If you grew up around cowboy boots and the southern twang like I did, then you probably already know about Hot Cocoa Cake. This cake is famous around our neck of the woods. Texan women are known for their chocolate sheet cakes and hot cocoa cakes. My sister and I frequently asked for my mom to bake this cake for our birthdays and special occasions. It was one of the first recipes I ever posted, but I thought it was worth revisiting, especially with a little twist. You see, I have this thing for adding cayenne pepper to all of my chocolate recipes (ALL of them!). In my mind a little kick of spice to chocolate cookies, a chocolate cake, or a brownie recipe only makes it that much better. It’s plain and simple: Mexican Chocolate Cake > Chocolate Cake. That is about as much math as you’ll ever see me write on here. Anyways…
Since, I added chocolate to our list of seasonal ingredients for this month, I figured I had to have a chocolate recipe post this month right, plus this gave me an excuse to make one of my favorite desserts and change it up a bit.
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup cocoa, (Dutch-process cocoa powder)
- ¼ cup hot-chocolate mix (any kind)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs
- 1¼ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup oil
- 1 cup coffee, at room temperature
- 2 cups whipped cream, with a few Tb of sugar and a dash of cinnamon and tsp vanilla
- shaved chocolate for garnishing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, hot-chocolate mix, cayenne, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla extract, oil and coffee.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, a third at a time, whisking to incorporate between each addition.
- Arrange eight 8-ounce Mason jars on a sheet tray and carefully pour ½ cup batter into each jar. Place the tray in the oven and bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes. (Cakes will overflow a little then collapse but don't worry... they will be tasty!)
- Remove from the oven. Whip the cream with sugar, vanilla and cinnamon until peaks are formed. Top each cake with the whipped cream and dust with chocolate shavings. Serve warm or cover the cake and refrigerate until you serve.
Notes
The cakes will stay good in the fridge for about a week. I didn't go through a full canning process for these. Also, take note that the cakes will overflow over the jars while they cook, which makes for a picture perfect jar full of bubbling-over chocolate goodness.
These are so cute! Perfect for Valentine's Day too!
Becky, for the hot chocolate mix in the recipe, do you use a packet of instant hot cocoa like Swiss Miss, or do you make a homemade hot cocoa mix?
Sarah, any kind of hot cocoa mix will work since its such a small amount in the recipe. I used Dagoba drinking chocolate but the original recipe uses Swiss Miss. Hope that helps!
Becky I'm from a different culture background but I share the same love of cocoa & spices. I sometimes use a mix of Jamaican spices to give a kick to my hot cocoa. And my chocolate truffles ALWAYS incorporate spices 😉 But, I have never tried a cake! Nice!
What a clever idea! They sound absolutely delicious, and a great idea for Valentine's!
Yes, Maam! I am trying this soon. I love cayenne-cinnamon-choco combos!
I remember making your Hot Cocoa Cake a few years ago when I saw it posted on your blog, and it was delicious. What a cute idea to make it in jars! Do you think these would be shelf-stable if you did a canning process on them?
I have never tried the hot pepper with chocolate before, but I've always wanted to try it. These cakes look so delicious and tempting!
How fun to make them in jars to give away. Good luck on your trip! I'll look forward to hearing all about it.
I've actually tried canning them and this is not a great recipe to can. It is very gooey and often spills over the side, making for a delicious dessert to eat right out of the oven but not so great for canning. I would go for a dense chocolate cake if you're going to can. I have used this recipe for canning, Hazelnut Marzipan Jar Cakes: https://www.thevintagemixer.com/2010/12/hazelnut-marzipan-jar-cakes.html
looks terrific! I have long been a fan of adding a pinch of cayenne and a bit of instant coffee in chocolate recipes. Pumps the taste of the chocolate and adds a subtle (remember, I said pinch) extra.
Love this post and love the idea of serving in a mason jar!
Thanks for sharing, eRecipeCards.com
Dave
looks terrific! I have long been a fan of adding a pinch of cayenne and a bit of instant coffee in chocolate recipes. Pumps the taste of the chocolate and adds a subtle (remember, I said pinch) extra.
Love this post and love the idea of serving in a mason jar!
Thanks for sharing, eRecipeCards.com
Dave
i love baking in jars! seriously cute, and anything that's mexican hot chocolate pretty much has me hooked 🙂
Super cute. I'm currently obsessed (like so many other food bloggers) with mason jars! They are so rustic, beautiful, and versatile! Great idea and delicious sounding recipe.
Perfect! This is definitely the treat I deserve this Valentine's Day. Okay, I will make one for the hubby too. Thanks for sharing!
If I want to make this in a pan instead, what size would you recommend? Wanted to make this as a birthday cake. Thanks!
This cake is great in a rectangular cake pan. You can try a bundt pan but it is very difficult since the cake is so sticky and spongy. My first post of the recipe also includes a icing that you pour over the cake while it's hot: https://www.thevintagemixer.com/2008/03/lament-weather-eat-chocolate-cake.html