Mexican Chocolate Cake — dark chocolate, cinnamon and a whisper of chilli

i. Origin & history

Cacao is native to the tropical Americas and was domesticated and prized in Mesoamerica for thousands of years. The Olmec, Maya and later the Mexica (Aztecs) ground roasted cacao beans on a stone metate and whisked the paste with water into a frothy, bitter drink, often spiced with chilli, flowers or vanilla, and thickened with maize. Cacao beans were valuable enough to be used as currency. The word chocolate itself is generally traced to Nahuatl, the Aztec language, though its exact origin is debated.

After the Spanish conquest, the drink changed. Spanish colonists and convent kitchens added cane sugar, cinnamon from Asia, almonds and sometimes anise, and replaced chilli with sweet spice. That Hispanic-Mexican style survives in chocolate de mesa ('table chocolate'): coarse tablets or discs of ground cacao, sugar and cinnamon, still made by hand in Oaxaca and sold industrially by brands such as Ibarra and Abuelita. Dissolved in hot milk or water and frothed with a wooden molinillo, it is the Mexican hot chocolate drunk at breakfast, at Christmas with tamales and on the Day of the Dead with pan de muerto.

Mexican chocolate cake is a translation of those flavours into a baked cake. It is primarily a modern recipe, popular in the United States and in contemporary Mexican bakeries, rather than a traditional regional dessert. Many versions borrow from American chocolate cake and Texas sheet cake, adding cinnamon to the batter and the frosting; some include a pinch of cayenne or ancho chilli as a nod to pre-Hispanic cacao drinks.

The flavour profile is distinct from the European approach to chocolate. Cinnamon — in Mexico usually soft, flaky Ceylon cinnamon (canela) rather than the harsher cassia common in the US and UK — brings warmth and sweetness, and a little chilli adds a slow heat at the back of the throat rather than obvious spiciness. Together they make chocolate taste deeper and rounder.

ii. How coffee, cinnamon and chilli make chocolate taste deeper

The cake uses both melted chocolate and cocoa powder, and hot liquid to 'bloom' them. Pouring hot coffee over cocoa and chocolate dissolves the cocoa particles and releases flavour compounds that otherwise stay locked in the solids, giving a darker, more intense chocolate taste. Coffee itself does not make the cake taste of coffee; its roasted bitterness simply reinforces the chocolate's own.

Mexican chocolate tablets add sugar, cinnamon and a characteristic slightly grainy texture, because their sugar is coarsely ground and does not fully dissolve. Melted into a batter with hot liquid, much of that graininess disappears, leaving their cinnamon-sugar flavour. Using them together with a good dark chocolate gives both authenticity of flavour and a smooth, rich crumb.

Spices are fat-soluble, which is why they are added to the melted butter and chocolate rather than only to the flour. Warmed in fat, cinnamon and chilli release more aroma and spread evenly through the cake. The chilli quantity is deliberately small: the aim is a gentle warmth that appears after you swallow, not a hot cake. Ancho chilli gives a fruity, raisin-like warmth; cayenne gives cleaner heat.

Soured cream and brown sugar keep the cake moist. The acid in the soured cream tenderises the crumb and reacts with bicarbonate of soda for lift, and the molasses in brown sugar holds on to moisture, so the cake stays soft for days.

iii. Ingredients

Makes 10 servings · scroll the side panel to adjust

• 90 g Mexican chocolate tablet (such as Ibarra or Abuelita), chopped
• 100 g dark chocolate (about 70%), chopped
• 115 g unsalted butter
• 120 ml hot strong coffee
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon, preferably Ceylon (canela)
• ¼ tsp ancho chilli powder or a pinch of cayenne
• 150 g light muscovado sugar
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• 120 ml soured cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 130 g plain flour
• 30 g cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ½ tsp fine salt
• 100 g dark chocolate, for the glaze
• 120 ml double cream, for the glaze

Mexican chocolate tablets are sold in Latin American shops and many supermarkets; if you cannot find them, use 190 g dark chocolate in total, increase the cinnamon to 2½ tsp and add 2 tbsp extra sugar. Ceylon cinnamon (canela) is softer and more floral than cassia, and is what Mexican cooks use; cassia works but use a little less. Ancho chilli powder is mild and fruity; leave it out entirely for a child-friendly cake. A few drops of almond extract echo the almonds in some chocolate de mesa.

iv. Method

1. Heat the oven to 175 °C (350 °F), or 155 °C fan. Grease a 23 cm round springform tin and line the base with baking paper.
2. Put both chocolates, the butter, cinnamon and chilli in a heatproof bowl. Pour over the hot coffee and leave for 2 minutes, then stir until smooth. The Mexican chocolate may stay slightly grainy; that is normal.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the sugar and eggs for 2–3 minutes until slightly thickened and paler. Whisk in the soured cream and vanilla, then the chocolate mixture.
4. Sift in the flour, cocoa, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt, and fold until just smooth.
5. Pour into the tin and bake for 32–38 minutes, until the cake has risen, the top is set and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out with a few moist crumbs but no wet batter.
6. Cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then release and cool completely on a rack. The centre will sink slightly, which is normal for this moist cake.
7. For the glaze, heat the cream until steaming, pour over the chopped chocolate with a pinch of cinnamon, leave for 2 minutes and stir until glossy. Spread over the cooled cake and let it set for 30 minutes.

v. Tips & common mistakes

• Go gently with the chilli. The heat should be a quiet warmth after swallowing. You can always add more to the glaze, but not take it out of the cake.
• Bloom the cocoa in hot coffee. Hot liquid releases chocolate flavour from the cocoa and chocolate. Do not skip it or replace it with cold liquid.
• Do not overbake. Pull the cake when a skewer shows moist crumbs. A clean skewer means it has gone dry.
• Use fresh cinnamon. Old ground cinnamon tastes dusty. Grinding a Ceylon cinnamon stick in a spice grinder gives a much brighter flavour.
• Bring eggs and soured cream to room temperature. Cold ingredients can make the melted chocolate seize into lumps.
• Let it rest overnight. The spice flavours develop and the crumb becomes fudgier the day after baking.

vi. Variations

Mexican chocolate sheet cake bakes the batter in a large tray with a cinnamon-chocolate fudge frosting and pecans, a Texan-Mexican favourite. Flourless Mexican chocolate cake replaces the flour with ground almonds for a dense, gluten-free torte. Mexican chocolate cupcakes bake in 18–20 minutes. Some bakers add orange zest, cajeta (goat's milk caramel) or a dusting of cinnamon sugar. For more heat, add a pinch of chilli to the glaze and decorate with candied chilli.

Related chocolate cakes on DessertCat include the Brooklyn blackout cake, the German Black Forest gâteau and Argentina's no-bake chocotorta. For another Latin American chocolate bake, see Brazil's chocotone.

vii. Serving & storage

Serve slices at room temperature with whipped cream or crème fraîche flavoured with a little cinnamon, vanilla ice cream, or fresh berries. A cup of Mexican hot chocolate or strong coffee on the side completes it. It is a good dessert for Day of the Dead gatherings, Christmas or any celebration where a rich chocolate cake is welcome.

Covered at room temperature, it keeps for 4 days and becomes fudgier as it rests. In the fridge it keeps for up to a week; bring it back to room temperature before serving. It freezes well for up to 3 months, unglazed or glazed — thaw overnight in the fridge.

ix. More from Latin American

• Chocotorta — Argentine chocolate icebox cake
• Paletas — Mexican ice pops
• Rosca de Reyes — Mexican Three Kings bread
• Chocotone — Brazilian chocolate panettone
• Blackout Cake — Brooklyn chocolate cake
• Sugar-Free Chocolate Cake — lighter chocolate bake