Fiesta Cake

After our success with churros, I ended up having leftover chocolate dip.
How that happened, I have no idea but I what I knew, was that it will be used in something.

The whole Sunday, after Cinco de Mayo, I was brain-storming what I could do to use this delicious dip. Enter Pioneer Woman.

Well, not in person of course. Because if she did, I would faint and there would be no fiesta but the ER for me.

Now, I trust Ree when she says it's "the best chocolate cake ever". But because it was a holiday, and because I like to challenge myself, I wanted to jazz it up a bit.
I halved the ingredients to make an 8" x 8" cake, and not a sheet cake on purpose. I wanted to infuse the cake with my mocha dulce de leche.
I am evil like that! Bwuahahahaha!

This cake was named by my oldest daughter.
She is a genius by the way.
And I am her mommy. 🙂
And Mocha Dulce de Leche Chocolate Cake with Mexican Chocolate Ganache is a mouth-full.

So here you have it: chocolate cake, infused with mocha dulce de leche and topped with Mexican chocolate ganache. Fiesta in your mouth, baby!

Fiesta Cake

for the cake:
1 c all-purpose flour
¾ c granulated sugar
a dash of salt
2 tablespoon cocoa powder
½ c ( 1 stick ) butter
½ c boiling water
¼ c buttermilk ( or sour milk - see note below )
1 large egg, beaten
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon vanilla

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, melt butter and add cocoa. Whisk until combined.
Add boiling water and cook it all for about 30 seconds.
Pour the chocolate mixture over your dry ingredients and fold it in with wooden spoon or spatula.
In a small mixing bowl, combine buttermilk or sour milk, egg, soda and vanilla.
Add it to your chocolate mixture. Stir it in until all is smooth and combined.
Pour into prepared baking pan.
Bake 30 - 35 minutes, or until the toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

source: Pioneer Woman

for the Mocha Dulce de Leche:

1 c freshly brewed coffee
½ whipping cream
½ c granulated sugar

In a medium saucepan, bring the coffee to a boil.
Add the sugar and whisk until dissolved.
Cook for 15 minutes on medium-low heat, until it becomes syrupy.
Add the cream and whisk until smooth.
The mixture will be very thin but it will thicken up as it cools.
Transfer into a jar and refrigerate 12 hrs or overnight.

makes: about ¾ cup

for the Mexican chocolate ganache:

1 egg yolk, beaten
¼ c heavy cream
¼ c milk
¾ c semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Place the chocolate chips into a small bowl. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, whisk together the yolk and cream. Heat to boiling, whisking constantly. Immediately pour over the chocolate chips. Let stand for 3 - 5 minutes.
Heat the milk in the same saucepan and add to chocolate cream mixture.
Whisk together until smooth.
Sprinkle with cinnamon and whisk again.
Refrigerate for 1 hr, until thicker.
Pour over warm cake. It will thicken up as you let the cake cool.

makes: about ¾ cup

Assembly:
While the cake is still warm, poke the top with a toothpick. You need holes to infuse the cake with dulce de leche. Pour the mocha dulce de leche over the cake, spreading gently with spatula.
Let it sit for 10 - 15 minutes.
Pour the chocolate ganache over the top. It will melt but that is ok. It will thicken up again while the cake cools.
Cool the cake completely. If you can wait that is! I cut out a piece after just few minutes. Are you surprised? 🙂 The cake was tricky to cut, because the toppings were not set yet, but the warm cake with dulce de leche and the ganache was so incredibly good!! Still, wait until it cools or you will burn your mouth.
Note on sour milk:
If you don't have buttermilk on hand, pour ¼ cup of milk into a measuring cup and take away 1 teaspoon. Now, replace that teaspoon of milk with a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice. Stir. Let sit for a couple of minutes and you have sour milk you can use in place of buttermilk. I do it all the time and it always works. Always.