Mexican Chocolate Sheet Cake with Cinnamon Cashew Frosting
Moist, rich, and plant-based, this recipe is chocolate bliss with kick, and well overdue! Cinnamon and dark chocolate mingle with a just-right touch of cayenne pepper to elevate supreme complexity of flavor. With the perfect bit of warming heat, I meant to share this in time for Valentine’s Day, but it just didn’t happen. In a way, though, it may just be more relevant now. As we step cautiously day to day into spring lightness and a hopeful end-of-pandemic (or at the very least, respite), chances are better and better that we will have reasons for sheet cake that don’t necessarily result in half of it being shafted to the freezer!
I love how cinnamon cashew frosting beautifully balances the hint of baked-in heat, but pairing this cake with a silky rich chocolate frosting is divine, too. I discovered that when I made a cupcake version for birthday friends; Chef F informed me in no uncertain terms that chocolate would hold up much better for mini cakes. (I knew he really just wanted a chocolate pan to lick, but he was right nevertheless.)
Speaking of springing back toward “normalcy”, has anyone found some interesting—maybe even unsettling—emotional parallels between this spring and last? I’ve been experiencing restless sleep reminiscent of where we were a year ago. Last year it made sense, explained by the subconscious processing natural anxieties and fears from the looming pandemic. This year, there’s a less straightforward sort of unease mingled with a simmering eagerness to get back at things—plan the trips, set the dates, jump into the pool. Notes of excitement, with caution. Are we heading into a new chapter, or just a lull? And what about the things that we may feel, strangely, we’re going to give up?
What has maybe been most stirring lately is the unfolding recognition of time passing. We’ve been hanging on in a sort of stasis for a year now. I’ve been working alongside Chef F as he has been learning at home. I’ve shared intimately in every step of so much growth, been witness to each new vocabulary and sight word; joined in the awe of striking new concepts; admired penmanship and exploding math skills best manifested in the likes of calculating chess moves three or eight steps ahead, or doubles, triples, and total scores on the dart board. Yet despite seeing all this growth firsthand, I feel dizzy when I realize anew, again and again, that my Kindergartner left school only to return next fall as a very competent second grader. I’ve been here the whole time, yet I didn’t see the time go.
It goes without saying, all the feels can be overwhelming, but…ultimately, it’s all good. In another parallel to last spring, before going on it has to be noted that I think we’re all painfully well aware that peacefulness, optimism and silver lining talk is inherently sprinkled, smothered, or drenched in a certain amount of privilege. Setting that fact and all that comes with it aside for the moment, baking and sharing this cake was one of many things that made me relax into the quiet knowledge that, whatever is around the corner, we will have reasons to celebrate. Why? Because, throughout this past year of strain, tension, and sorrows, we never stopped making the time for gratitude and awe. We still had celebrations. We had drive-by birthday parties, Zoom baby showers, and candlelit moments holding those in our households close. We had reasons for sheet cake, and it didn’t matter if half went in the freezer.
Circling back to this cake now—the flavorful cinnamon-cayenne combo is so compelling, this oil-based cake uses less sugar than most. I like using monk fruit sugar, but sub in your sweetener of choice. Feel free to decrease the overall sugar even more by swapping out the powdered sugar with ¼ to ½ cup of maple syrup. Or, skip the frosting completely and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Do you, and enjoy. x0
Mexican chocolate sheet cake with cinnamon cashew frosting
18 servings
For the cake:
2 cups unsweetened almond or other milk, divided
1 ½ Tablespoons white vinegar
2 cups flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
2 teaspoons ORGANIC INDIA Ceylon Cinnamon
1 Tablespoon ORGANIC INDIA Cinnamon Spice Psyllium Pre & Probiotic Fiber or psyllium
1 cup monk fruit or plain granulated sugar
½ cup vegetable or liquid coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
½ cup chocolate chunks or chips
1 teaspoon instant coffee
1 recipe Cinnamon Cashew Frosting, below, or frosting of choice, blended with 1-2 Teaspoons ORGANIC INDIA Ceylon Cinnamon)
Preheat to 350. Lightly coat a 9 X 13 baking pan with cooking spray, or line with parchment paper.
In a liquid measuring cup, stir 1 ½ Tablespoons white vinegar in 1 Cup of the unsweetened almond milk to make a plant-based buttermilk and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, cayenne pepper, ORGANIC INDIA Ceylon Cinnamon, and ORGANIC INDIA Cinnamon Spice Psyllium Pre & Probiotic Fiber, and sugar. Add the oil, vanilla, applesauce, and “buttermilk” reserved from earlier.
Warm the remaining cup of milk and stir in chocolate chips and coffee until chocolate chips are melting and coffee is dissolved. Add to batter, stirring to incorporate.
Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool before frosting.
For the frosting:
1 cup raw cashews soaked in hot water for at least 1 hour, then drained
½ cup coconut milk, full fat
2 cups powdered sugar (or sub in ¼ to ½ cup maple syrup for a low sugar frosting)
1 teaspoon ORGANIC INDIA Ceylon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon ORGANIC INDIA Cinnamon Spice Psyllium Pre & Probiotic, optional
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup liquid coconut oil or vegetable oil
Place all ingredients in a high speed blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Refrigerate several hours to firm up before using.