Mexican Chocolate Streusel Cake

18 or 19 ounce package Mexican chocolate (See notes) 

Topping

            1 egg yolk

            7 tbsp butter, room temperature

            1 cup flour or 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF flour 

Cake

            1¾ cup flour or 1¾ cup Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF flour

            1¼ tsp baking powder

            8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

            1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

            2/3 cup sugar

            4 eggs, room temperature

Lightly spray a 9 x 13 inch cake pan with GF baking spray.

Place half of the Mexican chocolate in a food processor & pulse until it is the consistency of coarse crumbs.

Place in small bowl & set aside for the cake batter.

For the topping place the remaining half of the Mexican chocolate in the food processor & pulse until the consistency of coarse crumbs.

Add egg yolk, butter (I cut into chunks for easier processing), & flour.

Pulse just until everything is thoroughly combined. It should look crumbly, not pasty. Set aside.

For the cake whisk together flour & baking powder. Set aside.

Using the paddle on your mixer, beat cream cheese, butter & sugar until light & fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.

Add eggs – one at a time, beating after each until completely incorporated in batter.

Add flour mixture & mix on low until it starts mixing in, then scrape down sides of bowl & beat for 1 minute – just until flour is incorporated.

Stir in reserved processed chocolate crumbs by hand.

Put batter into prepared cake pan & smooth the top. The batter is quite thick, but easy to evenly spread in pan.

Crumble the streusel topping evenly over the batter. (I do this by hand, so I can break up any big lumps in the topping.)

Bake at 350° for 35-45 minutes. (A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean.)

Place pan on wire rack to cool.

Cake is best when served slightly warm!

Serving Suggestions:

            Lightly dusted with powdered sugar

            Served with vanilla or cinnamon flavored ice cream or vanilla ice cream sprinkled with a little cinnamon

            Topped with a dollop of whipped cream

Notes:

This recipe is based on a recipe by Rick Bayless, from his cookbook “Mexico One Plate at a Time”. Thanks Chef Bayless!

The main difference between the chocolate most Americans use for baking & Mexican chocolate is that Mexican chocolate contains more sugar & has cinnamon. The texture is also a little different – more coarse or grainy. Most local Hispanic grocery stores should have it or you can get it on amazon. It comes in a thick disc, but it’s scored, so I cut each disc up into 8 pieces – it works much better in the food processor in these smaller chunks.

This is a moist cake, & fairly dense, so a small piece is usually enough!