Reviewed: Oct. 25, 2009

I made this cake for my husband's birthday, and it turned out amazing. It was extremely moist. I even let it cook about 35-40 minutes, checking it every 5 minutes over 30. Also, I added a cup of coffee instead of the water, and used a different icing recipe. I used the half tsp of cayenne, and it is not noticeable at all except in the most complimentary way. In some gourmet stores you can buy a chili cocoa powder from South America. I plan on using this next time in place of the cocoa and omitting the cayenne. This will definitely become one of my staple cakes.

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GypsyMama

Cooking Level: Professional

Home Town: Reidsville, Georgia, USA

Living In: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

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Reviewed: Sep. 28, 2009

What a wonderful surprise. The addition of the cayenne pepper really adds a nice savory taste to the chocolate. Great cake recipe, really makes a wonderful cake.

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kac2research

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Aug. 27, 2009

This recipe was ok, but I've had better, and it looks nothing like the the photo (the icing is chocolate, not white). The cook time is much closer to 40 minutes, otherwise it will be undercooked.

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Hayley

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Reviewed: Jun. 4, 2009

The best cake EVER!!! I love the hot feeling in your mouth after each bite (not that it was overpowering or anything). It was AMAZING and my friends LOVED IT!!!

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rinney333

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: May 16, 2009

Awesome cake. I used Ancho chili powder and instead of the icing listed made cream cheese icing and topped with pieces of a lindt chili dark chocolate bar (one square of chocolate per piece of cake). My cream cheese icing was made with i container of room temp cream cheese mixed with 2 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1/2 cup icing sugar and 1 tablespoon of butter. Add a little milk if this is too thick for you. Stored in the fridge and stayed fresh for a week- everyone said it was the most delicious chocolate cake they ever had!

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Amber

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Port Dover, Ontario, Canada

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Reviewed: Apr. 3, 2009

The tastiest (not the prettiest) cake i have ever made, and I have made a lot of cakes. I had to use plain yogurt instead of sour cream because i forgot to get it at the store. The result was still PERFECT!!!! I followed the rest of the recipe exactly, and wouldn't change a thing.

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SLOSUCH

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Mar. 31, 2009

This cake is fantastic! It was so simple to make, turned out great the first time around and the flavour was wonderful. I will probably play with the frosting recipe a bit as I found it to be too sweet but my friends loved it.

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heather joy

Cooking Level: Beginning

Home Town: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

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Reviewed: Dec. 5, 2008

This was just 'ok'. I was hoping for a more chocolatey cake. I do like the heat from the pepper. The frosting was good. Won't make again.

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shelbriggs

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Reviewed: Oct. 23, 2008

Yowza this is delish! I had a chocolate craving and thought this sounded good, but good grief, good doesn't begin to describe it. I could literally skip the plate, just grab a fork and eat the entire pan. I love the cayenne kick too. Definitely a keeper!

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Juliema

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Appleton, Wisconsin, USA

Living In: Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

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Reviewed: Oct. 1, 2008

What an amazing chocolatey flavor! Everybody loved this cake and nobody guessed the secret ingredient (one of the guests thought it had Pepsi in it!) I used the recipe without making any changes. It was easier than I thought from my first read-through and I'll definitely be making it again. I didn't make the frosting but I'll try it next time. Great cake!

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PunkinUK

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, U.K.

Living In: Hannibal, New York, USA

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Reviewed: Sep. 21, 2008

Great cake! I actually made them into cupcakes and they turned out great. I did add a little more powdered sugar to the frosing though to thicken it up so it would stay on good. Oh...I also replaced the baking soda with powder and they were just fine. Delicious!

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mommyluvs2cook

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Houston, Texas, USA

Living In: Santa Fe, Texas, USA

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Reviewed: Jul. 13, 2008

Was so good, no one could guess there was cayenne in it. Making it again tonight.

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jonshepi

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

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Reviewed: Jun. 18, 2008

Very moist, very tasty chocolate cake that has a warmth but there is no way it has any hint of pepper taste. This is a really fantastic cake. The frosting though was runny and I had too add another cup or more of powdered sugar and another Tbl of cocoa and a couple more T of margarine to get it to spreading consistency. Thanks this was a great cake!

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~TxCin~ILove2Ck

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA

Living In: Corpus Christi, Texas, USA

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Reviewed: May 8, 2008

I made this cake exactly as the recipe was written and was very happy with the results. It was a bit more dense than I expected, but still definitely a cake. Out of the 6 people who ate it, 5 noticed the cayenne and thought it was a good addition. My husband had no idea it was there, but loved it anyway!

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Wendy

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Reviewed: Apr. 24, 2008

Yummy! I substituted ginger for the cayenne pepper, since I was out. Tasted great! Thank you!

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Hollywood

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Reviewed: Mar. 14, 2007

I made this with Vindiloo spice (a popular Indian spice) in place of cayanne. I used quite a bit (maybe 1 1/2 tsp) its very spicy but nice. I plan on using chocolate ganache to top.

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stephanie watson

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Tyler, Texas, USA

Living In: Portland, Oregon, USA

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Reviewed: Feb. 11, 2007

I halved the recipe and made mini muffins/cupcakes, which I thik were a perfect balance of sweet from the frosting and spicy from the cake. The frosting was very very good and in the future, I would decrease the cayenne if I made it into anything beside mini cupcakes.

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Erin C

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Living In: Miami Beach, Florida, USA

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Reviewed: Dec. 12, 2006

I made this recipe, actually as cupcakes. I was impressed by the mild hit of spice and the mellow sweetness my little cakes had. I had several people try them and they were definitely a hit! The icing turned out very nicely as well, I would recommend letting it set up before using it. They were also very moist, which is perfect for chocolate cake. I will definitely make again, especially if I'm entertaining!

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Tokio

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Reviewed: Sep. 7, 2006

Very good cake like brownies. The only thing I would change is instead of adding water, I would add cold coffee and instead of 1 tsp of cayenne pepper I would decrease it to just 1/2 tsp. The coffee flavor adds just enough mocha that turns this into a terrific authentic mexican chocolate flavor

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