Southwestern Recipes
Pastel de Chocolate Mexicano
(Mexican Chocolate Streusel Cake)
Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients
Streusel Topping
- 1 (18 or 19 ounce) package Mexican chocolate, chopped
- 1 large egg yolk
- Salt
- 3 1/2 ounces (7 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup (4 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
Cake
- 1 3/4 cups (8 ounces) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 8 ounces (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- Powdered sugar, for dusting the finished cake
Instructions
Streusel Topping
- In a food processor, pulse half of the Mexican chocolate until it is the consistency of coarse crumbs.
- Remove and set aside for the batter.
- To the processor, add the second half of the chocolate and process it to the consistency of coarse crumbs.
- Mix the egg yolk and 1/2 teaspoon salt (if using salted butter, omit the salt) in a small bowl to dissolve the salt.
- Add to the processor along with the 3 1/2 ounces butter, and the 1 cup flour. Pulse the machine just until everything is thoroughly combined — it should look crumbly, not having been processed to a paste.
Cake
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 13 x 9 inch baking pan.
- Sift together the 1 3/4 cups flour and baking powder.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed, combine the cream cheese, the 8 ounces butter and the sugar. Beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
- One at a time, add the eggs, beating until one is thoroughly incorporated before adding the next.
- Add the sifted flour mixture, scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for 1 minute, just until the flour is incorporated.
- Lastly, use a large spoon to stir the reserved chopped chocolate into the batter.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth.
- Crumble the streusel topping evenly over the batter, making sure there are no large lumps — lumps may sink during baking.
- Bake in the center of the oven until springy (the edges will have just begun to pull away from the sides of the pan) and a wooden pick inserted at the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.
- Cool on a wire rack (in my opinion, this cake tastes best when still slightly warm), cut into squares and serve dusted with powdered sugar.
Notes
Vanilla, caramel or cinnamon-scented ice cream sure goes well with a bite of this pastel.
Attribution
Posted by Lisabug at Recipe Goldmine 7/2/01 8:21:38 am.