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This Mexican chocolate cake is the richest, most moist chocolate cake you’ve ever had, kicked up with cinnamon and a hint of cayenne pepper! Easy to make as a sheet cake and topped with to-die-for cinnamon buttercream.
I am in grave danger of slipping into hyperbole in my efforts to describe this cake to you. So in an effort to avoid overstating things, I’ll stick to the fundamentals.
There’s chocolate. There’s frosting. There’s sugar — and butter. A pretty generous amount of each, but hey, it’s a sheet cake, so most likely getting divided quite a few ways. Or, uh, maybe just over quite a few days. Anyway, let’s not focus on that.
To recap, the important elements are: chocolate, frosting, and — spices.
Mexican Chocolate Cake
As I’m sure will obvious from reading any further, this is a wholly simplified, American-ized version of a “Mexican chocolate” cake.
Out of curiosity, I recently read a bit about what makes Mexican chocolate special. This research piqued my interest, but unfortunately, if there is any place in Belgium where one can buy authentic Mexican chocolate, this American girl has not found it. And moreover, you’ll be able to knock me over with a feather if I ever do. The Belgians have a lot of confidence in their own chocolate tradition, thankyouverymuch — and rightly so — so I’m not surprised there’s not much importing.
So, when we eventually find ourselves back on the left side of the Atlantic, I look forward to finding and trying some genuine Mexican chocolate. In the meantime, I’ve made do in baked goods by taking plain old unsweetened cocoa powder and adding a little spice myself – mostly cinnamon, a little cayenne. And my taste testers have registered zero complaints.
Bundt vs. Sheet Cake
This cake started with a bundt version I found on I Bake He Shoots, but I personally had a lot of trouble getting the bundt out of the pan intact, despite trying every trick in the book. Eventually I concluded the problem was basically that the cake was too moist to reliably slide out of my pan. (Maybe I need a better bundt pan? Who knows.)
But, given that a too moist cake is not a real problem, I didn’t want to change the cake make-up too much. As a result, I changed the technique, slightly, and form, to a simple 9″x13″ sheet cake. Perhaps less pretty than the bundt cake, but far less subject to unattractive crevasses, at least as easy to serve to a crowd, and most importantly, an invitation to add frosting. 🙂
Obviously you could add any frosting you desire, but I highly encourage you to try this simple cinnamon buttercream. My only regret is that I didn’t make a double batch of it, to squirrel away in a secret place for me to eat with a spoon on tough days.
Use Real Chocolate Sprinkles!
And finally, some chocolate sprinkles on top, because, really, why not?
One of the things I will decidedly miss in the Belgian chocolate department is the ready availability of chocolate sprinkles that are actually chocolate, like those pictured above, not simply “chocolate-flavored.” (Whatever that means!) I might try to pack an entire suitcase full of these guys and bring back my own personal lifetime supply.
Whether you make this for Cinco de Mayo, another Mexican-inspired meal, or just your usual Saturday, I hope it earns rave reviews at your house as it does at mine!
Just look at those sweet little slices. They practically beg you to take a little forkful, don’t they?
Enjoy! ♥
Mexican Chocolate Cake with Cinnamon Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1-2 Tablespoons instant espresso powder
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Frosting
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, , at room temperature
- pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 Tablespoons milk
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9×13-inch baking pan with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in the cocoa and espresso powder, followed by the water and sugar, whisking each addition until smooth. Remove pan from heat and set aside to cool for about 5 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, pepper, and chocolate chips; mix briefly and set aside.
- Return to the butter-chocolate mixture. Add eggs and vanilla, then whisk until they are fully incorporated. Gently stir in the flour mixture using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, then pour batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting, beat butter until smooth using a stand or electric mixer. Add salt and vanilla, then beat again to incorporate.
- Add powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons milk, and beat until smooth and fluffy, starting on low speed to blend, then increasing the speed to high. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed to ensure everything is well-mixed, and adjust the consistency as needed by adding more milk or powdered sugar. Finally, beat in the cinnamon.
- Frost and garnish cake as desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I didn’t expect the is to turn out as well as it did but it did and was amazing. A really straight forward recipe – the only hard bit was translating all the measurements from cups but now that I have, I’ve written it down. I’m defiantly making this again. I used a round tin, well buttered, because it was a kids birthday cake. For the same reason I didn’t add cayenne pepper. The cinnamon frosting made for a really unusual cake and lots of compliments and stuck to the sides well. Thanks for this!
I know I’ve made this before but lost my measurements! If you still have yours, could you post them?
this cake was amazing! i love spicy chocolate and couldn’t resist trying this for my birthday this year. it stayed fresh for several days and i enjoyed every bite!
I made this cake for Cinco de Mayo and it’s wonderful but a bit drier (and more crumbly) than I expected. Any suggestions? I hope to make it again.
Hi Marcia, I’m glad you enjoyed the taste! I have to say, I am stumped, because if anything, people typically find the cake very moist and sometimes need to bake longer. Did you make any substitutions or adjust the baking time at all?
Added a little extra cayenne and the flavor was amazing. Frosting: PERFECT.
Only issue I had: cake was a little overcooked bc, like other commenters, middle took longer, but the consistency was more dense like a brownie versus light like a cake. Is this how it’s supposed to be, or is there a tweak to be made?
Thanks!
This is a favorite cake of my kids. They request it all the time. I just made this as a 3 layer cake for my daughters 17th birthday. The only thing I changed was doubling the icing. Soooo delicious!
Love this recipe and have shared with others after they tried the cake and raves about it. I did not use espresso powder, but rather cold, strong, dark coffee that had been chilled instead of the 2 cups of water. I added about 1/2 tsp more cinnamon and put a cinnamon stick in the chocolate/butter mix as it melted (removed when mixing with flower of course). I also added 1/4 cup sour cream when adding the eggs/vanilla. Thank you so much for this recipe. I love baking, but am not a sweet food lover, except for this cake!
Did you use two full cups of cold coffee in place of the water, or one cup in place of the espresso powder?
This was SO GOOD! We will make it again for sure! I don’t usually make sheet cake, but this had the added benefit of holding all 40 of my husband’s birthday candles! Mine only needed a few extra minutes to cook in a glass 9×13 pan. I made both the cake and frosting with non-dairy butter sticks and it worked great.
So happy to hear that you enjoyed it, Amy! Happy birthday to your husband! 🙂
I’d never had Mexican chocolate cake before so I wanted to give it a try. Maybe I didn’t have a large enough saucepan or I was just too afraid to make a mess, but I couldn’t mix any of the steps thoroughly with a wisk. Everything was put in the blender to mix well.
I also used a glass 9” x 13” pan and it definitely took 10+ minutes to finally come out clean. I also cranked the oven up 10 degrees for the last 5 minutes. It came out so moist and fluffy. I’m not really a chocolate cake person but this is really good. The small bit of heat at the end is really nice. And the cake itself isn’t too sweet, but the icing adds just enough sweetness.
Really pleased with how this turned out; thank you for sharing!
Hi Tara, so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for sharing these tips that worked for you!
Hello. Can these be made into cupcakes
Yes! Just watch the baking time and remove when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Enjoy!
I made this for my daughter’s graduation from middle school. It was fantastic! Everyone made a comment about how moist it was and not too spicy. I’ve been requested to make it several times. I also made it in a bundt using the Pam spray for Baking.