Mexican Chocolate Cake with Mascarpone Whipped Cream Frosting

 

Last year for my mom’s birthday, I sought out a cake recipe for her.  And of course it has to be darn freakin’ Good, she’s my mom.  Mexican Chocolate Cake with Mascarpone Whipped Cream Frosting it was!

At the time, I’m not entirely positive why I opted for this particular recipe as it seemed a somewhat adventurous pick, though it sounded ridiculously tasty.  Well wait, that’s not true; it was the frosting.  Or the lack of a typical cake frosting.

Aw yeah, here’s just a hint of the fabulousness coming your way.

Growing up, I remember cake after cake over the years, my mom scraping the frosting off.  I hope I’m not embarrassing her here as that’s not my intention.  But she’s never seemingly been into frosting and many times, who can blame her?

Frosting can be oh-so-achingly sweet at times, beyond overloaded with sugar to where your eyes feel itchy.  It can easily overpower a cake.  And yick, why do that?  If it’s grocery store-bought, it’s likely straight up shortening and artificial colors, two things I’m not real into personally and give me the willies.

But for me, and it feels unsettlingly bizarre to say as my bloodstream is sugar, frostings typically are much too sweet.  

Ok, hang on, lemme ask my mom once and for all what her frosting aversion is.  ….   …..  ….  Heh, mmk, turns out it’s not that she doesn’t like frosting per se.  She doesn’t like cake and frosting together on the same fork. 

Huh. 

Hey don’t mock my mom y’all, we all have our food quirks!

So she’ll eat the cake then the frosting second, she says.  But here all this time, all these years and years, I thought she just didn’t like frosting and have thus spent my time concerned with non-typical frosting ways. 

But that’s a-okay though as options are stellar to log.  And sometimes this is how we find the best stuff.  Amiright?!

At the time when I found this Mexican Chocolate Cake recipe from Baked Bree I was excited by the frosting aspect of it for two reasons:  1. for my mom, and 2. damn, it sounded tasty.  And what could be bad about cream and more cream?!  Whipped cream and mascarpone?!  Uhhhh, bad what?

Now don’t panic.  I know mascarpone isn’t in every grocer.  I know too it’s stupid expensive, like unjustifiably expensive.  Don’t let this deter you as it’s shockingly simple to make your own and far less expensive.

Whaaaaat??  Make my own mascarpone?!  Yep.  So totally easy, especially with this recipe from Food52.  It does require a hint of pre-planning but don’t worry, merely a day ahead. 

All it is is some heavy cream heated nicely for a bit, then the addition of lemon juice, a straining and chilling and voila, loads of mascarpone for a fraction of the price. 

 

Tellin’ you, this is so easy to make. And then imagine all the yummy things you can make with it!

Or, heh, handily you can buy some for convenience’s sake. 

Righty-o, onto the cake!  And right on, it’s another ace-in-the-hole super easy one!  Cha-ching, awesome. 
Prep those pans and prep the oven with a preheat.  The recipe suggests spraying the pans then lining them with parchment.  I believe I followed orders. 

Here too the recipe called for eight inch pans* which, at the time, I only had nine inchers.*  

Again, have no fear.  There is math one can do to adjust a recipe for larger or smaller pans which I’ll share on another cake but here I found it wasn’t an issue to use a larger pan.  Cut the time (I’ll note it in the recipe) and keep an eyeball glued towards the oven. 

I’ve since gotten eighter’s but do not feel obligated to over-stock your pan collection.  Only buy what you expect you’ll use consistently.

Mmk, blend all those dry ingredients in a large bowl with a whisk.*  Originally, I cut the cayenne quantity in half as I was unsure of how zingy it’d be and I didn’t want to fry my folks.  It barely registered, fyi, but feel free to use whatever amount you’re comfortable with. 

All the dry in a bowl, yep.

Mix up all your wet in a separate bowl. 

 

And then all the wet, or nearly all the wet, in a bowl whisked together.

A note, I used all veggie oil; the original calls for half veg and half with olive oil but I wanted the flavors of the cocoa and everything else to stand forward, sensing olive might muddy the waters but feel free to do half olive if you prefer. 

Oh and hey, don’t freak over the balsamic vinegar, it bakes out as a hint of a mild tang.  If you’re not into it or don’t have it, no problem, use white or apple cider vinegar but don’t omit altogether.  It’s a science-y requirement to activate the baking soda (think science fair volcanoes) that gives the cake lift and rise.  Without it, no cake. 

That said, when you combine everything together in the next step, which is the next step, do so quickly, or at least don’t dilly dally, as the vinegar will expend the baking soda in relatively short order.  Mix well, split between your pans, and right off to the oven ya go. 

What comes out is a glorious downy and rich cake and you’re gonna be sooo happy. 

Oh boy. Doesn’t that look good?

Ok, the frosting is just as easy and yields a crapload of it too.  Sooo don’t feel bad if you park at the kitchen counter with a large spoon mindlessly devouring its creamy luxuriousness, you’ll have plenty.

If you’ve made your own mascarpone, a kitchen scale* here is ridiculously handy, otherwise you can eyeball it, it’s fine.

You’re only minutes from one of the best frostings you’ll ever try.

Once the cake has completely cooled, time to schmear on that sublime frosting.  I put quite a generous spread for the center and lightly set the other layer atop.  Frost that bad boy with as much as you can or whatever is left (wink) and holy cats and dogs, enjoy the daylights outta this one my friends!

Let’s get this puppy frosted, oh yes!

Poor Mike was out of town at the time and hadn’t gotten to try this winner so for the purposes of this here blog, ahem, I uh made it recently, ya know, just to uh yeah, ya know, get his opinion.  Mm hm.  Is that transparent?

All I hear from the other end of the couch while he’s enthralled in his (easily) twelfth viewing of The Force Awakens (a major Star Wars fan he is) (major) is “mmm.”  “Mmmmm.”  “Ohh.”  “Mm.”  “Mmfff, yeah.”

Sprinkle some extra cinnamon on top for a pretty flourish….aw who cares, where’s the darn knife already?!

Is it good, babe, you like the cake?  “Mmm, yesss.”

No doubt you will too.  Enjoy!

Note:  This content originally appeared on Flaky Bakers.

Mexican Chocolate Cake with Mascarpone Whipped Cream Frosting

Yield

12 slices

Prep time

15 Min

Cook time

45 Min

Total time

1 Hour

A glorious chocolate cake with warm spices topped with a luxurious frosting of mascarpone and whipped cream.

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 cup (84 g) unsweetened cocoa
• 2 3/4 cups (330 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups (248 g) granulated sugar
• 1 cup ( 213 g) brown sugar, packed
• 1 1/2 tablespoon (12 g) cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons (12 g) baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon (1.3 g) cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon (3 g) fine sea salt
• 2 cups (473 ml) whole or 2% milk
• 1 cup (237 ml) vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) balsamic, white or apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons (22 ml) vanilla

Frosting

• 8 oz. (227 g) mascarpone cheese (softened)
• 1/2 tablespoon (4 g) cinnamon up to 1 tablespoon (8 g)
• 2 teaspoons (9 g) vanilla
• 1 cup (114 g) powdered sugar
• pinch of salt
• 2 cups (473 ml) heavy cream

Instructions

Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F (176° C) and with cooking spray, spray two 8” round cake pans. If you have parchment paper, cut a circle to fit and place in the bottom of the pans then spray the paper. You can also use 9” pans.
2. In a large bowl, whisk all of the dry ingredients together until nicely blended.
3. In a medium bowl, combine all of the wet ingredients and whisk those until nicely blended.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until well combined then split the batter between the two cake pans. Place the pans in the oven and switch sides or rotate halfway through.
5. For 8” pans, bake time is approximately 45 minutes; for 9” pans, begin checking around the 35 minute mark. In either case, when toothpicks inserted in the centers come out clean save a few crumbs, the cakes are done.
6. Remove from the oven, allow to cool in the pans about 10 minutes then flip onto a cooling rack.

Frosting

1. Combine until smooth the mascarpone, cinnamon, vanilla, powdered sugar, and the pinch of salt in a bowl with a whisk.
2. Whip the heavy cream in a stand mixer until just before stiff peaks form then add the mascarpone mixture. Whip the two together until everything is combined, about a minute.
3. Pile on a layer of frosting atop one cake, set the second layer gingerly on the first, and finish frosting the cake. Serve immediately and store the remainder in the refrigerator.

Notes:

Adapted from Baked Bree.

Calories

471.94

Fat (grams)

20.73

Sat. Fat (grams)

2.17

Carbs (grams)

64.85

Fiber (grams)

2.47

Net carbs

62.38

Sugar (grams)

38.34

Protein (grams)

6.75

Sodium (milligrams)

334.77

Cholesterol (grams)

34.25

Please see the "info" section for nutrition details.

cake, chocolate cake

recipe

International

Created using The Recipes Generator

*The cake pans, kitchen scales, and whisks are Amazon affiliate links.  Happy baking, thanks!  Please see the "info" tab for more, well, info.