Mocha Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Sorry...a little late for Valentine's Day! But it doesn't have to be a special day for anything chocolate. Right?

I made these for that certain day so I thought I'd share the recipe with you. These cupcakes are chocolatey and so delicious and with the espresso...yum!  I threw in a handful of mini chocolate chips, rather than the regular sized chips and I actually liked the smaller size better.
The frosting is made with sour cream, which I think helps cut down that overly sweet frosting taste.

The recipe is pretty straightforward to make and, as my usual way, I baked them jumbo size! Sometimes you just want a good sized cupcake and it's really even a little less than a slice of cake, too!

First you need to melt the chocolate over gently simmering water.

Once the chocolate has melted, set it aside to cooled slightly.
Next beat the butter and gradually beat in the sugar, followed by the eggs, vanilla and melted chocolate.

Add in the flour in stages, alternating with the espresso mixed with water.
Place the batter into your paper liners and bake 20 to 22 minutes.

Mocha Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting ( from "Fine Cooking" magazine)
Makes 12 regular ( standard) size or 6 jumbo cupcakes

3 ozs. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup (4.5 ozs.) unbleached AP flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. table salt
1/2 cup (4 ozs. or 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. instant espresso powder, dissolved in 1/2 cup cool water
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used mini chips)
Frosting:
2 ozs. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
1/3 cup sour cream (not low-fat)
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
Pinch salt
1 1/2 cups (6 ozs.) confectioners' sugar
Milk, if necessary
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Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin cups with paper liners.
1. Put the unsweetened chocolate into a bowl set over gently simmering water and stir occasionally til melted. Set aside to cool.
2. In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt.
3. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter 30 to 60 seconds or til smooth. With mixer running, gradually pour in the sugar, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl a few times. Then beat in medium high til light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, scraping the bowl after each addition.
5. Beat in the vanilla and melted chocolate til smooth and blended.
6. On low speed, add the dry ingredients in 3 installments, alternating with the espresso in 2 additions.
7. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand.
8. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Don't smooth the batter.
9. Bake the cupcakes til they spring back when gently pressed in the center, 20 to 22 minutes.( a little longer if making jumbo cupcakes). Let them cool 5 minutes in the pan, then remove and cool on a wire rack before frosting.
Frosting:
1. Put the chocolate and butter in a bowl over gently simmering water and stir til melted and smooth. Set aside to cool til barely warm.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together sour cream, vanilla and salt.Gradually whisk in the confectioners' sugar til smooth.
3. Add the chocolate/butter mixture and beat it in with the whisk til smooth and creamy.
The frosting must be thick and spreadable. If too thick, thin it with a few droplets of milk. If too thin, chill it briefly, stirring occasionally, til adequately thickened.

Dense Fudgy Brownies

In my world, there's always room for one more brownie recipe, especially a dense and fudgy one and this one is the fudgiest ever!

These are appropriately named "Luxury Brownies" and they are so luxurious, using the best dark chocolate you have, along with a good quality cocoa powder...how can you beat that? The original recipe calls for your choice of nuts, either one kind or an assortment but instead of nuts, I used  threw in a handful of Ghirarrdelli bittersweet chocolate chips, since no one in my family likes nuts in their brownies except me...and goodness knows I don't dare make them just the way I alone like them! That would be dangerous!

Just remember to cut very tiny squares for serving. They're that rich.

Luxury Brownies ( adapted from here)

7.1 oz. unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs, room temp. and whisked
8.1 ozs. dark chocolate ( good quality), chopped into very small pieces.
4.9 ozs. AP flour
Scant 1/2 cup (1.4 ozs.) cocoa powder ( good quality, like Valhrona)
Pinch salt
Approx. 7 ozs. nuts of your choice (technically this comes to roughly 2 cups, depending on which nuts you choose, but I think one cup is more than enough)
You can use a combination of pistachio, walnut, hazelnut, pecans or just one kind that you like.
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Butter and line with foil, an 8" x 8" pan. Preheat oven to 350.

1. Sift together flour, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large saucepan, melt butter completely.
3. Add the sugar and stir til the sugar is dissolved.
4. In a separate bowl, mix the chocolate pieces and eggs together, making sure it's all well mixed.
5. Pour the piping hot butter/ sugar mixture into the chocolate/eggs mixture, mixing quickly and thoroughly. If there's still some chocolate not totally melted, just put the bowl over some gently simmering water and stir til it's all melted.
6. Scoop spoonfuls of the flour/cocoa powder into the mixture, stirring with a rubber spatula just til no traces of flour can be seen.
7. Gently stir in the nuts (leave some out to decorate the top, if you want it to look pretty!) or add the chocolate chips, if going that route.
8.Pour the batter into your prepared pan and decorated the top with your nuts, if using.
9. Bake 18 to 22 minutes.
The brownies are cooked when the edges are slightly dry, the top is shiny and has cracked. The center of the brownie should not be wobbly when shaken. Important! The toothpick method of testing does not work on this fudgy brownie!
Let the brownies cool completely before cutting...or better yet, wait til the next day to cut. These brownies get better with each passing day! Remember to cut very small squares...they're that rich. Enjoy! And please, if you make them,  let me know what you think, which nuts you prefer...or if you used my handful of chocolate chips adaptation.

Mocha Cupcakes

I love coffee flavored anything. And mocha, a chocolate and coffee combo is really the best... well, after peanut butter and chocolate, that is!

And when I found myself craving cupcakes this week, after trying to cool down from the extreme heat by making granitas all week ( which isn't really such a bad thing !), I searched for a mocha cupcake and decided on this one.

To intensify the coffee flavor, I used espresso powder mixed with hot water, rather than strong coffee and I loved it.

Begin by sifting, then mixing your dry ingredients together into a mixing bowl and stir to combine.

In another bowl, combine buttermilk, oil, egg and vanilla.

Slowly add the wet to the dry ingredients, mixing on low speed.

Then combine the hot water with the espresso powder and pour this into the batter mixture.

Then spoon the batter into the cupcake liners and bake 18 to 22 minutes.
I used jumbo muffin cups to get 6 nice big cupcakes...no little dinky cupcakes around here!

Mocha Cupcakes (adapted from here)
Makes 12 cupcakes

(Note: I halved the recipe and made 6 jumbo cupcakes).

7/8 cup ( 4.1 ozs.) AP flour
1 cup sugar
3/8 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt ( a little less if using Morton's salt)
1/2 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/4 cup vegetable oil ( I used canola)
1 egg, room temp.
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. espresso powder dissolved into1/2 cup boiling water

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Preheat oven to 350. Line 12 standard muffin tins with paper liners.

1. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl or standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and stir to combine.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, egg and vanilla.
3. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry.
4. Add the espresso mixture stirring just to combine, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
5. Spoon or pour the batter into the muffin cups and bake 18 to 22 minutes or til a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool in the cups 15 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting:
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
Pinch of fine grain sea salt
1 tsp. vanilla
4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 tbsp. espresso powder dissolved in 1/2 tbsp. warm water
1 1/2 - 3 tbsp heavy cream or milk
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1. In a medium bowl, combine the sifted confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter til fluffy.
3. Slowly add the confectioners' sugar/cocoa mixture and cream til well combined.
4. Add salt, vanilla and 1 tbsp. heavy cream ( or milk). Blend on low speed til moistened. Add additional heavy cream (or milk) til it reaches desired consistency. Beat on high speed til frosting is smooth and fluffy.
Frost the cooled cupcakes.

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've been looking for a chocolatey double chocolate chip cookie that's thick like a bakery style one and I found this recipe in one of the cookbooks I recently bought, "The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread".

The "secret" to the chocolatey flavor of this cookie, I think, is in the quality of cocoa powder you use. I had some Ghirardelli's and some Valrhona so I used both and it gave this cookie a rich deep chocolate flavor that's so good!

Also adding melted chocolate into the dough gives it more chocolate flavor.

The original recipe calls for toasted pecans so I decided to divide the dough in half and put half with pecans and half without since the crowd I'm making these for probably don't all love nuts in their cookies! Personally...I love nuts in mine!

I made the cookies smaller than the 3 ounce size in the recipe. Mine were approx. 1.2 ozs. and this gave me a 3" cookie.

It was such a beautiful morning here, this morning I couldn't resist showing you my morning glory that puts on a show for me every morning! Happy baking!

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies (from "The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread")

Makes approx. 24 cookies, depending on size. Makes one dozen if making very large ( 3 ozs.)

1 5/8 cups (8.32 ozs.) unbleached AP flour
3/8 cup cocoa powder
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. kosher salt
2 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup toasted pecans, chopped
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Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
2. In a heatproof bowl, melt 1 1/2 cups of the semisweet chips , stirring til smooth. Set aside to cool.
3. Cream butter and sugars on medium speed for 2 minutes, or til light and fluffy, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally.
4. Pour in the melted chocolate and continue mixing til the mixture is uniform in color. Make sure the chocolate is not hot or the butter will melt.
5. Gradually add the eggs and vanilla, mixing well to combine.
6. With the mixer on low speed, ad the dry ingredients in stages. Mix only til it's all combined. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to be sure all the flour is incorporated.
7. Stir in the remaining chocolate chips and nuts.
8. Chill the dough in the fridge til it's firm but not hard.
9. Scoop out heaping tablespoonfuls of dough ( mine weighed 1.2 ozs.) and place onto baking sheets, spacing about 2" apart. Note: If you're making these cookies larger, make them approx. 3 ozs. each, about a scant 1/2 cup size.
10. Bake the cookies between 13 and 15 minutes. ( 18 to 20 minutes, if making 3 oz. size).
They should be just set when done.
Cool on baking sheets 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Orange Cardamom Shortbread Cookies

Chocolate and orange. To me, it's a wonderful combination.

I've probably said it before but I'll say it again. I love shortbread cookies! It's such a blank canvas to which just about any flavors can be added. I've made some unusual combos like basil and lime ( which I still get requests for).

And speaking of requests, the reason I made these cookies this week is that a woman...a very patient woman, I might add.. from the farmer's market, has been asking me to make them for her. I promised her last week I'd bring her some, so here they are!

I love the intense flavor of buying cardamom pods and using them as I need it. If you don't want to go to the trouble of this, or you can't find the pods, then just buy the ground cardamom in the spice section of your market.

I use a mortar and pestle to grind them.

Put the confectioners' sugar in a mixing bowl with the butter and beat this til combined.

Then add all the orange zest for a wonderful orange flavor.
Add in the dry ingredients and beat together til it's all well combined.

Dump the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and form it into a disc with your hands, trying for a rectangular shape, if you're using a rectangle or square cutter. If you're using a round cutter, then make it into more if a round shape.
Place another piece of plastic wrap over top and roll out the dough to between 1/4" and 3/8" thickness.

Then place in the fridge to get nice and cold and hard.

Once it's chilled, cut out your shapes and place them onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Reroll the scraps but if they get soft place them into the freezer to firm up again.
Then bake for approx. 15 minutes.
* Baking suggestion: It's hard to check for doneness because they are dark but the bottoms should be darker than the tops. If you're unsure, bake a few first and time them. Then let them cool completely before trying one. They should be crisp and have a nice crunch to them. Crispy and crunchy!

Chocolate Orange Cardamom Shortbread Cookies
Makes about 2 dozen ( depends on size)

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
15 tbsp. (7.5 ozs.) unsalted butter, at cool room temp.
1 generous tsp. orange zest
1/2 tsp. orange extract
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups AP flour (9 ozs.)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
1/4 cup good quality cocoa ( I use Valhrona)
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Preheat oven to 350.
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, ground cardamom and cocoa powder. Set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat the confectioner's sugar and butter til smooth.
3. Add in the orange zest and both extracts and stir it well with a rubber spatula first, then mix with the beaters to combine.
4. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients and mix til it's all incorporated, scraping the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl.
5. Dump the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and fold the wrap over the dough. Form into a rectangular shape disc, if using a rectangle cutter like I did. Or you can shape into a round shape if using a round cutter.
6. Place another piece of plastic over the dough and roll out to 1/4" - 3/8" thickness.
7. Place the dough into the fridge to firm up.
8. Once the dough is firm, cut out your shapes and reroll any scraps, just be sure the dough is always cold. Pop into the freezer for about 5 minutes, for a quick way to chill.
9. Bake cookies for approx. 15 minutes. ( See my suggestion above for baking).
10. Let the cookies stay on the baking sheet for about 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
The cookies store best in an air tight tin.

Fudge Brownies

If your in the mood for a deep-dark, super dense rich brownie, then this one's for you!
I found it on the back of the King Arthur Flour bag. With brownie recipes from scratch like this one being so easy ( and delicious) to make, there's no reason to buy brownie mixes...ever!

As always, King Arthur recipes are great and this brownie with a big scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top... Yum!

I halved the recipe and cut it into 6 rather generous size pieces but you can certainly cut the sections smaller to make 9 squares ( for half the recipe).

So begin by melting the butter, then adding the sugar and heating a second time to help dissolve the sugar. This yeilds a shiny top crust.

Once that's all melted together, transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl.

Then add in the cocoa, salt, baking powder and vanilla and stir that together.
Mix in the eggs and beat til smooth.

Add in the flour...

And chocolate chips, beating til well combined.
Pour into your prepared pan and bake...that's it! Easy, quick and delicious!

Best Fudge Brownies ( from King Arthur Flour)

Makes 12 to 18 (depending on the size you cut)

1 cup (8 oz.) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups Dutch-process cocoa
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. vanilla
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups (6 1/4 ozs.) King Arthur AP Flour
2 cups chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9 x 13" pan. (I didn't grease but lined my pan with foil).

1. In a saucepan set over low simmering water, place the butter in a heat proof bowl, double boiler style, and melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir to combine. Return the mixture to the heat briefly, just til it's hot, but not bubbling. It will become shiny looking as you stir it. (Heating the butter and sugar a second time will dissolve more of the sugar, which yeilds a shiny top crust. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl.
2. Stir in the cocoa, salt, baking powder and vanilla.
3. Add in the eggs, beating til smooth.
4. Add in the flour and chips, beating til well combined.
5. Spoon the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 28 to 30 minutes, or til a toothpick inserted into the center comes out dry ( though it may have a few moist crumbs clinging to it).The brownies should feel set on the edges and on the center.
6. Once removed from the oven, et them sit in the pan to cool down about 20 minutes before lifting out of the pan. Cool completely ( I refridgerate) before cutting into pieces.

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

Digging through my old recipe file I came across this Hot Fudge Pudding Cake in a recipe booklet from Hershey's dated 1987. It sounded like an interesting way of making a cake. Mix a batter, sprinkle on a sugar and cocoa mixture, then pour hot water over the whole thing and bake it! I'm not sure how old the original recipe actually is but after I made it I thought I'd check out the recipe online and I did find a lot of these cakes. So I guess I'm not the only one who liked the concept!

It's really a fun cake to make that bakes all together and it turns out like a brownie with a fudgy sauce.

It's an easy one to make and you don't even need to drag out the mixer. Just a few bowls and spoons to mix and maybe your sifter for the cocoa powder.

So if you're in the mood for something chocolaety and gooey...give this one a try.  A big dollop of whipped cream would be the perfect finishing touch!

You don't even need to grease or butter the pan.

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake ( from Hershey's Recipe Sampler Booklet, 1987)

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
1 cup AP flour
7 tbsp. Hershey's cocoa powder, divided
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup butter (5 tbsp.), melted
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/4 cups hot water
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Preheat oven to 350.
1. In a medium bowl, combine 3/4 cups of sugar, flour, 3 tbsp. cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
2. Blend in milk, melted butter and vanilla. Beat til smooth.
3. Pour batter into a square pan, 8 x 8 x 2" or 9 x 9 x 2".
4. In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar and remaining 4 tbsp. of cocoa powder.    Sprinkle this mixture evenly over batter.
5. Pour hot water over top. Do not stir.
6. Bake 40 minutes or til center is almost set. Let stand 15 minutes. Spoon into dessert dishes, spooning sauce from bottom of pan over top. Serve with whipped cream.
Notes: I bet if you mix some espresso powder in with the hot water it would taste even more chocolatey!

Fudgy Brownies

Our local newspaper today had an article about a fundraiser held at a nearby school that Melissa Hamilton, one of the cookbook authors of the series, " Canal House Cooking",  attended. She, along with Christopher Hirsheimer are the team responsible for this food journal published three times a year.

I've seen the books around town, as they are local women but I've never actually bought one (sorry ladies!). But the brownie recipe in the paper today sounded pretty darned good so I had to give it a try.

It turned out to be a fudgy dense chocolaty and quite delicious brownie! I may have underbaked it a bit ( which I often seem to do with brownies...for fear of overbaking them! Go figure!) But some people love underbaked brownies. I did pop them into the fridge and they tightened up a little and tasted even fudgier. I also love the espresso powder in them which brings out a more chocolaty flavor.

The top crust is shiny and tissue paper thin as noted in the recipe. These are just the best and definitely worth every calorie!

Chop up the chocolates before melting with the butter and sugar.

Then stir the mixture together til it's all combined and melted.

Beat the eggs with a hand held beater...

Slowly add the chocolate mixture into the eggs, a little at a time, beating all the while.
Add in the vanilla, then stir in the flour, stirring just til combined.

Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 45 to 60 minutes.

It looks like a lot of batter (and it is) but it didn't overflow.

Brownies ( from "Canal House Cooking, Volume No.6",  by Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirsheimer)

14 tbsp. butter
1 cup flour, plus more for the pan
2 cups sugar
4 ozs. semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 ozs. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 tsp. instant espresso powder, optional
1/4 tsp. salt
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup walnuts, optional
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Preheat the oven to 350. Butter a 9" square pan with 2 tbsp. of butter then dust with flour and tap out any excess. (I thought the butter amount was a little excessive so I only used about a generous teaspoon.

1. Melt the remaining 12 tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add the sugar, stirring til it has the consistency of very soft slush and just begins to bubble around the edges of the pan, 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolates, espresso powder, if using, and salt, stirring until the chocolate melts completely.
4. Put the eggs in a medium mixing bowl and beat them at medium speed with an electric hand held mixer.
5. Gradually add the warm chocolate mixture, about a quarter cup at a time, beating constantly til smooth.
6. Stir in the vanilla.
7. Add the flour and walnuts, if using, stirring til just combined.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
9. Bake 45 to 60 minutes, or til a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Put the pan on a wire rack to cool, then cut into squares.

Chocolate Sheath Cake

For a special celebration tonight I felt like baking something extremely chocolaty and I remembered this cake recipe I'd wanted to try since I bought this book, "The Spice Kitchen" a while back.

I noticed similar recipes floating around the internet..some called Texas Sheet Cake and one very similar from here but because this recipe is out of a spice cookbook it has some extra "kick" from the cinnamon and ancho chili pepper in the frosting.

It's a very quick and easy recipe to make and you don't even have to haul out the mixer. Just one large bowl and a saucepan is pretty much all you need...well, okay, a few spoons and a whisk help, too!

The cake is moist and very chocolaty. I used Valhrona cocoa powder which is a great quality cocoa to use and always makes baked goods taste so good. But I really think Hershey's would be fine, too.

And because we're a small family, I halved the recipe and used a nine inch cake pan.

And why is it called a sheath cake? Apparently no one knows for sure!

Whisk your dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

In a glass measuring cup, beat together the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla.

In a medium saucepan, combine water, butter, oil and cocoa powder and bring to a boil.
Pour the boiling cocoa mixture into the flour mixture and stir to combine.
Add the egg mixture and stir that well.

Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for about 20 minutes, or til a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Five minutes before the cake is finished baking make the frosting by combining the butter, milk, cocoa, vanilla, cinnamon and chili pepper in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat, whisking constantly.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the confectioners' sugar and chopped pecans.

Spread the hot icing over the hot cake.

Then see how long you can hold out before you cut into it!

Chocolate Sheath Cake ( from "The Spice Kitchen", by Sara Engram and Katie Luber)

Cake:
2 cups AP flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup water
8 tbsp.(1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Frosting:

8 tbsp.(1 stick) unsalted butter
6 tbsp. milk
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ancho chili pepper or mild chili pepper (I used a scant amount)
1 (1 lb. box) confectioners' sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
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Preheat oven to 400. Grease and flour a 13 x 9 x 2 inch cake pan.
1. Sift or whisk flour, sugar, cinnamon and baking soda in a large mixing bowl.
2. Combine water, butter, oil and cocoa powder in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, whisking constantly.
3. Pour the hot cocoa mixture into the flour mixture and mix til combined.
4. In a small glass measuring cup beat together the buttermilk, eggs and vanilla and pour into the chocolate batter and mix well.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, dropping the pan a few times on the counter to get rid of air bubbles.
6. Bake for about 20 minutes, or til a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
7. Five minutes before the cake is done, begin making the frosting.
Frosting:
1. Combine butter, milk, cocoa powder, vanilla, cinnamon and chili pepper in a medium saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil over high heat, whisking constantly.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the confectioners' sugar and chopped pecans.
4. Spread the frosting evenly over the hot cake.