Spicy Brownie Cake
We’ve been back from New York for over a week now, while the time spent at the house in NY felt like a sitcom and our Thanksgiving dinner leaves a lot to be desired (explanation in separate post), our time in the city was awesome! There are so many deliciously comical things that occurred on our trip, that I am dedicating a separate post specifically to it.
Before we left I made a batch of Spicy Chocolate Cookies and I loved them so much I wanted to try another spicy dessert. Just so happens, last Friday Betty Crocker The Big Book of Cakes (Betty Crocker Big Book) came in for me at work. I really didn’t think they would have a recipe for a spicy cake, but surprisingly, they had two. I decided to make this recipe for Spicy Brownie Cake this weekend, and I’ll give the other one a shot next time.
I LOVE spicy food, so when I made these spicy brownies I added more cayenne pepper than what the recipe called for. When I tasted the batter (I know, I know salmonella, but I can’t help it) I liked the amount of spice, but I knew not everyone I was planning on sharing with would. To help balance the spice out I added sweetened shredded coconut. It did help cut the level of spice, but even more, it added a crunch to the spicy brownie that I really liked. Next time I make them I am going to stick to the amount of cayenne that the recipe calls for (well maybe a pinch more) and still keep the coconut.
In the recipe below the amount of cayenne given is the amount called for in the book.
I really like this spicy brownie recipe and I see myself playing around with it in the near future….hmm, a chewy spicy brownie next time? 🙂
Spicy Mexican Brownie Cake
Ingredients:
- CAKE
- 1 1/4 cups butter, softened
- 3/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp plus 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (I used 1/2 tsp plus 1/8 tsp)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)
- 1 tbs vanilla
- coconut (I added a coconut layer to add a little more sweetness)
- FROSTING
- 1/3 cup butter, softened
- 1/3 cup crema (Mexican-style cream) OR sound cream
- 1/4 ground cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp vanilla
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 to 2 tsp milk (I used 2%)
- unsweetened cocoa powder, for sprinkling on top (optional)
Directions:
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom and sides of a 13 x 9-inch pan with shortening; lightly flour. In small bowl, stir 1 1/4 cups butter and 3/4 cup cocoa until blended. In large bowl, beat eggs with electric mixer on high speed 3 minutes. On low speed, beat in remaining cake ingredients and cocoa mixture just until blended. Because I added more cayenne pepper than what was called for, I added a thin layer of coconut to add a little more sweetness to the spicy brownie. If you do not want to add coconut, once the mixture is blended, spread in pan.
- If you are adding a coconut layer, pour a small amount of batter into your prepared pan. With a rubber spatula, spread the batter so that there is only a very thin layer of batter covering the pan. Sprinkle sweetened coconut shreds over the chocolate. Spoon in the remaining batter covering the coconut.
- Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until top edge of cake just begins to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on cooling rack, about 2 hours.
- FROSTING
- In large bowl, beat 1/2 cup butter with electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in crema (or sour cream), 1/4 tsp cinnamon, and 3/4 tsp vanilla until light and fluffy, scraping bowl as needed. On low speed, add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in milk, 1 tsp at a time, until smooth and spreadable. Frost cake. Sprinkle lightly with cocoa. (optional)
- Store in refrigerator.
