If you saw this post, then you know that I am cupcake obsessed. So, I find it difficult to say no to entering a cupcake challenge! I've entered The Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge a few times, but it's been quite awhile. When I saw that the challenge was "chocolate with a twist", I was ready to jump back in. I've been cleaning up the Babee Cakes menu a bit by adding, deleting and updating flavors. This cupcake it one of those updates. In it's original version it was called Feelin Hot, Hot, Hot and was a spiced chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream and a red hot on top. It just wasn't quite working for me. It was ok, but something just wasn't quite right. I remembered a brownie recipe I use with similar spices and decided to go that route. The general idea behind the brownies came when the hubs asked (as a joke) for me to bake some brownies with a chopped up Habanero. As it turns out, he said they were actually pretty good! It got me thinking about something I had heard (or seen or read) about the Mayans and chocolate. I hopped on Google and searched Mayans and chocolate. What I learned was that the Maya people enjoyed their chocolate with "spices and peppers", generally as a frothy drink. I never found any specifics on the "spices and peppers", so my interpretation uses cinnamon and cayenne. After a little adjusting to the brownie recipe and new frosting, I give you Oh Mayan Goodness (OMG)!
A cinnamon/cayenne spiced brownie cupcake topped with cinnamon/cayenne spiced chocolate frosting and a red hot. These are soooooooooo good! The cinnamon gives a warm flavor and the cayenne is a slow burn that is not at all in your face spicy. On a side note, I hate my cupcake liners. I ordered them wrong in a quantity of 500. I'm only about half way finished with them...
The winner of February’s Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge will receive prizes from:
- Angela's Images; a selection of handmade crafts
- Bake It Pretty; a $5 electronic gift card
- Beanilla; 3 Indian, 3 Tahitian & 3 Tonga vanilla beans
- Hello Hanna; a pack of Sweet Stands cupcake stands
- Miss Kitty Creations; a handmade cupcake charm of your choice
- Simply Caked; 600 brown greaseproof cupcake liners
- Sweet Cuppin Cakes; a prize pack worth $25
- Tundra Books; a selection 3 very sweet children's books
