When you think Rick Bayless you probably think Mexican food, but what I've learned over the years is that (other than being one of the nicest chefs I've ever met) he is a really good with desserts. Every time I try one I'm surprised by just how good it is, and I usually go on to make it again and again. The Mexican Chocolate Streusel Cake is an example of that.
Taste and Texture
The original recipe appeared at one point on Frontera's website. It's also in One Plate at a Time. My version's a little different because I halve it and bake it in an 8 inch square pan. So yes, a little different. The cake has cream cheese in the batter so the crumb is very moist. In addition, you fold crumbled Mexican chocolate into the batter, which melts into kind of a light, brown, cinnamon-y flavor.
Mexican Chocolate
This dessert is fun because it calls for Mexican chocolate. If you are not familiar with it, read up! I'm no expert on Mexican Chocolate, but I can tell you it's grainy, usually infused with cinnamon, and is best chopped up and used in recipes. When I first started making the cake years ago I used Ibarra. That's still a good choice, but there are more brands of Mexican chocolate available now so you may want to experiment. Taza is a good one.
Mexican Chocolate Streusel Cake
Streusel Topping:
9.5 oz (266 grams) Mexican chocolate, chopped (something like Ibarra)
1 small egg yolk or half a large egg yolk**
¼ teaspoon salt
3 ½ tablespoons (50 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup (63 grams) all-purpose flour
Cake:
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons(114 grams) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder plus 1 pinch baking powder
½ block cream cheese, at room temperature (114 grams)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (114 grams)
⅓ cup granulated sugar (65 grams)
2 large eggs, at room temperature
Powdered sugar, for dusting the finished cake
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 inch square pan. I've always used metal for this, but I'm sure glass would work.
Make streusel first. Pulse about half (4.5 oz) of the Mexican chocolate in a food processor until it is the consistency of coarse crumbs. Remove and set aside for the batter.
Add remaining Mexican chocolate to processor and pulse to coarse crumbs. Mix the egg yolk and ¼ teaspoon salt (if using salted butter, omit the salt) in a small bowl to dissolve the salt. Add to the processor along with the 3 ½ tablespoon butter and ½ cup flour. Pulse until you get a coarse, crumbly mixture – not a paste! Set aside.
Now make the cake. Whisk together the flour and baking powder; set aside.
Beat the softened butter and cream cheese together with an electric mixer, then beat in sugar. When light and fluffy, beat in the eggs one at a time beating for 30 seconds after each egg.
Add the flour mixture, scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat just until the flour is incorporated (I do this with a spoon – don’t overbeat).
Stir the reserved chopped chocolate into the batter.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth. Crumble the streusel topping evenly over the batter, making sure there are no large lumps.
Bake in the center of the oven until springy (the edges will have just begun to pull away from the sides of the pan) and a wooden pick inserted at the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.
Cool on a wire rack. Serve warm, dusted with powdered sugar, or serve at room temperature.
Serves 6
Randi says
I'm going to make this right now. I have a bunch of Mexican choc and cream cheese. I'll let you know how it comes out.
Dana says
Thanks for this recipe! I'm a *huge* Rick fan, and have been cooking alot lately from "Mexican Everyday"...when I can find the right ingredients, which can be tough here in IA...
I've bought Mexican hot chocolate powder before, but I don't think I've ever seen the Mexican chocolate...
Anna says
Joanna, I think I'm going to look up some other ways to use Mexican chocolate in baking. I'll let you know what I find.
Joe, I saw your post on those. I'm not sure why I didn't try the recipe back then, but it might have been because I don't like pecan pie and chocolate combined. I like them separately, but not together.
KAnn, I think I've made Maida's Mexican chocolate refrigerator cookies. I need to double-check, but I vaguely remember making them.
Sara, I have both of Rick's books. I would cook out of them more often, but Todd doesn't like melted cheese nor beans nor tortillas. If I was married to someone who liked Mexican food, I would have cooked my way through that book by now. That said, Todd does like salsas, tortilla soup (just not flour tortillas) and flavorful meats, so I can find something. But he doesn't like cilantro, so what's the point. Fuzz likes all that stuff, though.
Lisa, good luck using the "I wouldn't be doing my job" approach on your kids. It sort of works on some days ;). What? No Mexican chocolate in Poland? That is absolutely shocking. LOL.
Emily, I think the woman looks sweet and kind. Don't you like grandmas? Now when I see that chocolate, I'm going to think of la abuelita crying because you said she was spooky.
Rita, It would have been better if I'd given the Oreo Brownies and the Potato Quiche international names too. Hmmmmm. Do Oreos have an ethnic affiliation? No? Maybe I'll just use "Texas Style Oreo Brownies" since I live in Texas and they sell Oreos here. The quiche is easy. "Spanish Style Baked Tortilla" since Spanish tortillas are actually egg/potato omelet things. That would confuse the rest of the world, though.
Veggiegirl, this would be impossible to veganize :(.
Dawn, let me know if you try it.
Kim, thanks! I added the link to Frontera's site where they have the full recipe. It's also widely available on other recipe sites via Google.
Kim says
Looks delicious! Where I can I find the 13x9 recipe?
dawn says
This is flavor-wonderful indeed! Oh I must make this.
You are killing me here.
VeggieGirl says
Oooh, yum!
clumbsycookie says
Yay! You're keeping up with the international themed week! 😉
I'm glad you're doing your job right and provided us with a dessert! I'm quite sure I would like that cake, I'm all for chocolate and spices.
Emiline says
This looks good.
When I think of Mexican chocolate, I think of this woman:
http://www.mexgrocer.com/2550.html
I think she's spooky.
Lisa says
You are SO dutiful, Anna! I love that. To be honest, I didn't even read the previous post when it came up on my reader (I'll get back to it) because I have such a backlog, and c'mon! It wasn't a dessert! So glad you feel your responsibility so deeply! And I'm TOTALLY going to use "If.....then I wouldn't be doing my job" thing with my kids. I've sort of said, "It's my job to teach you..." "Mothers are supposed to..." but yours is so much better! Thanks for that. And the cake looks/sounds superb! Pretty positive there's no Mexican chocolate in Poland, though. 🙁
Sara says
I have one of Rick's cookbooks, but so far I've only tried the savory recipes. There are some interesting ones, like a coconut tart made with fresh coconut. I need to pick up some mexican chocolate.
KAnn says
I've been thinking about trying this recipe for a long time now...yours looks fabulous. I have become such a fan of chocolate and cinnamon. Maida has an incredible recipe for a Mexican chocolate refrigerator cookie that has become a T&T for me.
Joe says
Have you tried the Mexican Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars from Rick? We made them back in '06 and I still remember them.
Joanna says
I just had my second cup of hot chocolate and this is like chocolate overkill... in a good way! I've never cooked with Mexican chocolate before. I saw Bobby Flay do it once on Throwdown. This looks amazing though, and I can see how dense it is... almost brownie-like.