Recipe: Mexican Chocolate Cake with Crema and Fresh Berries

After exploring the line of Cacique's authentic Hispanic products last week, I found myself unsure of what to do with a bottle of Crema Mexicana. It reminded me of a thinner version of sour cream and also of English table cream. Though the label suggests pouring it on a vegetables, tacos or chilaquiles, I decided to buck tradition and use it in a dessert. The cake itself is a dense, rich chocolate loaf cake that gets a hint of spiciness from cinnamon and cayenne pepper. Served sliced in a snowy pool of fresh Mexican cream studded with luscious raspberries, the dessert goes from ordinary to transcendent.

Mexican Chocolate Cake with Crema and Fresh Berries

• I cup soft unsalted butter
• 1 2/3 cups dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 ounces best quality bittersweet chocolate, melted
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water
• ½ cup chopped bittersweet chocolate
• 9x5-inch loaf pan
• Cacique Crema Mexicana
• Fresh raspberries

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line loaf pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick spray.

Cream the butter and sugar, then blend in the eggs and vanilla, combining well. Next, add the spices to the melted chocolate and then gently fold the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture.

Combine the flour and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the chocolate cake batter in four additions, alternating with the boiling water. The batter should be smooth and fairly liquidy. Stir in the chopped chocolate bits. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake for another 15 minutes. Bake until the top is mostly set, but the inside is still soft and a little sticky. Cool completely and then invert onto a plate and slice into 1" pieces.

Spoon the cream onto a dessert plate, coating the bottom. Place the chocolate cake slice on top of the cream and garnish with fresh raspberries.