--------------------------------FOR THE CAKE--------------------------------
1 1/4 c Cake flour
1/2 c Unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tb Ancho chili powder
1 ts Baking soda
1/4 ts Baking powder
1/4 ts Cayenne pepper
1/2 ts Salt
10 tb Unsalted butter;
- at room temperature
1 1/2 c Sugar
3 lg Eggs
1/2 c Buttermilk
1/2 c Dark coffee; hot
1 ts Pure vanilla extract
------------------------------FOR THE TOPPING------------------------------
1/2 c Lightly rosasted Macadamias
- whole or chopped (2 oz)
4 oz Semisweet chocolate; chopped
1/2 c Whipping cream
Bobby Flay, chef of NYC's Mesa Grill, prepared this dessert for a
Meals on Wheels benefit meal at the Frontera Grill in Chicago.
Blended with the cocoa and coffee, the chili powder is only mildly
hot and adds something approximating a fruit flavor.
Heat oven to 375°F. Butter a 9" square cake pan, line the bottom
with parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper. Measure out
cake flour, cocoa, chili powder, baking soda, salt, baking powder,
and cayenne. Sift them together 3 times.
Using an electric mixer with a large bowl, beat the butter and
sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a
time, and continue beating until mixture is light, fluffy and
almost tripled in volume.
Fold 1/3rd dry mixture into the butter-egg mixture, then add half
the buttermilk and half the coffee. Fold in another 1/3rd of the
dry mixture then the remaining buttermilk and coffee. Finish with
the remaining dry dry mixture and the vanilla extract.
Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Bake until cake springs back
when touched lightly, 30 to 35 minutes. Then turn out of pan and
leave on the rack until completely cool.
Use a 2-1/2" cookie cutter to cut rounds from the cake. Place the
rounds in paper cupcake liners.
Topping:
If the macadamias are raw, roast them in a 350°F oven, turning
once, until they just begin to color. Place the chopped chocolate
in a bowl, heat the whipping cream to the point of a boil and pour
it over the chocolate. Let cool to warm then drizzle it over the
cupcakes. Top with macadamia nuts.
Note: Ancho chili powder can be made by stemming and seeding whole
ancho chilies and pulverizing them in an electric spice mill or
coffee grinder.
