Holy Moly Chocolate Cake

One of my favorite coffee drinks at a little coffee shop in Cincinnati is called Holy Moly latte. It's a mix of expresso, cocoa powder, and cayenne. These cakes are a tribute to my fond memories of that spicy coffee and fun times-when we could still hang out in coffee shops. Beware the little kick in these treats; you could eliminate the cayenne, but I believe that's what makes these so special.

I prefer these as mini cakes because we rarely eat a regular-sized cake anymore, and we are more likely to enjoy bite-sized or individual-sized treats at tea time. I have also made these into petit fours, but it was more work so I opted for easy. If you don't like the mini cake approach, you could bake this in an 8 x 8 pan and ice the top. You could double the recipe to turn this into a layer cake if you have the occasion for it.

Makes 4 mini cakes

I used this cake pan.

Ingredients:

Dry

• 1 cup oat flour

• 1/2 cup cocoa powder

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

• 2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 cup Lilys chocolate chips

Wet

• 1/2 cup almond milk

• 1 tsp cider vinegar

• 2 tsp Mexican vanilla

• 1/2 cup apple sauce

• 1/2 cup almond butter

• 1/4 cup unsweetened cold brew expresso coffee

• 1/2 cup dates (6 Medjol)

Icing

• 1 cup Lilys chocolate chips

• 1/4 cup unsweetened cold brew expresso

• 1/2 cup Elmhurst Almond milk (I like this one for its higher fat content, but use any kind of non-dairy milk you would like. You can also use lite coconut milk from a can.)

• 1/2 tsp vanilla

• pinch cayenne and cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Soak dates 10 minutes in warm water.

3. Pour 1 tsp cider vinegar in almond milk and set aside.

4. Mix dry ingredients (except chocolate chips) in a large bowl (you will need to sift or put the cocoa powder through a sieve to eliminate lumps).

5. Drain dates and put them in a food processor (like a Cuisinart) with all the other wet ingredients. Process until smooth.

6. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix gently until fully combined. Don't over mix.

7. Gently fold in chocolate chips.

8. Pour batter into greased mini cake pans and bake about 20 minutes.

For Icing: You can either do a glaze or a whipped icing.

For a glaze,

1. Put all icing ingredients in a small pot.

2. Place the small pot in a slightly larger pot with about an inch of water in it.

3. Heat on low and hold small pot with ingredients over the larger pot with water. Don't let the small pot touch the water.

4. Whisk until the chocolate is mostly melted, removing from heat from time to time to whisk. Do NOT let chocolate get too hot or it will burn and do bad things.

5. When the chocolate is mostly melted, remove from heat and finish whisking until it is smooth.

6. Set the cakes over a wire rack on top of a sheet pan and pour the melted chocolate over the cakes. Spread the melted chocolate with a knife to cover the cakes.

7. If you plan to put any decorations on the cakes, make sure to do it before the icing hardens too much.

For a whipped icing, do steps 1-5 above and let the chocolate mixture cool completely in the pot. When it is cooled, use a hand-held mixer and beat the chocolate mixture until it is the consistency you desire (see photo to the right). Then spread or pipe it onto your cake(s).