Deep Dark Chili Chocolate Cakes with cacao, coffee and chili, as cupcakes or a cake, with dark chocolate glaze and perhaps chili whipped cream.
Chili and Chocolate
Chili and chocolate, married together, make for the best cake recipe for adults! Why?
It’s deliciously spicy and ‘hot‘ and is kissed with something that can make the flavors dark!
When I have a sweet tooth and feel like indulging in something really naughty, it’s going to be Chocolate.
No, not just a milky sweet, barely brown chocolate; it must be laced with adult flavors, like something spicy hot, deep dark and ever so slightly sweet.
And so, I created these naughty little sweet treats that are nothing short of a ‘Cakegasm’! (yeah, I just created that word!)
Who Likes Chocolate?
Surely, everyone will say they like chocolate, but there is chocolate and then there is chocolate.
Moist dark chocolate, when not overly sweet, or covered up with icing powder, is going to be the truest chocolate flavor we can get in a chocolate dessert.
Often times when folks look for a chocolate treat, we revert back to chocolates we may have had as a kid.
Real Chocolate
Now, unless you are a 12-year old reading this, most of our childhood experiences with chocolate have not been with real chocolate.
At least, not real chocolate that hasn’t been overly processed.
If you are interested in cooking with real chocolate, your best bet is to use a raw cacao powder.
The flavor is intense, nothing else added, and it works great for both sweet or savory dishes.
Savory Chocolate
What are you talking about Robin, savory chocolate? Absolutely!
You see, real chocolate, raw cacao, has a bitter somewhat hot flavor, much like cinnamon does.
That natural earthy, raw, somewhat hot flavor makes chocolate the perfect ingredient for both sweet or savory dishes.
When you’ve wrapped your taste buds around this umami combination, you will definitely want to try making your own Chocolate Chili Pasta!
Deep Dark Chocolate Beans
These, not so attractive beans, plucked and roasted from the seed of the cacao tree, are a bit peppery on their own.
However, give it a kiss of something sweet, and already cacao is transformed.
Let it remain without sugar, and you have the perfect dark rich enhancement to meats and savory sauces.
Chocolate For The Health Of It
Healthy? Ohhhh yes! Dark chocolate is loaded with minerals and antioxidants, and even a healthy amount of soluble fiber.
Add to that lineup, iron; which could be why with each of my pregnancies or even during a woman’s cycle, we crave chocolate.
Our little body is crying out for more iron, “Give me chocolate, give me chocolate,” it’s saying!
Coffee Beans
Yet another seed plucked and roasted from a tree, the coffee bean, when freshly ground and brewed has a naturally occurring oil from the coffee bean.
While there are a number of skin benefits to using coffee oil externally, because of its high amounts of vitamin E and other essential nutrients, I use it in chocolate desserts to make them moist.
Sort of the same thing?
When coffee is used in this recipe it adds another layer of depth to the dark, earthy flavor of the chocolate, which you will find also in my Coffee Chocolate Cookies!
The Heat Of A Chili
Why on earth would you put ‘bite-your-tongue’ hot chili peppers in a luscious chocolate cake? Oh, just try it!
It does something magical to bring out more of the cocoa bean flavor, deepen the character of the chocolate flavor, and send a hot little tingle through your mouth, sure to wake it up!.
If using fresh chopped chili pepper, just add a little sliver to the cup of hot coffee, let it steep and then strain the pepper out, leaving its heat in.
You can also just add a pinch of Cayenne pepper to the dry ingredients, if you don’t have a chili pepper.
Savory Chocolate And Chili Peppers
When using chocolate in a savory dish or sauce, a higher SHU (Scoville Heat Unit), can be used simply because flavors in a savory dish can stand up to the heat.
For a sweet heat, which is a more delicate flavor, it is best to stay with a chili pepper a little lower on the heat level, but still use a pepper that has a complimenting flavor; Serrano or Cayenne (8,000 to 50,000 SHU).
The flavor of a jalapeño or poblano have very definite flavors of their own, earthy/grassy, and I have not preferred them in sweet hot dishes.
Definitely would love to know if you have found a hot chili pepper you like in a dessert!
Cupcakes and Cakes
Why make a big ole cake when you can make lots of little cakes!
Cupcakes are an easy to-go treat or gift to give, and now, a huge tree of cupcakes have become the rage, replacing wedding cakes!
I remember, growing up, how every wedding (because I have family in the wedding event business), would have a wedding cake.
Then, something changed in early 2000, and cupcakes began to replace wedding cakes.
A beautiful tall mound of cupcakes, or small, stacked in a variety of decorations, just looked magical!
Fast forward to these three years post-Covid and it has become the wise way to serve a celebration cake at a wedding.
Not to mention birthday cakes, in which someone blows… blows out the candles!
Cupcakes vs Muffins
If truth be told about my passion for muffins and why I created My Muffin Madness cookbook, with 52 different sweet or savory muffins, it was inspired by the celebratory wedding cupcakes.
I created each recipe with a view in mind to decorate each muffin with pertinent ingredients on top.
Take, for instance, Cheeseburger Muffin has cheese, tomates and tiny burgers on displayed on top.
Or, for a fancy sweet muffin, such as Eggnog Muffin, it is adorned with meringues and laced with rum, but never icing, which is what makes it different from a cupcake.
So, naturally, when I want to decorate a cupcake, which always has an icing, whereas muffins do not, I want it to look extra special too.
And trust me, I am not a cake decorator, by any means, so I keep is simple, delicious and still pretty.
Icing On Cupcakes
I prefer these chili chocolate cupcakes without anything on top, but if you must have something on top, to call it a cupcake, keep it simple.
Perhaps whip a little cream, toss in some booze and give a dollop of this to the cupcake.
You could also add a little cacao and confectionery sugar with a pinch of cayenne pepper to butter or whipped cream, and pipe that on as an icing.
My take on icing for these chocolate cupcakes is to let the cake be the star and not the icing.
But, let’s get to the point! Don’t you get annoyed when you look for the perfect recipe, only to find lots of blah, blah, blah stories you don’t really care about. JUST GIVE ME THE RECIPE!
Okay, OK, the best recipe for Chili Chocolate Cupcakes is about to be on your evening plate!
Small Cakes Cupcakes And Grand Cakes
A grand cake doesn’t have to be a big ole wedding cake, dripping in icing sugar and very little else inside.
The recipe for these deep dark chocolate chili cakes is grand enough on its own.
Whether you make them in a cupcake, regular size cake or simply double this recipe and make a large cake for several guests, this recipe it everything you want in a grand chocolate cake!
Ingredients Needed
- Chilies
- Sugar
- Water
- Eggs
- Milk
- Oil – sunflower or your choice
- Coffee
- Cacao
- Flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Cinnamon
- Allspice
- Butter
- Confection sugar
- Cream
Equipment Needed
- Cupcake Tin or 9-inch springform pan or 12-inch when doubling this recipe.
- Cupcake papers
- Non-stick spray
- Sauce pan
- Strainer or slotted spoon
- Mixing bowl
- Whisk or hand held mixer
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Spoon or ice cream scoop – to fill the pans
- Coffee maker
- Oven
Deep Dark Chili Chocolate Cakes
Equipment
- 9-inch springform cake pan or muffin tin
- Non-stick spray
Ingredients
- Cake Ingredients
- 2 Eggs
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 cup Cream/Milk
- 1/2 cup Oil light flavor
- 1 cup Hot Coffee
- 1 Small chili
- 1 3/4 cups Flour extra for dusting
- 3/4 cup Raw Cacao
- 1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp Baking soda
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper or adjust to personal heat level
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 3/4 cup Heavy Cream
- 1 tbsp Confectioners sugar
- 1 tbsp Flavored liqueur chocolate, coffee or your choice
- Chocolate Glaze
- 6 oz Chocolate 70%
- 3/4 cup Heavy Cream
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 2 tsp Corn Syrup
- 3 tbsp Butter
- Whipping Cream optional
- 3/4 cup Heavy Cream
- 1/4 cup Powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp Liqueur
- pinch cayenne pepper
Instructions
- CakePreheat oven to 350. Prepare muffin tin with cupcake papers, or spray non-stick, and lightly dust a 9-inch springform pan with flour.
- Make a strong cup of coffee, steep a finely chopped chili in a cup of the coffee and keep it hot, set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, or stand mixer, whip eggs and sugar together about 5 minutes, until light in color. Slowly pour in the cream/milk and oil.
- In a separate medium bowl, sift the dry ingredients, then gently whisk into the wet ingredients. Last, strain the chili pepper out from the coffee and slowly pour in the hot coffee into the batter, mix well. Pour 3/4 full into prepared pan/tins. Bake until tester comes out clean, about 25-minutes for cupcakes and 50-minutes for cake pan. Cool completely.
- Chocolate Glaze
- In a medium saucepan over low-to-medium heat, place the chocolate squares, cream, sugar and corn syrup and simmer, stirring, for 10-minutes.
- Remove from the stove and whisk in the butter.
- Slowly pour this glaze over the cake or cupcakes and allow to set in the fridge for 30-minutes.
- Optional Whipping Cream
- In a stand mixer or hand mixer, whip the heavy cream until almost firm.
- Add the remaining ingredients and whip until firm.
- This whipped cream can be spread between the 9-inch cake, cut horizontally to make 2-layers, finishing with the chocolate glaze over the top.Or once the chocolate glaze has set over the cupcakes, a dollop of the whipped cream can be piped on top.
Video
Notes
I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.