This Mexican chocolate cake is made with chocolate cake that is spiced with cinnamon and cayenne pepper and topped with cinnamon frosting.
This chocolate cake is a delicious twist on traditional chocolate cake. This tasty dessert is made as a sheet cake, which means it's baked in a large, flat pan.
The cake batter includes cocoa powder for a rich chocolate flavor, but what makes it special are the spices mixed in.
Ground cinnamon adds warmth and sweetness, while a touch of cayenne pepper gives it a subtle, spicy kick.
Once the cake is baked and cooled, it's topped with a creamy cinnamon frosting. This frosting complements the cake's flavors perfectly, adding more cinnamon goodness to every bite.
The result is a unique and flavorful cake that combines the sweetness of chocolate with the exciting spices often found in Mexican cuisine.
For more delicious chocolate cake recipes, check out my chocolate brooklyn blackout cake, chocolate caramel cake, Matildas chocolate cake, chocolate coffee cake, and Nutella cake.
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Why this recipe works
- Texture- this cake is tender, and moist moist that is covered in a creamy layer of frosting that adds a creamy texture in every bite.
- Flavor- the flavor of this chocolate cake is very unique and features hints of cinnamon and sometimes chili for depth. A creamy cinnamon frosting balances the cake's intensity and creates a perfect bite.
- Creamy cinnamon frosting- the finishing touch of this cake is the easy and delicious cinnamon frosting that is made with only a few simple ingredients, and is creamy, light, and the perfect way to balance this cake.
- Serves a crowd- this cake is made in a sheet pan, so it can serve a crowd of people. This recipe can be doubled or halved in the recipe card below.
- Make ahead friendly- this cake freezes great and can be made days or months ahead of time and is perfect for planning ahead for events or special occasions!
Ingredients
Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
Flour– I used all-purpose flour for this recipe, self-rising flour, and cake flour will work great as well.
Dutch cocoa powder– I like to use Dutch-process cocoa powder for our chocolate cake because we like the deep and rich chocolate taste, but the natural cocoa powder will work great as well!
Baking powder and baking soda – to allow the cake to rise. Make sure that your baking powder and baking soda aren’t expired.
Granulated sugar– I like to use granulated sugar, also the most common sugar used in baking. Caster sugar will work great as well.
Vegetable oil – we used vegetable oil for this recipe. canola oil will work great for this recipe.
Eggs- to give the cake a good structure. Make sure you’re using room-temperature eggs.
Buttermilk- gives the cake extra moisture. You can make your own buttermilk if you don’t have one on hand. Simply mix a cup of milk with a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice and let it sit for at least 10 minutes.
Hot coffee- make a strong hot coffee, you can use espresso or instant coffee, both will work.
Vanilla extract- Vanilla extract Is an essential ingredient for chocolate cake.
Salt- I used kosher salt for this recipe. Salt doesn’t give the cake a salty taste, it helps to enhance the chocolate flavor.
Cayenne pepper- I add a little bit of cayenne pepper to the cake batter which adds a little kick to the cake which makes it special.
Cinnamon- use your favorite brand of ground cinnamon for this.
For the cinnamon frosting
Butter– use room-temperature unsalted butter. Make sure that your butter is at room temperature so it will create a creamy and silky smooth frosting.
Vanilla extract- vanilla extract adds extra flavor. For extra vanilla flavor, use vanilla bean extract or an actual vanilla bean!
Powder sugar- you will need powdered sugar for this recipe. you don’t have to buy powdered sugar, you can simply make it at home by blending granulated sugar in a blender or food processor.
Instructions
Preheat an oven to 180c (350f) and prepare a 9 by 13 inch pan with parchment paper.
Into a large mixing bowl, add the eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, vanilla extract, kosher salt, and granulated sugar, sift the cocoa powder, and mix with a whisk.
Add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda, and mix with a whisk until almost combined.
Add the hot coffee and mix until the batter is smooth and has no lumps of flour.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake the cake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for about 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean with a few moist crumbs.
Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting so the frosting won't melt off the cake.
Make the cinnamon buttercream frosting
Into a large bowl add room temperature butter, vanilla extract, cinnamon, heavy cream, and kosher salt, and mix with a hand mixer or a stand mixer until it is light and fluffy.
Then add ½ of the powdered sugar at a time (you don’t want to be in a powdered sugar cloud) and mix until smooth and silky.
Top the chilled chocolate cake with the frosting, make swirls using an offset spatula, and sprinkle chocolate shavings on top. Serve and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and buttermilk. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Make sure that you are using fresh ingredients like baking soda and baking powder. If they are expired your cake will not rise up beautifully.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with the back of a knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cake and not a dense and dry cake.
- Serve at room temperature for optimal taste. Bring the chocolate cake to room temperature before serving to ensure that the frosting is creamy and not hard and will melt in your mouth.
- An hour or two before making the buttercream frosting, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the frosting.
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper! This step helps the cake to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your cake will release easily from the pan.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to frost this cake as it is pulled out of the oven, but let the cake cool for at least 1 hour so it will be firmer and won’t crumble up, and prevent the frosting from melting.
Faq's
Unlike other types of chocolate cakes, this cake is mixed with ingredients such as cinnamon, and cayenne pepper which gives this cake a little kick.
Yes. You can use two 8 or 9-inch cake pans. Take into consideration that the cake layers will take less time to bake, about 30 minutes.
No! you can’t taste the coffee. Adding the coffee simply enhances the chocolate flavor. So, don’t skip the coffee on the cake!
Yes. You can skip the espresso powder in this recipe if you don't consume coffee or use a caffeine-free coffee powder or espresso powder.
Storing
This cake will last up to 4 in the fridge. Cover the cake with plastic wrap or foil to prevent it from drying out.
Freezing
You can freeze this cake in an airtight freezer-friendly container for up to 2 months. You can freeze the whole cake or slice it into slices and then freeze it.
If you are freezing individual slices of the cake, I would recommend storing them in a ziplock bag and then transferring them to an airtight freezer-friendly container.
Thaw the cake in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for a few hours or until its thawed.
Make it ahead of time
You can make this cake ahead by freezing the cake ahead of time. Wrap the cake with a few layers of plastic wrap and freeze for up to 2 months.
Thaw at room temperature for 1-2 hours or in the fridge overnight.
When you are ready to frost and assemble the cake, make the frosting, and assemble the cake as written in the instructions!
Substitutions
Dairy-free- to make this cake dairy-free, replace the buttermilk and milk with almond milk. Also, replace the heavy cream with vegan heavy cream.
Egg-free- to make this cake egg-free, replace the eggs with ⅔ cup of applesauce.
Gluten-free - if you want to make this recipe gluten-free, simply replace the flour with gluten-free flour.
Variations
Chili powder- instead of using cayenne pepper in this recipe, you can use chili powder!
Layer cake- make this into a layer cake by using 2 8 or 9 inch cake pans and bake them for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs.
Cupcakes- you can make this recipe into cupcakes! Half the chocolate cake recipe, and bake them into cupcakes at 180c (350f) for 18 minutes and make the same amount of frosting.
Cream cheese cinnamon frosting- instead of making cinnamon buttercream frosting, make a cream cheese cinnamon frosting by using this recipe and adding 2 teaspoon of cinnamon to the frosting recipe.
Equipment
- Mixing bowl (set of 3)
- Whisk Set (pack of 3) to whisk the ingredients together
- Rubber spatula
- 9x13 baking pan
- Electric hand mixer
- Offset spatula- for frosting the cake
More sheet cake recipes
Blueberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake- This blueberry coffee cake is made with a moist and soft cake filled with blueberries, and cinnamon filling, and topped with a buttery and crunchy crumble topping.
Buttermilk Chocolate Cake- This moist, and rich buttermilk chocolate cake is made in just one bowl and combines the richness of chocolate with the tanginess of buttermilk.
Chocolate Poke Cake- This chocolate poke cake is made with a moist one-bowl chocolate cake, and chocolate pudding filling, and topped with chocolate whipped cream!
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If you liked this recipe
📖 Recipe
Mexican Chocolate Cake w/ Cinnamon Frosting
Ingredients
For the cake
- 2 cups Granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 3 Eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne pepper
- ⅔ cup Cocoa powder
- ½ cup Vegetable oil
- ⅔ cup Buttermilk
- ¾ cup Coffee hot
- ½ teaspoon Baking soda
- 2 teaspoon Baking powder
- 2 cups Flour AP or cake flour
For the cinnamon frosting
- 1 ½ cups Butter room temp
- 4 cups Powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ cup Heavy cream
- 2 teaspoon Cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 180c (350f) and prepare a 9 by 13 inch pan with parchment paper.
- Into a large mixing bowl, add the eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, vanilla extract, kosher salt, and granulated sugar, sift the cocoa powder, and mix with a whisk.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda, and mix with a whisk until almost combined.
- Add the hot coffee and mix until the batter is smooth and has no lumps of flour.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake the cake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for about 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean with a few moist crumbs.
- Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting so the frosting won't melt off the cake.
Make the cinnamon buttercream frosting
- Into a large bowl add room temperature butter, vanilla extract, cinnamon, heavy cream, and kosher salt, and mix with a hand mixer or a stand mixer until it is light and fluffy.
- Then add ½ of the powdered sugar at a time (you don’t want to be in a powdered sugar cloud) and mix until smooth and silky.
- Top the chilled chocolate cake with the frosting, make swirls using an offset spatula, and sprinkle chocolate shavings on top. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and buttermilk. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Make sure that you are using fresh ingredients like baking soda and baking powder. If they are expired your cake will not rise up beautifully.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with the back of a knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cake and not a dense and dry cake.
- Serve at room temperature for optimal taste. Bring the chocolate cake to room temperature before serving to ensure that the frosting is creamy and not hard and will melt in your mouth.
- An hour or two before making the buttercream frosting, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the frosting.
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper! This step helps the cake to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your cake will release easily from the pan.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to frost this cake as it is pulled out of the oven, but let the cake cool for at least 1 hour so it will be firmer and won’t crumble up, and prevent the frosting from melting.
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