which was really delicious. I will blog that another time as I don’t want to lose the recipe.

This cocoa along with a cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips worked well.

Mexican chocolate has a stronger flavor and is not as refined as chocolate here in the states. I did not have Mexican chocolate, but the flavors got a boost, thanks to the cinnamon and chili in the cake.

2 sticks of butter make the cake extremely moist. Start by preheating the oven to 325 degrees. Coat a 9×13 pan with cooking spray.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the cocoa and espresso powder, followed by water and sugar, whisking after each addition until the batter is very smooth. The batter is quite thin. Remove from the heat and set aside.

This is a fine Venezuelan espresso. Due to the current political situation in Venezuela, the producers are now making this in the U.S., but are using the same formula that has made this espresso a favorite for years.

In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, chili pepper (I used both New Mexican chili and cayenne pepper), and chocolate chips. Mix together and set aside.

Add 2 large eggs to the butter/chocolate mixture. Next add the vanilla. Whisk until fully incorporated. Gently stir in the flour mixture. Using a rubber spatula pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Here’s the cake just out of the oven.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before frosting. I made the cake the day before.

The frosting is a simple butter cream with the addition of cinnamon-a perfect match for this Mexican chocolate cake!

Take care when frosting the cake as it easily lifts up because the cake is so moist. Go slowly and spread the frosting evenly over the top.

In addition to the cinnamon ice cream I also topped each serving with some chocolate jimmies.

This cake will not disappoint!

Hope you enjoy it as much as Marina and our card group did!

Print Pin

Mexican Chocolate Cake with Cinnamon Butter Cream Frosting

Rich, moist and very chocolatey.

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 1 cup Unsalted butter; that's 2 sticks
• 1 cup Unsweetened Cocoa powder
• 2 Tbsp. Instant espresso powder
• 2 cups Water
• 2 cups Sugar, granulated
• 2 cups Flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon I used a good quality cinnamon from Saigon.
• 1 1/4 tsp. Baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1/4 tsp. Cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp. New Mexican chili powder If you don't have Mexican chili powder, use 1/2 tsp. cayenne.
• 1 cup Chocolate chips, semi-sweet
• 2 large Eggs
• 1 tsp. Vanilla extract

For the Frosting

• 1/2 cup Butter; one stick unsalted, at room temperature
• Pinch Salt
• 1 tsp. Vanilla extract
• 3 cups Confectioners (powdered) sugar
• 2-3 Tbsp. Milk
• 1 Tbsp. Cinnamon

Instructions

To make the cake

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly coat a 9x13 inch baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
• In a large saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the cocoa and espresso powder, followed by the water and sugar. Whisk after each addition until very smooth. Remove pan from the heat and set aside to cool.
• In a medium bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, cayenne pepper, chili powder and chocolate chips. Mix well and set aside.
• To the butter/chocolate mixture add 2 large eggs, vanilla and whisk until fully incorporated. Gently stir in the flour mixture and using a rubber spatula pour the cake batter in the prepared pan.
• Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting

• Beat the butter until smooth using a stand or electric mixer. Add salt and vanilla and beat again.
• Add powdered sugar in thirds and 2 Tbsp. milk. Start on low so the sugar doesn't fly everywhere and increase speed as it gets incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed until it is well combined and very creamy. Adjust the consistency as needed by adding more milk or powder sugar. Finally beat in the cinnamon.
• Frost and garnish the cake.