Mexican Chocolate Cake - Recipe with Photo

Last night, in honor of my friend Jenay's birthday, I felt inspired to bake a cake, and I tried a variation on my favorite fail-safe chocolate cake recipe that was quite magnificent. The innovations built on one another slowly. Earlier in the day I had tried some lovely imperial melange tea I'd bought in an Arabic shop some time back, and I had some left over, so in lieu of my usual strong coffee I substituted the fragrant black tea for Aunt Georgie's original hot water.

That got me thinking how nice it would be to add spices; I considered cardamom, and even lavender, but I settled on cinnamon, thinking about the delight of Mexican chocolate. I fresh-ground a hint of cinnamon with a mortar and pestle, and the gorgeous aroma filled my kitchen.

When I added the first bit to the batter, though, it wasn't quite as strong as I wanted, so I grabbed another cinnamon stick from my Indian spice cupboard. There among the black cardamom pods, cloves, and dried pomegranate seeds, I noticed the jar of red chili flakes, and, thinking of the popular precolonial habit of merging the flavors of chili and cacao, I decided to throw in a pinch of that too.

By the time the fragrant spiced chocolate cake was baking in the oven in an old timer garage sale Bundt pan I'd unearthed in the back of my cabinet, I knew I was committed all the way and needed to find something to top the cake with. I settled on a glaze, but was disappointed with many of the first recipes I saw, which called for corn syrup. . . and then I found Rebecca Rather's Mexican chocolate cake recipe, bursting with real cream and melted chocolate, butter, and toasted pecans, and knew I had the right glaze, particularly since her chocolate cake recipe bore a real similarity to mine. I just opted for milk rather than half-and-half, and decided to keep the pecan halves intact, since I thought that would make an elegant topping for the cake.

What follows is my new Mexican chocolate cake recipe, my own version, from what I made last night with rave reviews from everybody at the party. :) I'm hoping a [bigger cake] photo will follow at some point, since many were taken there!


Mexican Chocolate Cake (with Pecan Glaze topping)

Ingredients

For cake

3 cups (300 g) sifted flour
2 cup (400 g) sugar
6 Tbsp (100 ml) baking cocoa
2 tsp (10 ml) baking soda
1 tsp (5 ml) salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup (120 g) organic unsalted butter, melted
2 cup (500 ml) sour organic milk (see note below in Directions, Tip #1)
1/2 cup (120 ml) hot black tea (Earl Grey or Imperial Melange)

2 Tbsp (39 ml) vanilla
2 sticks cinnamon
1 pinch hot red chili flakes (a bit more if you actually want it spicy)

For glaze

• 2 cups pecan halves (71/2 oz)
• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted organic butter
• 1/2 cup whole organic milk
• 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
• 5 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), broken into pieces (I used a 4-oz bar of Ghiradelli bittersweet and1 oz of Ghiradelli 100% chocolate)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Special equipment: a 9-inch tube pan or 12-cup bundt pan

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F or 175C. Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt into mixing bowl.
Add egg, butter, sour milk, hot water and vanilla.
Grind cinnamon and chili to a fine powder with a mortar and pestle. Add to the batter.

Beat (preferably with an electric mixer) at medium speed for 2 minutes.
Pour batter into a very well greased Bundt pan.
Bake at 350F or 175C until it tests done (a toothpick or fork comes out clean), about 55 minutes. Cool in pan.
Tip: To sour sweet milk, place 2 Tbsp (15 ml) vinegar in a measuring cup and add enough milk to make 2 cups (500 ml).

Dinner tonight: Garlic Lovers' Special

Tonight I'm preparing a simple dinner. Leftover pasta from last night and chili-garlic roasted broccoli. I must still be fighting that cold, because I sure am craving garlic. I wouldn't necessarily recommend these dishes together for most folks.


The pasta is one of my all-time favorites, an old standby I made up when I was living in Austin around the corner from the Wheatsville food co-op. Super simple, but delicious:


Whole wheat spaghetti with kale, garlic, white beans, walnuts, and herbs

Ingredients

• whole wheat spaghetti
• garlic
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• lavender
• herbes de provence
• 1 bunch kale
• 1 can white beans
• handful of walnuts (more if omitting beans)
• fresh parmesan cheese
• (cheese is optional; you can also opt for either beans or nuts)

Directions

1. In a large pot, cook whole wheat spaghetti according to directions, with a good dose of salt, and drain well when finished.

2. In a very large nonstick skillet, saute a whole lot of coarsely chopped garlic (close to a head) in a very generous amount of olive oil, about half a cup or so (eyeball it), over medium flame. Crush in a generous amount of herbes de provence and lavender (some varieties of the herbes come with lavender, others don't).

3. When the garlic is getting soft and only starting to brown, add about half a bunch to a whole bunch of kale, washed and ripped into bite-sized pieces (with the tough stems removed), still a bit wet.

4. Add a can of white beans, well rinsed (to remove the metallic taste of the can), and walnuts, broken into coarse pieces.

5. Grind in a good dose of black pepper, and add some coarse sea salt to taste.

6. Heat for a few minutes and stir it up with a couple wooden spoons so it's all nicely tossed with the herbs and oil and garlic, and the beans are heated through.

7. Lower the flame to a flicker, and add the drained pasta in handfuls into the pan. Toss with the other ingredients over the low flame, adding more olive oil if needed, so the pasta is also dressed nicely.

8. This can be a nice simple vegan dish as-is, or for richer flavor, shave in a generous amount of fresh parmesan cheese to taste.

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Chili-garlic Roasted Broccoli

The roasted broccoli was a real surprise when I first tried it. It's adapted (only slightly) from Rachael Ray, from her 30 Minute Meals show. It takes just minutes to do the preparation before putting it into the oven, and it yields amazingly rich flavor. The broccoli taste will help you remember why you once loved broccoli. And the spicy garlicyness of the sauce is a nice contrast to the usual. It makes an excellent side dish with a meat entree, or it's pretty satisfying on its own with fresh steamed quinoa with a little butter and tamari sauce (for a vegetarian meal).

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, eyeball it
5 to 6 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped (I actually use up to a whole head sometimes, because I REALLY love garlic)
1 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon grill seasoning blend (eg: Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick Grill Mates). I just use hot Hungarian paprika, which is excellent, salt to taste, fresh-ground black pepper, and some red pepper flakes (these are hot & spicy; use to your tastes)
1 large head broccoli, cut into thin, long spears (I use "baby broccoli" from Trader Joes and just trim the ends and halve the larger pieces.)

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place olive oil, garlic, chili powder and grill seasoning or paprika in the bottom of a large bowl.
Add the broccoli spears.
Toss to coat broccoli evenly. (I use my clean hands!)
Transfer to a large nonstick baking sheet.
Roast the broccoli until ends are crisp and brown and stalks are tender, 17 to 20 minutes.