Spiced Mezcal Chocolate Cake, Chili Chocolate Ganache

I’ve been on a major spicy mezcal margarita kick lately.

Unfortunately, you can only have so many of those. So, I had to find another way to incorporate some mezcal chili flair into my diet.

This cake is soft and fluffy, extra moist from the sour cream, has a rich, deep, dark chocolate flavor with a hint of smokiness from the spices and mezcal. It was the perfect dessert pairing to a recent Mexican-ish-inspired brunch I had recently. It’s not the sweetest cake, which makes it an ideal accompaniment for a cup of coffee — or in this case, even a mezcal cocktail.

Spiced Mezcal Chocolate Cake + Chili Chocolate Ganache

Spiced Mezcal Cake

• 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter

• 3/4 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1/2 cup Mezcal

• 1 1/4 cups brewed espresso or strong coffee

• 1 cup dark brown sugar

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 3 eggs

• 1/4 cup full fat sour cream

• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

• 3/4 tsp. chili powder

• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Rub butter over a 9-inch cake pan. Spoon a little bit of both flour and cocoa powder in the greased cake pan and rotate the pan to coat the whole surface in both powders. Tap out any excess. Set aside.

In a saucepan over medium heat, add the butter, mezcal, espresso, and cocoa powder. Melt while whisking until smooth. Remove from heat to cool slightly.

Separately, whisk together the eggs, sugars, sour cream, and extract until smooth. Slowly pour a little bit of the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture while whisking vigorously to temper the eggs.

Sift the flour, baking soda, and spices together into a large mixing bowl. Pour the egg mixture and fold in until a dry dough begins to form. Add the rest of the chocolate mixture and fold in completely until just incorporated and smooth. Pour into the preset cake pan until it is about 3/4 of the way filled. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Make the chocolate ganache while waiting (recipe below). Once done, let the cake cool completely before shaving the top off to level it out.

Glaze with the chocolate ganache and dust with chili powder.

* You might have leftover batter that you can make a few cupcakes or smaller cake with. You can also make 2 thinner 9-inch cakes but each cake pan will only be filled up halfway up and cook time will be shorter.

Chocolate Chili Ganache

• 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped

• 6 oz. heavy cream

• 1/4 tsp. chili powder

Heat the heavy cream in a saucepan over medium-high heat until scalded, stirring to make sure it doesn’t curdle or burn. Pour the cream over the chocolate, add the chili powder, and let it sit for 10 minutes. Whisk together until smooth. Pour over the cake.