Gluten Free Mexican Chocolate Cake

Chocolate may be able to stand on its own two legs just fine without any flavorings, but you’ve got to hand it to the Olmec, Aztecs, and Mayans for unlocking not only the fact that chocolate is, well, great, but producing the first fermented chocolate drinks and adding in complimentary notes like cinnamon, nutmeg, and chili. According to the good ol’ wikipedia, the Olmec were the first to turn the strangely-fruity cocoa beans (surrounded by a white fleshy pulp – which actually tastes great) into alcoholic drinks (good idea, Olmec) as early as 1750 BCE (a hell of a long time ago) around present-day Veracruz, Mexico. From that pivotal moment in history, the use of cocoa beans in drinks continued through the centuries and through successive dominant civilizations like the Aztec and Maya. Thank goodness for the new world (or, as people in the new world undoubtedly thought about it – the “old world” or just “the world” – thanks western-centric geographical nomenclature). In any case, thanks to Mesoamerica for chocolate, we appreciate it a bunch.

So, we now get to present-day Mexico and the continued tradition of drinking amazing chocolate (both alcoholic and otherwise), especially chocolate with a bit of a cozy haze from cinnamon and other spices. Sometimes even chili for an extra kick. If you’ve never indulged in Nestle’s Abuelita hot chocolate, go find yourself a box of it, complete with a teasingly-jovial abuela on the front, cheersing you with a steaming mug of Mexican hot chocolate. It has so much more warmth and depth than plain old hot chocolate, and that chocolate-cinnamon-chili hug is what we tried to translate into cake-form.

Credit is also due to my boyfriend’s mother, who, as a retired private chef, is always on the look out for a good recipe, and who spotted one for a cinnamon cake with chocolate chili buttercream in Bon Appetit Mag. After a bit of re-working, fiddling, translating to gluten free, and dialing up the cinnamon, chocolate, and chili notes in both the cake and frosting, we have the below heap of gluten free Mexican chocolate cake decadence: two moist, insanely-cinnamon-y layers of cinnamon cake with an added dark chocolate, cinnamon, butter swirl, all enveloped in a rich milk chocolate buttercream with even more cinnamon, cayenne, and ancho chili powder. It’ll warm you up no matter what the temperature is (which is a bit of a tricky situation now that it’s actually warm outside, but hey, just have a glass of ice cold milk at the ready). It’s an incredible cake with a nod to the incredible original chocolatiers of the Americas. If only they could see (and taste) the developments in the chocolate world since the turn of the last millennium.

If you’re already drooling at the mention of anything chocolate, definitely check out our chocolate truffle cupcakes (triple the chocolate, triple the fun), our crazy-easy graham cracker toffee bars (with chocolate, of course), or even these brondies (half blondies, half brownies – best of both worlds!

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Gluten Free Mexican Chocolate Cake

This decadent cinnamon cake with a dark chocolate cinnamon swirl and chocolate cinnamon chili buttercream has just enough kick to pair with the richness

Prep Time45 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Cooling time15 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, Mexican

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: buttercream, cake, chili, chocolate, cinnamon, gluten free, mexican, mexican chocolate, spicy

Servings: 12 People

Calories: 450kcal

Author: Amelia Farber

Equipment

• 9-inch round cake pans
• Electric beater/mixer

Ingredients

For the cake base:

• 1 3/4 Cup gluten free 1-1 flour blend with xanthan gum included (if the mix doesn't have xanthan gum, add 1 tsp of it now)
• 3/4 Cup almond flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 Cup canola oil
• 1/2 Cup melted salted butter
• 3 large eggs
• 1 Cup sour cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 Cup milk
• 3/4 Cup white sugar
• 1/4 Cup brown sugar

For the cake swirl:

• 1/2 Cup melted salted butter
• 1/2 Cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 Cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon

For the buttercream:

• 2 Cups salted butter at room temperature
• 4 Cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 Cup cocoa powder
• 2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2-1 tsp cayenne powder
• 1/2-1 tsp ancho chili powder (not regular "chili powder" – that has garlic and other spices included)
• 4 oz good quality dark baking chocolate melted and cooled to room temperature
• 1/4 Cup good quality cocoa powder

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit and grease two 9-inch round cake pans and set aside. Make the cakes! In a medium bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour, almond meal, baking powder and soda, salt, and cinnamon. Then, in a large bowl, whisk together the oil, melted butter, eggs, sour cream, vanilla, sugar, and brown sugar. Dump the dry ingredients into the wet, and stir together until combined. Scoop 2-3 large spoonfuls of batter into each cake pan and shake until the entire bottom of the pan is covered in a thin layer of cake bater.
• Then, make the cake swirl. Melt the butter and stir together the butter, brown sugar, cocoa powder, and cinnamon until thick and combined. Then, spoon teaspoonfuls of the swirl mixture on top of the cake batter in each pan until all of the swirl mixture has been used. Pour the remaining cake batter on top of the swirl mixture evenly in each pan and then use a small spoon to swirl the swirl into the batter (or leave as a layer). Bake for 30 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool completely before turning out and constructing the cake.
  
• While the cake is cooling, make the buttercream! First, melt the dark baking chocolate and then let it cool to room temp (I put it in the fridge for about 10 minutes, taking it out to stir it every couple of minutes). While the chocolate is cooling, in a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the room temp butter and one cup of the powdered sugar until thick and creamy. Add in the remaining powdered sugar one cup at a time and beat until smooth. Add in the cocoa powder, cinnamon, and vanilla extract and beat until smooth. Add in the cooled melted chocolate (if it's still warm, wait until it's cool or it will melt the butter in the buttercream) and the cocoa powder. Beat the chocolate and cocoa powder into the buttercream until combined.
• Now for the fun part – add in about a 1/4 of a teaspoon of the cayenne and the ancho chili powder at a time and beat to combine, tasting the buttercream after each addition until you reach your favorite spicy point. I added the full teaspoon of each (the butter dulls the spiciness), but you can add more or less depending on your taste.
• Once you've finished making the buttercream, turn out each cake layer, top up, onto a baking sheet. Use a long knife to carefully cut off the rounded top of each cake layer, so that each layer is perfectly flat (optional, but makes constructing the cake easier). Then, place one layer on your plate or serving platter. Use a butter knife or frosting knife to frost the layer (generously – about 1/2 an inch of frosting evenly across the layer). Then place the second layer on top, and add more frosting to the tops and sides (optional, you can just frost the top or you can continue to frost the sides of the cake). Dust with cinnamon and then serve!
  

Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your cake!

Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber