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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.
Sadly, I don’t get to taste test this cake because it’s for an auction. I will make another soon!
Just wanted to let you know, in the directions, there’s no mention of when to add the cayenne.
Hi Jill- I hope it goes well at the auction, and that you get to enjoy your own soon! The cayenne is mentioned in step 3 – add the pepper. I can specify cayenne there, as well, in case that’s not clear. 🙂
One of the best and as you say, one of the most moist chocolate cakes I’ve ever had. Came out excellently!!!
Can I double or triple this recipe?
So happy you liked it!! You can definitely double or even triple this, the limiting factor will mainly just be the size of the saucepan you use to make the batter. And the one thing I would say is to be extra thorough when whisking in the ingredients for a larger batch – if things are not thoroughly whisked, even in a single batch, you can get small lumps throughout the cake, not the end of the world but also not completely ideal, and a larger batch introduces more possibility of that. And then obviously divide the batter among pans to bake. Enjoy!
Delicious! Can this be frozen?
So glad you liked it! I have not tried freezing this exact cake but in general most cakes can be frozen, unfrosted, for a couple of months. Wrap in plastic wrap, then slide that into a freezer-safe zip-top bag, and defrost as needed. Enjoy!
Do you happen to have a gluten free version of this recipe??
I am sorry, I have not tested this with a gluten-free option!
Has anyone tried putting both cinnamon and a little espresso powder in the frosting? Just wondering if it would taste ok or alter the texture! I love coffee flavor!
I bet that would be absolutely delicious!
This is a great-tasting, easy cake. I went with the max 2 TBSP espresso, and the min 1/4 tsp cayenne. Just right for a general audience. It’s good even without frosting!
Hi, I’m making a cake roll (pina colada) for Cinco de Mayo and want to add a Chocolate option. Do you think I could do this cake in a larger pan to create a thinner layer, frost it and then roll it into a log shape? Excited to try it.
I think that could work, but the only potential hiccup is that the cake is really delicate and moist. I would be very sure to use parchment and probably also spray the parchment a little bit, so you can lift up the whole frosted cake out of the larger pan, then gently use the parchment to help roll it, peeling off the back layer of parchment as you go. I hope that makes sense and helps! Please please please let me know how it turns out if you try it!
Third time making this. It is a hit with my husband that he requested it again for his birthday.
I just made this cake. It tastes delicious. This case was easy to make. The best part is I had all of the ingredients on hand except for the brown sprinkles which are optional. Thanks for sharing a great recipe!
Hi! I have a request to make a 8 layer Mexican chocolate wedding cake. Everything I read shows this to be an extra moist cake and it seems typically it is made into a bundt or sheet cake.
Would this cake hold at that double barrel stacking level?
If not, what is the most layers that you think could work, like maybe the top 2 or 3 layers be this cake and the lower layers be a more sturdy cake?
Thank you
Hi Christine, unfortunately I do not think this cake is well suited to a stacked layer cake! I would honestly alter another chocolate cake recipe by adding a generous pinch of cinnamon and a small pinch of cayenne to the batter, so you get those flavors in a “traditional” and more sturdy texture.