I found this recipe in a Rebecca Rather cookbook in 2010 and I have made it so many times that the page is literally coated in cocoa powder. I dream about this cake, y’all. It’s everything chocolate cake SHOULD be - fudgey, moist, tender, and laden with toasted pecans. The chocolate-cinnamon combo is heaven. She will be the star of all your summer parties and you will want to take her everywhere.
Mexican Chocolate Fudge-Pecan Cake
*Recipe from “The Pastry Queen” by Rebecca Rather
Cake
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3/4 cup water
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
Chocolate-Pecan Glaze
1 cup pecans
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 cups sifted powdered sugar (sifted then measured)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 9” bundt pan well with Baker’s Joy OR grease with butter, sprinkle with flour, rotate pan to coat, and tap over sink to remove excess.
Melt butter in large saucepan over medium-low heat, then add cocoa and whisk until smooth. Add water and whisk again until smooth. Do not boil. Remove from heat, add sugar, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla to the warm cocoa mixture all at once, whisking until smooth. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt all at once, and whisk until dry ingredients are completely incorporated. Pour batter into pan, and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the cake has pulled away slightly from the sides of the pan and feels firm to the touch. Let cool in pan about 20 minutes.
While cake cools, make the glaze. Arrange pecans on a baking sheet and in a single layer and toast in a 350 degree oven for 7-9 minutes until golden brown and aromatic. Remove from oven and chop.
Melt butter over low heat in a medium sauce pan. Add milk, cocoa, and powdered sugar and whisk until glossy. Remove pan from heat and whisk in vanilla, salt, and pecans. Let cool for about 10 minutes.
Loosen the cake with a knife and invert onto a serving plate. Spoon the glaze over the cooled cake, covering it thoroughly, letting some pool in the center and around the bottom.
This cake will keep up to three days, covered, at room temp.
