Chocolate Spice Cake with Whipped Chocolate Mousse

If you’re in need of a chocolate cake that isn’t too rich or too fussy, then this chocolate spice cake is a good one to go for. It’s an easy to make light chocolate cake with spicy notes. You can cover it with chocolate buttercream for afternoon tea or with a spicy whipped chocolate mousse for a special occasion.

This chocolate spice cake goes back a long way. Well, since my childhood anyway. It’s something of a family recipe. Whenever I bite into it, I’m flooded with memories of a long ago camping trip down at Sennen Cove.

The week long holiday was destined to end in disaster. The first two days were brilliant. The sun shone, we swam, explored and feasted on the cake. It has never tasted quite as scrumptious as it did eating it out in the open with the salt Cornish air in our lungs.

But it wasn’t long before the heavens opened and our tents and sleeping bags got thoroughly soaked. The rain showed no inclination to stop and after one night of sleeping in a damp puddle, we decided to cut our losses and go home. The joys of camping!

When I first got into cake making in my teenage years, the bake I made most often was this Chocolate Spice Cake.  It was me that made the one for our ill-fated camping holiday. Once I left home, I sort of forgot about it. But a few years ago, I must have had a sudden yearning for my youth or something. I woke up one morning with the certain knowledge that I wanted to make this cake today.

Chocolate Spice Cake Tips

I’ve made the cake several times since. Sometimes I vary the flour, just to ring the changes. I’ve used half wholemeal spelt and half quinoa and I’ve also tried it with half buckwheat or coconut flours. These have all been good, but I always come back to my trusty wholemeal spelt flour which just works.

Occasionally, when I’m feeling a bit more health conscious, I swap the sugar for Rapadura, but it’s hard to kid myself that this cake is anything but an indulgence.

The original chocolate spice cake includes mixed peel. I find it makes a really good addition. But mixed peel is one of the things that unfussy CT is fussy about. So I tend to swap the mixed peel for crystallised papaya or pineapple. If you don’t like it, you could just leave it out all together, but it’s just not quite the same.

Update Sept 2019 – Jo recently made this cake and she swapped the mixed peel for crystallised ginger. What a very good idea. You can see how she got on over on her blog Jo’s Kitchen Larder.

I used to whip up the egg whites separately to the yolks and fold this into the cake mixture. But it’s an additional step that I’ve now stopped doing. I don’t think it makes much difference to the final texture and it just takes more time and creates extra washing up. Who needs that?

I’ve included the original chocolate buttercream icing in the recipe. This cake definitely needs a topping of some sort. If I’m making the cake for something special though, I top it with a spicy whipped chocolate mousse. This is similar to the buttercream, but I add mascarpone and a little spice. I then whip it until it’s light, moussy and unctuous.

Other Spicy Chocolate Cake Recipes You Might Like

• Chai masala chocolate fairy cakes
• Chilli chestnut chocolate cake
• Chocolate chilli cake
• Chocolate, ginger & cardamom tea bread
• Coffee cardamom chocolate mousse cake
• Easter brownies
• Ginger chocolate cupcakes
• Ginger & lime cake with lime curd
• Iced honey chocolate spice cake
• Orange cardamom birthday cake
• Spiced dark chocolate cake (vegan)
• Spiced rum Easter chocolate mini cakes
• Spicy orange brownies
• Spicy Peruvian avocado brownies

Keep in Touch

If you’d like more large cake recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious, of course.

Choclette x

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5 from 6 votes

Chocolate Spice Cake

An easy to make light chocolate cake with spicy notes. You can cover it with chocolate buttercream for afternoon tea or with a spicy whipped chocolate mousse for a special occasion.

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Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time45 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course: Afternoon Tea, Dessert

Cuisine: British

Keyword: buttercream, cake, chocolate, chocolate mousse, mascarpone

Servings: 8 people

Calories: 471kcal

Author: Choclette @ Tin and Thyme

Ingredients

• 50 g dark chocolate (2 oz (I used 70%))
• 115 g unsalted butter (4 oz) softened
• 200 g light muscovado sugar (7 oz)
• 2 large eggs (I used duck eggs)
• 175 g wholemeal spelt flour (6 oz)
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 ½ tsp ground allspice (or mixed spice if you prefer)
• 120 ml kefir, buttermilk, sour milk or watered down yoghurt (4 fl oz)
• 1 oz mixed peel (or dried pineapple or papaya)

Chocolate Buttercream

• 60 g unsalted butter (2 oz)
• 50 g dark chocolate (2 oz (I used 70%))
• 115 g icing sugar (4 oz)
• OR

Spicy Whipped Chocolate Mousse

• 60 g unsalted butter (2 oz)
• 50 g dark chocolate (2 oz)
• 85 g icing sugar (3 oz)
• 125 g mascarpone cheese (4 oz)
• ½ tsp ground allspice

Instructions

• First, melt the chocolate. Bring a pan of water to the boil, then remove it from the heat. Place a bowl over the top and break in the chocolate. Leave until melted.
  50 g dark chocolate
• Turn on the oven to 180℃ (160℃ fan, 350℉, Gas 4).
• Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. I do this by hand, but you can use a hand held or stand mixer if you prefer.
  115 g unsalted butter, 200 g light muscovado sugar
• Beat in the chocolate. Then beat in the eggs, one by one.
  2 large eggs
• Sift in the dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated. Pour the kefir in and mix gently. Finally stir in the mixed peel.
  175 g wholemeal spelt flour, 1 ½ tsp baking powder, 1 ½ tsp ground allspice, 120 ml kefir, buttermilk, sour milk or watered down yoghurt, 1 oz mixed peel
• Scrape the batter into an 20 cm (8”) round silicone mould or lined tin.
• Bake in the centre of the oven for 40-45 minutes or until the top is firm to the touch and an inverted skewer comes out clean.
• Leave in the tin to cool for ten minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
• Whilst the cake is cooling, make the topping.

Chocolate Buttercream

• Melt the butter and chocolate in the previously used chocolate bowl, using the same method. Leave to cool for ten minutes or so.
  60 g unsalted butter, 50 g dark chocolate
• Sieve in the icing sugar, then beat together until you have a spreadable consistency.
  115 g icing sugar
• Spread over the cooled cake.

Spicy Whipped Chocolate Mousse

• Melt the butter and chocolate in the previously used chocolate bowl, using the same method. Leave to cool for ten minutes or so.
  60 g unsalted butter, 50 g dark chocolate
• Sieve in the icing sugar and spice, then beat together well with a wooden spoon. Add the mascarpone and beat until you have a light and moussy consistency.
  85 g icing sugar, 125 g mascarpone cheese, ½ tsp ground allspice
• Spread over the cooled cake.

Notes

Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on exact ingredients used.

Nutrition Estimate

Calories: 471kcal | Carbohydrates: 65g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 187mg | Sodium: 49mg | Potassium: 267mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 45g | Vitamin A: 509IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 97mg | Iron: 3mg

Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below letting us know how you got on and do share a photo on Instagram. Tag @choclette8 or use hashtag #tinandthyme.

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Chocolate Spice Cake Update

In August 2019 I updated the post to make it more useful to my readers. It now has a recipe card, more explanatory text and new photos. I made the cake for CT’s birthday and topped it with the spicy whipped chocolate mousse which I then covered in chocolate shavings. We enjoyed it with macerated raspberries and it was delicious. Here’s the original photo.

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