Abuelita chocolate cake

This cake is made using "Abuelita chocolate", hence the name. Abuelita is a brand of chocolate tablets, or powder mix in individual packets, made by Nestle and used to make Mexican-style hot chocolate. The name is an affectionate Spanish word for "grandma" (literally translated as "little grandmother" or "granny"). Growing up in the Western part of the United States this hot chocolate could be found just about anywhere, from the local grocery store to gastations (usually ready made). After many talks about this chocolate with friends I made sure to add it to my US haul list, since the weather here in Saudi Arabia is anywhere from 110* PLUS, I decided to skip out on the hot chocolate and incorporate it to some of my very own recipes. This is my take on a Mexican chocolate cake. I must say I've made this cake twice in the past few weeks, the original recipe uses 1/2 almond meal and 1/2 flour, I've made the cake using 100% flour and the results were just as good. The cake itself doesn't rise as much as a regular cake but it's extremely moist and perfect for a layered cake.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups almond meal
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
140 grams "Abuelita chocolate" chopped
3 large eggs (US extra large)
2 cups milk
1 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
40 grams "Abuelita chocolate, finely grated
pinch of salt
Chocolate ganache recipe follows

Preheat your oven to 350* F. Butter two round cake pans and dust with flour. Set aside.
Heat the milk to an low boiling point, blend the milk in your blender with the chopped chocolate and set aside to cool. In a large bowl sift the flour, baking agents, cocoa powder, grated chocolate, and salt. Set aside. In a seperate bowl whisk the the eggs and sugar until light and creamy, slowly stream in the oil and whisk to combine. Bring 1 cup of the abuelita hot chocolate back to a low boil and set aside. Gently mix the dry ingredients alternately with the cooled hot chocolate into the egg and sugar mixture, starting and ending with the flour. Stir in the hot "hot chocolate" and pour the thin batter into your prepared pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for approximately 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire rack and cool completely before frosting.


Chocolate ganache

1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder (optional)

Directions
Place your chocolate chips in a medium size glass or stainless steel bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream over medium heat just until it comes to the boil. Add to your chocolate and allow it to sit for 5 minutes. Stir with a whisk until smooth.