Mexican Chocolate Streusel Cake

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I absolutely love chocolate and cinnamon together. I grew up having mexican hot cocoa that my mom would make for us on cold winter days and the smell of this cake takes me back to winter breaks in elementary school. You can buy mexican chocolate at most grocery stores- I usually buy the Ibarra brand, but Nestle makes some that looks and tastes similar. (To make mexican hot chocolate, take 2 tablets/~ 1ounce of mexican chocolate and place in the bottom of a blender. Add 8 ounces of very hot milk-- but not quite boiling. Blend until frothy and incorporated. Pour into a mug and drink. Mmmmm. Drool... it is really very good).

And this cake is very very good. It has more than a pound of mexican chocolate in it, so how could it be bad? It is also very forgiving. I know this because I added the ingredients in the completely wrong order, and I don't think it made a bit of difference in the end. And if that wasn't enough, just now I realized I forgot to add an entire egg. Whoops. Either way it was awesome, and I can't imagine how much better it will be when I actually make it correctly. It is a major crowd pleaser. Recipe from Rick Bayless.

**Oh, and the reason that this photo is so incredible is because I had absolutely nothing to do with it. PHOTO BY Jeff Wischkaemper. Please photograph all my food from now on?

Streusel Topping Ingredients
9.5 ounces mexican chocolate, chopped
1 large egg yolk
7 tbs unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

Cake Ingredients

9.5 ounces mexican chocolate, chopped

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

First, prepare the chocolate. Once coarsely chopped, add 9.5 ounces into a food processor and process until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Remove from processor and put in a bowl and set aside for the cake batter. Next, add the rest (9.5 ounces) of the coarsely chopped chocolate to the food processor and process until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir together the egg and salt and add to processor, along with the butter, and flour. Pulse until streusel resembles a moist crumbly mixture- you do not want to over pulse. Set aside.

Add the butter, cream cheese, and sugar into a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated before each egg is added. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour and baking powder and add it to the batter, beat until incorporated. Stir in the reserved 9.5 ounces of mexican chocolate and pour into a buttered and floured 9x13 baking pan. Spread the batter evenly and add the streusel topping, spreading evenly, and making sure there are no large pieces.

Bake for about 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla or cinnamon ice cream. YUM.