Ghost Chile Honey Cake
- Details
This Ghost Chile Honey Cake is a mouth watering example of the time-tested flavor combination of chile and chocolate. By infusing ghost chile flakes into honey, we were able to mellow the heat and reveal its subtle fruity flavor for an irresistible cake. The fudgy and fiery creaminess of the ganache frosting, the moist chocolate cake, and the tang of the marmalade combine together to make one delicious cake. While it’s perfect for a Halloween party, we’ve made this cake for birthdays, holiday gatherings, or just when we wanted a thick slice of a really good chocolate cake.
Ghost Chile Honey Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
- 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup Valrhona cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup ghost chile infused honey (1 tablespoon ghost chile flakes and 1 cup honey - instructions below)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1-1/2 cup buttermilk
Filling:
- 1 cup of Seville orange marmalade
Frosting:
- 10 oz dark chocolate, chopped or shaved
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup ghost chile infused honey
Instructions
Ghost Chile Infused Honey:
- Empty the honey into a small pan and turn the burner to low heat. Add ghost chile flakes to honey, mixing to submerge as much as possible.
- Let steep for about 1/2 hour. Cool to room temperature and pour the honey and chile flakes back into container.
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch cake pan and cut a piece of parchment to cover the bottom of the pan.
- Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, whisk together sugar, infused honey, eggs and vanilla until well blended. Whisk in the vegetable oil, then half of the flour mixture. Whisk in all of the buttermilk, then the rest of the flour mixture.
- Pour into cake pan. Bake the cake about 55 minutes, or until your cake tester comes out clean. Your cake will have a slight "dome", but that's ok. Let it cool for about 10 minutes, then invert it onto a cooling rack to finish cooling. Remove parchment.
Frosting:
- Fill a small saucepan halfway up with water, and put on a medium-high burner. Get a non-plastic bowl that will easily fit on top of the saucepan. You now have a double-boiler.
- Put the chocolate in bowl, and stir until it's almost melted. Set bowl aside. Pour out the water from the saucepan and pour in the honey and cream. Bring to a boil, then pour over the melting chocolate and stir until smooth. Let it cool.
Assembly:
- When cake is cool, carefully cut it in half horizontally. Place the bottom of the cake onto a plate. Spread the marmalade over the cake bottom, being careful not to spread it all of the way to the edge. Place the other half of the cake on top of the filling, and gently press down.
- Frost the cake with a butter knife or offset spatula. After you've put all of the frosting on the cake, you can 'smooth' it out by dipping a clean knife into hot water, wiping it off, then using the warm knife to 'smooth out' the frosting.
Notes
For a spicier cake, add 1/4 teaspoon of ghost chile flakes to the cake batter and/or frosting.
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this is such a wonderful recipe that i bought a jar of ghost chili pods just to make this cake … and i live alone! i absolutely intend to “eat the whole thing” but i wonder if it’s freeze-able.
It is a delicious cake, isn’t it? I’m sure that you could freeze it. I’d wrap it well in parchment paper (because of the frosting), then double-wrap it with plastic wrap, trying to get as much air out as possible so that no ice crystals form. I don’t think you’ll notice any difference in the texture of the cake, but you might with the frosting once it’s thawed out. Try it and let us know how it works!
I made this a few weeks ago and froze most of it. I froze it before wrapping to solidify the ganache then wrapped tightly with Saran wrap. They’ve held up great! Absolutely delicious!!
I don’t understand. This chile is supposed to be super hot. Does some of the spiciness bake out or does the honey reduce the spiciness?
The sweetness mellows out the spiciness and compliments the chocolate so it’s not as harsh. Its still going to be spicy but more palatable than if you directly added the chiles to the cake.
Amazing recipe! Super moist cake, velvety smooth frosting. I infused the honey with fresh ghost peppers from my garden. Nice heat!!!