| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 55 min |
| Active: | 30 min |
| Yield: | 10 servings |
Ingredients
- Softened unsalted butter, for the pans
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pans
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 3/4 teaspoons chipotle powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 24 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened
- 6 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Cocoa powder, for dusting
Instructions
- For the chocolate cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
- Mix the flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, chipotle powder, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl until blended. Add the oil, milk, vanilla and eggs and beat with an electric mixer until thoroughly blended, about 2 minutes.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake until a wooden pick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Cool on a rack 10 minutes, then invert the pans to remove the cakes and cool completely.
- For the cream cheese frosting: Beat the cream cheese and butter together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until thoroughly combined and smooth. Add the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and continue to beat until the frosting is very smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Spoon 2 cups of the frosting onto the top of one cake layer and smooth evenly with an offset spatula. Top with the second layer. Spoon just enough frosting on top to make a thin but even coating of frosting on top and all along the sides of the cake; it is okay if this frosting gets messy and full of crumbs. Freeze the cake until the frosting is firm, about 10 minutes.
- Spoon the remaining frosting onto the cake and smooth evenly over the entire cake with the offset spatula. Dust lightly with cocoa powder and serve.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 10 servings |
| Calories | 1249 |
| Total Fat | 79 g |
| Saturated Fat | 35 g |
| Carbohydrates | 132 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 109 g |
| Protein | 9 g |
| Cholesterol | 196 mg |
| Sodium | 503 mg |
Reviews
The frosting is yummy and would be good on other cakes as well. The flavor of the cake is very good. Not sure why instructs to use 9 inch cake pans, makes a fairly flat cake. I’ll try 8 inch next time.
I was looking for a cream cheese frosting for a carrot cake I’d made and saw this episode recently. Oh my! It’s the creamiest fluffiest frosting I’ve ever made! Everyone raved about it. Even my picky brother called it exceptional. I used vanilla bean paste in place of the extract.
Great flavor, loved the spice but mine turned out really dry. I did make it in a 9×13 glass pan which might be why it was too dry. Maybe I’ll try as cupcakes next time. I used a taste of home mocha frosted instead which really complimented the cake & amped up the chocolate flavor nicely.
I made this for a luncheon and am well known for my baking. I saw this on T.V and thought I give it a try. I did followed all the instructions. It did need 10 minutes more to bake. I should of know as it cooled it was hard on the ends. I frosted it with less frosting as directed. So am getting ready cut and serve it to my guess and just knew it would be dry. The flavor is there but it was too dense. I was so disappointed. Sorry Val but never making this again. Oh and yes, lots of cake left on plates. Uuggh!!
Review:This is a marvelous recipe! I’ve made it as a cake and as brownies, and both were delicious. Love how there’s no heat while you’re eating it, but it kind of creeps up on you and hangs out in the back of the mouth. Subtle but perfect, I wouldn’t change the quantities on the spices one iota.
The batter is barely enough for 8″ cake pans, though. I can see how it might cook unevenly using 9″ pans. I used heavy duty baking tins, but if yours are lightweight, you might want to put them on a half sheet so the edges/bottom don’t overbake before the center is done. Also, the cupcakes were done in 18 min. This cake bakes very quickly! I use an oven thermometer, so I know the temp is accurate.
Also, there’s too much frosting for the cake. The second time I made it, I cut the frosting ingredients down by 1/3 and added an extra TB of butter to help lighten it up, and it was perfect. Love the dusting of cocoa on top.
I also cut little triangles of Lindt Chili chocolate bar to decorate the cupcake tops.
My rating:
SORT BY
Kyrah in PALess than a minute ago
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This is a marvelous recipe! I’ve made it as a cake and as cupcakes, and both were delicious. Love how there’s no heat while you’re eating it, but it kind of creeps up on you and hangs out in the back of the mouth after a while. Subtle but perfect. I wouldn’t change the quantities on the spices one iota.
The batter is barely enough for 8″ cake pans, though, and cake took closer to 25 minutes. I can see how it might cook unevenly using 9″ pans. I used heavy duty baking tins, but if yours are lightweight, you might want to put them on a half sheet so the edges/bottom don’t overbake before the center is done. Also, the cupcakes were done in 18 min. This cake bakes very quickly! I use an oven thermometer, so I know the temp is accurate.
Also, there’s too much frosting for the cake. The second time I made it, I cut the frosting ingredients down by 1/3 and added an extra TB of butter to help lighten it up, and it was perfect. Love the dusting of cocoa on top.
I also cut little triangles of Lindt Chili chocolate bar to decorate the cupcake tops.
tasted good, but I had to cook it longer than the recipe called for (10 min more) and it also sunk in the middle. The outside ended up being overcooked and the middle just barely done.
Being from California where everything is spicy this looked interesting. I made 4 cupcakes without the chipotle then added a smaller amount due to removing some of the batter for the four. Either way we’re delicious. The chipotle brought out the flavor of the chocolate. It wasn’t overwhelmingly hot by any means. It just gave a nice little extra something. Thanks for the recipe!
Easy and delicious. Very moist.
Very, very easy to make! Smells heavenly!
I really like the chipolite cake but the FROSTING was too much and too heavy! On the frosting I decreased the sugar by half. Next time I will make my CARROT cake recipe and add chipolte spice and use my tried-and-true cheese frosting.