Spicing up the Party With Mexican Hot Chocolate Cake

If you’re looking a fun and simple cake that sounds far fancier than it really is, consider this three-layer Mexican Hot Chocolate Cake. It has just the right amount of kick from cayenne and Ceylon cinnamon to go with the perfection of chocolate. 

I enjoy baking and love trying new recipes. But if I bake (especially something that’s not a traditional favorite), I often end up eating far more of it than I need. So ensues my internal battle with baking and, simultaneously, my appreciation for baking dessert for parties. When I can bake something fun and new for a crowd, no one is overwhelmed with the volume of sweets and I still get my creative fill. Win-win!

When M asked if I wanted to host his annual company party again this year, I agreed with the provision that I got to make all the calls about dessert. I could bake what I wanted, even if we catered the rest of the meal (which we did).

I made one of my favorite cookies, Nutella stuffed chocolate chip cookies, and … experimented with this Mexican Hot Chocolate Cake.

I didn’t use Mexican chocolate to make the cake, but the cake was inspired by the spicy flavors of Mexican chocolate (specifically cinnamon and cayenne).

I mentioned about a week ago, over on Instagram, that I finally decided to make a half batch of a recipe and ended up with just the right about of batter. So many times, I follow a recipe only to have tons of batter or loads of extra cake or cupcakes that end up in the trash. If you’re a regular around here, you know I’m not a fan of food waste.

I knew not everyone would want cake, so I made a smaller cake. Although it had three layers, it was only about 6 inches in diameter. I needed only a half batch of the recipe I used as inspiration (though I made quite a few changes which are reflected in the recipe below).

I never thought baking “fancy” cakes was in my arsenal, but a few tools have really helped me along the way. They aren’t zero waste or particularly eco-friendly. In fact, some of them are plain old plastic. But they’ll last a while and they help me fulfill a creative pursuit that brings me joy, so I don’t mind storing them in my kitchen cabinets.

Along with searching YouTube and watching some Crafty videos to learn techniques about preparing and frosting a cake, I bought this rotating cake stand and icing spatula as well as a frosting gun. To make my cake, I used three of the five cake pans from this Easy Layers cake pan set.

If you haven’t tried making this type of dessert but it intrigues you, I definitely recommend giving it a try. I’ve only tried it a couple of times, and it always looks fancier than it feels to make. You can totally do it!

Do you have any favorite tools for baking that are staples in your kitchen?