Mexican Chocolate Cake

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Taking a look at the ingredient's list, one would quickly find out that this is not your usual chocolate cake. A Mexican chocolate cake incorporates the warmth of spices like cinnamon and chili and the punch of balsamic vinegar. The result is a cake with a spicy kick that is not too sweet, yet super flavorful. I love it, and I specially enjoy serving it to friends because no one ever expects it to be spicy. It's a pleasant surprise, but I am not sure kids would like it, or someone with a more pick palate (like Andrew). You can cut back on the amount of chili or cayenne used in the cake to fit your own taste. I've made this cake numerous times because it's so easy, fast and makes very little mess of bowls and dishes. In fact, this batter is made in one bowl, than poured into the cake pan, and that's it. I normally don't make the chocolate glaze, I prefer simple cakes, but this time I went all the way, so you can have an idea of how pretty this simple cake can be.

Note:

This is an egg-less cake, great news for all the batter eaters out there (you know who you are...)

 

 

Mexican Chocolate Cake Recipe:

makes one 8 inch round cake

 

You will need:

1 1/2 cup of flour

1 cup of sugar

1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa

2 teaspoons of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper or chili powder

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1 cup of cold water

1/4 cup of canola oil

1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8 inch cake pan, set aside.

In a large bowl,whisk all dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and mix well until batter is fully combined. Pour batter into prepared cake pan and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Let cake cool for 10 minutes, remove from pan and finish cooling it in a wire  rack.

 

Chocolate Glaze Recipe (optional):

Confectioner's sugar

Unsweetened cocoa

Cinnamon (optional)

Water

For the glaze, combine confectioner's sugar and cocoa using a 2 for 1 ratio (2 parts sugar, 1 part cocoa). Use small amounts of water by the spoon full to moisten it and bring to the consistency you want. For this cake, I used less than 1 cup of sugar and half that amount of cocoa. I also added a pinch of cinnamon to it.

If you have extra glaze, keep it refrigerated and use it over fruits or mix it with plain yogurt.

Enjoy it!

Chicken Fajitas

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I am constantly trying to recreate the dishes we order at restaurants, so we can eat in more and not feel that we are deprived of flavour or variety. Of course, dinning out has its advantages (no dishes!!!) and it's a great thing to do every once in a while, but eating out too often can become expensive and probably not very good for our bodies either. At home we spend less money and have control of how much fat, salt and sugar we are using (and consuming).

This is my version of fajitas, homemade style. The taste, according to Andrew is of a Mexican restaurant dinner. Just what I was going for.  The trick is on the marinade made with Mexican flavours. This recipe can also be made with steak, use flank steak and slice it thinly across the grains.

My cast iron skillet is "vegetarian", so I used a regular large skillet for cooking the chicken, but if you have cast iron available, go for it. If you are cooking for a lot of people, this recipe is easily multiplied.

 

Chicken Fajitas Recipe:

makes 4 fajitas (using 8 inch round tortillas)

1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast

1/2 green pepper

1/2 red pepper

1 small onion

For the marinade:

1/4 cup of canola oil

1 teaspoon of chilli powder

1/2 teaspoon of cumin powder

1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt

a few grinds of fresh pepper

4 medium-size flour tortillas

Toppings options:

Salsa, guacamole, sour cream, shredded cheddar, lime wedges.

In a plastic bag or baking dish, mix all ingredients from the marinade.

Dry chicken and cut into strips.

Seed peppers and remove the white internal parts. Cut into strips.

Thinly slice onion.

Mix all the ingredients with the marinade, coating well. Let it marinate for at least 30 minutes, up to 4 hours.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, just enough to coat the bottom of the skillet. Once oil is hot, pour contents from the marinade bag/dish into the skillet. Brown chicken on both sides, turn heat down to medium and cook until the onions are soft and brown and the meat is fully cooked, about 6 minutes more, stirring every once in a while.

Heat the tortillas on a grill or oven.

Serve the chicken hot along with the toppings and warm tortillas.

Enjoy it!

Chilli con Carne

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Making chlli con carne is really easy, I love one pot meals (who doesn't?). This recipe makes a lot and all I can say is: Thank goodness Andrew doesn't mind eating leftovers! I made this on a big pot and left it on the stove top for days, whenever it was meal time, just reheat and serve. Andrew likes it with some shredded cheddar on top and a squeeze of fresh lime. Oh, and warm tortilla chips as well. I realized I forgot to add cilantro leaves to the chilli on the photos, but that is really important, it compliments all the other Mexican flavours on this dish.

There are many variations and ways to prepare chilli con carne. You can make it lighter using chicken or turkey meat, or try adding some mushrooms. I used this recipe from Jamie Oliver Site as a guideline.

Chilli con Carne Recipe:

All cans used are 14.5 oz/400gr in size.

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 celery stick, chopped

1 red pepper, seeded and white parts removed, chopped

1 teaspoon of ground chilli powder

1 teaspoon of ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

2 cans of red kidney beans

2 cans of diced tomatoes

1 1/2 lb (approximately) of ground beef

cilantro

salt and pepper

lime, shredded cheddar, tortilla chip, for serving (optional)

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook onions until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, carrots, celery and red pepper. Add spices, stir it around and keep the vegetables cooking for another 5 to 10 minutes more, stirring every so often. Add the beef and break up any large pieces, cook it until starts to brown. Add the tomatoes. Fill up one of the cans with water and add to the pot. Add the beans. Bring it to a boil, cover and simmer until cooked. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add chopped cilantro directly on the serving bowls. Top chilli bowls with shredded cheese and a squeeze of lime.

Grilled Avocado, Portobello and Pico de Gallo Sandwich or, as I call it: A Mexican Double-Decker

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I believe some of best things in life happen when we don't really plan it. That is exactly the case here. I had some leftover pico de gallo in the fridge and no more tortillas to go with it. A quick look at my kitchen showed me an avocado resting on the fruit basket, a bag of my favourite multi-grain sliced bread on the counter and some sharp cheddar in the fridge.  And like magic, a new sandwich was created!

It was pretty wet outside so I decided to use my indoor grill pan. Frankly I think it is a big pain in the neck because our ventilation system sucks and every time I grill indoors our  entire 700 square feet apartment gets foggy and smelly. It takes hours to "de fog" the place.  So with that in mind, I decided to grill not just the mushroom, but also the bread slices and the avocado as well. Don't ask...

Grilling the avocados make them warm (duh...) and also a little charred, which I love. I grilled the bread slices too because I had this image of nice grill lines on my sandwich so I threw them on the grill too.

You can find ready-made pico de gallo in many groceries stores. I make my own and I added the recipe at the end of this post.

 

The result was one big, yummy and even nutritious sandwich that I am sure I will be making again.

Mexican Sandwich Recipe:

What I used,  for one huge double-deck sandwich

 

About 1/2 cup of picco de gallo (recipe follows)

1 Hass avocado

1 Portobello mushroom        

2 slices of sharp cheddar cheese

2 slices of multi grain bread

 

                       

Drain the pico de gallo of any excess liquid, set aside.

Heat grill to medium-high. Clean mushroom and remove the stem. Brush it with oil and grill it until tender and cooked, turning once. Remove and slice it.

Peel and cut the avocado in half. Spray the grill with cooking oil and place avocado halves, being careful not to "break" them. Leave it on the grill until you get nice marks, about a minute or so. You may try and turn them, but I found it to be a little bit messy. Remove from grill and slice it.

Grill the slices of bread.

Put the sandwich together buy layering the avocado slices, the pico de gallo, cheese slices and the portobello mushroom.

Enjoy it!

 

Pico de Gallo Recipe:

5 ripe tomatoes

1/2 red onion

1 handful of cilantro

1/3 of a jalapeno pepper

Chop al ingredients and season with salt, pepper, olive oil and a dash of lime juice. For best results, let it rest for at least 30 minutes for the flavours to blend.

As an alternative for the sandwich, you can always just use good old sliced tomatoes and onions, but keep in mind that if you don't add cilantro you will be missing out on a major Mexican flavour.