My Mexican chocolate cake with berries is so easy to make, so intensely chocolatey, and so velvety smooth…this (almost) flourless cake is decadent but light at the same time. The subtle hint of Mexican spices like cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and a pinch of cayenne, makes it magical.
my Mexican chocolate cake hits the sweet spot between simple and delicious.
Easy is a word I throw around a lot, I know, but this Mexican chocolate cake truly is. You need only a bowl and a whisk, and it comes together in a flash.
No matter how delicious something might be, if it’s too laborious and involved to make, I just don’t bother. I figure most of you must be like that too.
this is a variation of my Belgian chocolate cake
That cake is one of the earliest cakes in my personal recipe repertoire. I made it for this blog in my early days, then revisited it and updated a few years later. The recipe has never changed in all those years, it’s perfect. You can even make it as cupcakes, if you like.
a flourless chocolate cake is perfect for spring and summer
Spring and summer demand light desserts, and this cake delivers. It doesn’t have the overwhelming solidity that most flourless chocolate cakes have. Top it with juicy berries and a little hand shaken mason jar whipped cream and you will not be sorry.
When you slice into it the crisp shell crackles and buckles, revealing a dark moist better-than-brownie-like interior.
Just gaze into that dark chocolate interior…that’s what delicious looks like.
how to serve this Mexican chocolate cake
- Berries are so good right now I couldn’t resist. I like to slice the strawberries and intersperse a few edible flowers. I don’t do this until shortly before serving so the berries and flowers are fresh. Any berry would work on this cake.
- The cake doesn’t need any garnish at all, and sometimes I’ll just sprinkle it with powdered sugar and serve with whipped cream. Try spicing the whipped cream with a little cinnamon for a nice touch.
- Ice cream goes especially well with the deep chocolate of this cake, I use vanilla, it allows the flavors to shine.
Mexican Chocolate Cake with Berries (gluten free, or not)
Equipment
- 10 inch tart pan with removeable bottom
Ingredients
- 9 ounces dark, or semi-sweet chocolate, either chocolate chips, or bar chocolate cut in small chunks
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp cayenne powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 5 tablespoons all purpose flour, or your choice of gluten free flour or nut meal
- 5 large eggs, at room temperature
garnish
- fresh berries
- powdered sugar
Instructions
- Lightly butter a 10 inch spring-form or tart pan with removable bottom. Note: make sure your pan is at least 1 1/2 inches deep because this cake will puff up.
- Put the butter and then the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute, then stir. Microwave for another 30 seconds, and stir again. If it’s not completely melted, put it back in for another 15 seconds, and stir until the chocolate completely melts.
- Add the sugar, spices, vanilla extract, and flour to the chocolate, then the eggs, and whisk really well to completely break up the eggs. Cover and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes. The mixture will thicken as it sits.
- Meanwhile pre-heat the oven to 325F
- Pour the batter into the buttered pan and smooth out evenly. Bake for about 50-60 minutes, until firm on top and cracks form across the surface. Cool on a rack, then remove the outer ring.
- When completely cooled and just before serving, decorate the cake with fresh berries and a dusting of powdered sugar.
Notes
Nutrition
Still craving flourless desserts?
Ottolenghi’s Flourless Coconut Cake
Flourless Belgian Chocolate Cake
Gluten Free Carrot Cake
Planing on making this to accompany our Christmas Eve tamale dinner 🙂 Since berries aren’t in season, I was trying to think of something else that might work as a garnish … almost thinking about just putting poinsettias on top to be festive, but wondered if you had a Christmasy or Mexican-ish idea for topping the cake.
I think sugared cranberries would be awesome. Or you could pipe or dollop whipped cream and top with more cinnamon.
Oh! I love the cranberry idea! Thanks Sue 🙂
I’ll have to do that next year, it does sound good!
I made this cake for a birthday party recently, and it was enjoyed by all, including my mother who is a great cook & baker. Although my cake did not turn out nearly as picture perfect, it was delicious in both flavor and texture. For some reason though, I ended up with a couple sizable air bubbles on the bottom of the cake, which made correlating little domes on the top of the cake. Perhaps my new aluminum springform pan is to blame, or maybe my own inexperience. I usually use a steel springform pan. Perhaps I needed to adjust the oven temperature slightly with an aluminum pan? Regardless, I’m not waiting for a reason to make this cake again. I can’t get it out of my mind! Definitely making this again!
Thanks Lori, I love to hear this was a success. As for the air bubbles, try rapping the cake sharply on a hard surface like your counter before sliding it into the oven, that should help.
I thought I’d make this cake today, so I dove in. I’ve made flourless chocolate cakes before (I’m gluten free), and they’ve always been pretty easy and gone together quickly, so when your recipe began by saying, “Preheat oven to 325 degrees,” I did. Imagine my surprise as I progressed through the recipe and saw that you instructed us to let the batter sit, cool and thicken for 30 minutes before baking. By this time, my oven had reached 325 degrees… and today is a plenty-warm summer day. I skipped the 30 minute set time, and I had to struggle with some uncharitable thoughts about the order of your instructions. I know I should read the whole recipe through before I begin, but it would have been awfully nice of you to warn me about the set time (which certainly allows plenty of time for an oven to preheat) before you told me to preheat my oven. Here’s hoping it turns out anyway. The batter was tasty.
I’ve adjusted the recipe directions to make better sense 🙂
Dear Sue 🙂 I truly admire your works of art and enjoy every single post you publish ! Seriously !
This will definitely be made immediately. Sounds luscious with a dollop of whipped cream.
Thanks Sue.
I stake my reputation on this one Mary ~ hope you love it 🙂
Thanks for this recipe! Looks delicious! One question, do you melt the chocolate in the microwave with the butter? Or does the hot butter melt the chocolate?
I’ve always done them together, I usually put the butter in first and top with the chocolate just to insure that the chocolate doesn’t scorch. But as long as you microwave for short periods of time it works great.
I love the use of spices in this chocolate cake! It looks beautiful with simple seasonal berries as the deco.
Spices add such a nice depth to chocolate 🙂
Do you have to use that much sugar?
Go ahead and experiment with using less sugar Janet, as a safe starting point you could try 1 cup.
LOVE the spices in this! Neat cake — and like the berries with it. Winner! 🙂 Thanks.
That little touch of cayenne must add so much depth to this chocolate cake. It looks and sounds fantastic, especially with all those ripe berries. So pretty!
It really does Tricia, and you can even up the amount for an even bigger kick ~ this cake is really fantastic, hope you get a chance to try it 🙂