I don’t want to brag, but my Spiced Mocha Chilli Chocolate Cake is super awesome.
It’s been wedding cake, party cake, stuffing yourself indulgently cake, and once a slightly defiant consolatory break-up cake (I made it for myself). Its heavy but tender, has the most wonderful mud-cake texture, and the combination of coffee, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and chilli set off the chocolate like an Aztec dream. Chilli chocolate isn’t a new combination, just ask all those people in Central America, and all the cool chocolate brands make Chilli Chocolate bars. Believe me, its genius in cake.
For this blog post, the Spiced Mocha Chilli Chocolate Cake is coming out again, but this time it’s going the way of the ganache dribbled, candy scattered, blowtorch meringued, hot mess. I call it the Mexican Mess Gateau.
I’ve got to say – I thought the “drip cake” look was cute but a bit overdone until I made one myself. I guess as with everything creative the secret is proportion and restraint! A combination of larger and smaller items with different textures (and some bright colour) is a good guide. Decorating the cake with cut fresh chilli and coffee beans adds a wonderful exterior aroma and hints at the chilli chocolate flavours beneath. And when you meet a well-decorated drip cake in person, it’s just about the most gorgeous thing you’ve ever seen. I can’t say anything more on the topic. The pictures are distracting me :).
Mexican Mess Gateau
Spiced Mocha Chilli Chocolate Cake
Serves 80 (cocktail sized portions), or 32 (dessert size portions)
ingredients
400g butter
400g dark chocolate (72% cocoa), such as Whittakers Dark Ghana
4 tbsp ground coffee
490g plain flour
10g baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
90g cocoa powder
2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground nutmeg
860g sugar
7 eggs, lightly beaten
45mL vegetable oil
200mL buttermilk
90mL water
mixing
Prepare three 20 cm round cake pans by lining the base and sides with bake paper.
Melt the chocolate and butter together by microwaving these together on high for two one minute bursts, stirring in between. Stir in the ground coffee and stir until the chocolate is completely melted.
Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the chocolate mixture, eggs, oil, milk and water. Mix gently until the mixture is completely combined. Pour the mixture evenly into the three prepared cake pans.
Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a skewer inserted into each of the cakes comes out clean (remove the cakes as they are done). The cakes will probably have sunk slightly in the centre. Cool in the tins for at least 30 minutes, the transfer to a wire rack until completely cold.
Trim the cakes to a consistent height, about 4cm high.
Reserve the cake offcuts and crumble these to fine crumbs. Store in an airtight container at room temperature, for use in the Chilli Chocolate Cake Crumb Buttercream.
Chilli Chocolate Cake Crumb Buttercream
ingredients
350g butter, softened
350g icing sugar
2 tsp vanilla paste
1 tsp salt
3 cups reserved chilli chocolate cake crumbs
mixing
Beat the butter until very creamy. Add the icing sugar, vanilla paste and salt. Beat until very pale and fluffy. Beat in the cake crumbs, one cup at a time.
Chocolate Ganache
ingredients
85g dark chocolate, chopped
85mL liquid cream
mixing
Heat the cream until nearly boiling. Add the chopped chocolate and stir gently with a wire whisk until the chocolate has completely melted and the ganache is very smooth. Chill, stirring occasionally, until the ganache starts to thicken. It should be the same sort of consistency as runny honey.
Swiss Meringue
Make the meringue just before use. You’ll need a blowtorch to brown the meringue.
ingredients
45g egg white (1 large egg)
37g caster sugar
mixing
Combine the egg white and sugar in a heat-proof bowl which has been set over a saucepan of simmering water (the bowl should not touch the water). Whisk the mixture, monitoring the temperature of the mixture with a thermometer until the mixture reaches 55 degrees Celsius. Transfer the mixture to a cold bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (a hand held beater will work too) and beat until the meringue is cool and peaks form. If you find the meringue seems too stiff (it might seem overly fluffy rather than supple, give it a stir to break up some of the bubbles. The meringue will become smooth and supple again. This is the right consistency for piping. Load the meringue into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.
Assembly
20cm cake board
20cm round of bake paper (to separate the cake into two tiers, making the cakes easier to cut and serve)
Chilli Chocolate Cake Crumb Buttercream
Chocolate Ganache
Swiss Meringue
1 small packet Maltesers – you’ll use about ten, halve some of them
1 Crunchie bar, chopped into shards
3-4 Lindor balls (I used salted caramel), halve one
2-3 Raffaelo balls (these are the “white” version of Ferrero Rocher), halve one
1/2 bar Lindt chocolate (I used Arabica Intense), cut into squares and shards
about 10 wafer sticks (I used Arnott Fun Sticks (what a ridiculous name!))
3 very small fresh birds eye chillies, stems on, slice one in half lengthwise, keeping the stem intact
2 tbsp whole coffee beans
2 tbsp small chocolate sprinkles (I used Creative Kitchen Choco Crispies)
2 tbsp spiced chocolate sugar crystals (from Gewurzhaus)
Cut each cake into two even layers. Handle the cakes carefully, they are tender!
Divide the buttercream into six equal portions. Smear a little buttercream on the cake board. Place a bottom layer of cake on the board, cut side up. Top with a sixth of the buttercream and spread evenly over the surface. Top with another layer of cake. Repeat until you have three layers of cake and three layers of buttercream. Place the bake paper round on top of the third layer of buttercream. Place a bottom layer of cake on top, cut side up and repeat the layering process until you have five layers of cake and five layers of buttercream. Make sure you have reserved a bottom layer of cake for the very top of the cake. Place this cut side down on the last layer of buttercream (giving you a smooth surface for the ganache).
Spread the rest of the buttercream in a thin smooth layer on the sides of the cake. Let the buttercream set for about an hour, meanwhile, make and chill the Ganache.
To make the drip marks on the cake, take a teaspoon of the ganache and pour onto the edge of the cake, gently encouraging the ganache to drip down the side of the cake. Repeat around the cake, using a little less or a little more ganache at random. Repeat the dripping process against that there is a double drip on most drip marks.
When you have dripped to your liking pour a pool of ganache onto the top of the cake and allow it to spread a little. It should not reach the sides of the cake. You may want to add a bit more ganache at this stage, but take care as too much could ruin your drips. Using a palette knife, gently spread the ganache across the surface of the cake. Let the ganache set for about an hour.
Make the Swiss meringue. Pipe peaks of meringue in a crescent moon shaped pattern on the top of the cake. Pipe the peaks of meringue higher and closer in the centre of the crescent and lower and more spaced towards the edges.
Carefully brown the meringue with a blowtorch, trying not to heat up the ganache surface too much.
Working with the Crunchie bar and chocolate shards first, arrange these amongst the meringue peaks, bigger pieces amongst the bigger peaks. Remember to make sure the “back” of the crescent moon of meringue isn’t left undecorated!
Next, place three or four wafer sticks in the highest part of the arrangement, halve two wafer sticks and place these in the lower parts. Arrange the Lindor balls and Raffaelo balls next. Note with the half Lindor balls, you can gently heat these in situ using the blowtorch until the centre starts to soften and flow. Arrange the Maltesers next. The decoration should be stating to look full and luxurious. Fan the two halves of the cut chilli and place in a prime position on the ganache surface. position the other two chillies amongst the meringue and chocolate. Scatter the coffee beans on the surface of the ganache, remembering again to go round the back. Repeat the process with the chocolate sprinkles and sugar crystals.
Serve the cake in the same day it is decorated. Locate the baking paper layer and carefully lift the top tier of the cake away from the bottom, discarding the paper. For obvious reasons it’s best to remove the chillis from the top of the cake before cutting. The same goes for the larger chunks of chocolate.
For cocktail sized portions, working with a quarter of the cake at a time, cut into 2.5cm squares (of course the round edges won’t be square!) Each quarter yields about 10-12 pieces. For dessert portions, cut each cake into 16 wedges.
Admire your wonderful creation! And a word of advice – I gave this cake away – don’t do it! Make it and keep it for yourself!
Enjoy!xxx
