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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.