Ingredients
Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch of cayenne (optional)
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
- 4 eggs, at room temperature, beaten
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 ounces semisweet baking chocolate (not chocolate chips), chopped
Coconut-Pecan Frosting
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup whole milk or half-and-half
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions
- Cake Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
- Lightly grease and flour a 10-cup tube pan.
- To make the cake, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and cayenne.
- In a separate bowl, cream together the granulated sugar and butter.
- Stir in the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture until well combined.
- Put the chocolate in the top of a double boiler and melt over simmering water while stirring, until the chocolate is melted and smooth.
- Remove from the heat and stir the melted chocolate into the batter until well combined. Pour the batter into the pan.
- Bake, uncovered, for 1-1/2 hours, or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes, and then invert the pan onto a platter, sticking a knife between the cake and the edges of the pan to help remove it, if necessary. Continue to let it cool to room temperature before frosting, about 1 hour. Frosting
- In a dry skillet on low heat, toast the coconut, occasionally stirring, until lightly colored, about 2 minutes.
- Transfer the coconut to a bowl and add the pecans to the skillet. Toast until a little darker in color and fragrant, about 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the pecans to the same bowl as the coconut.
- In a saucepan, combine the butter, milk, brown sugar, and confectioners’ sugar. Cook over low heat, occasionally stirring, until the butter is melted and the frosting has thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla and salt, then stir in the coconut and pecans. While still warm, spread the frosting on top of the cooled cake.
Want more recipes from The Homesick Texan's Family Table? Try these recipes:
•Tortilla-Crusted Tilapia Recipe
•Bacon-Cheddar Biscuits Recipe With Chipotle Chile
Reprinted with permission from The Homesick Texan’s Family Table, by Lisa Fain and published by Ten Speed Press, 2014. Buy this book from our store: The Homesick Texan’s Family Table.
A homemade meal shared with family and friends is a wonderful thing. In The Homesick Texan’s Family Table, author Lisa Fain shares more than 100 of her best recipes, which are all made from fresh, seasonal ingredients, and packed with real Texas flavor. This recipe for Mexican Chocolate Cake is from Chapter 6, “Sweets.”
You can purchase this book from the GRIT store: The Homesick Texan’s Family Table.
Mexican Chocolate Cake Recipe
This cake is my twist on the classic German chocolate cake, which isn’t actually German. Nope, it’s rumored to hail from East Texas and was known as such because of the brand of chocolate used, not the country of origin.
For my Mexican chocolate cake, I took my family’s German chocolate cake recipe and then added lots of cinnamon and vanilla with a pinch of cayenne, too. The cake itself is tender and sweet, but it’s the frosting that takes this cake over the top. The frosting is made with pecans, cream, and coconut, and as it cools, it becomes a little crisp and tastes like Mexican coconut candy.
