Chocolate Cake with Szechuan Pepper and Basil

The exotic flavour combination of fresh basil and aromatic Szechuan pepper simply sounds great and cocoa actually harmonises perfectly with the spicy pepper and fresh basil. If desired, frost the cake with ganache icing for an even more luscious finish or simply dust with some cocoa powder.
Xylitol is a natural sugar alcohol that looks and tastes like sugar but has fewer (or none) calories and doesn't raise blood sugar levels. But feel free to use the regular white sugar. Szechuan pepper is not a pepper at all: it is called this because its berries resemble black peppercorns.

Chocolate Cake with Szechuan Pepper and Basil

adapted from Dolci, Tartes und zauberhafte Kuchen backen by Melissa Fortis

250 g White spelt flour (German #630)
1 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Baking soda
200 g Butter at room temperature
200 g Xylitol (or white sugar)
50 g Cocoa powder
4 Medium eggs, at room-temperature
100 ml Cream or whole milk
6-8 Large, fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
1/2 tsp Ground Szechuan pepper

Preheat the oven to 160C/320F. Grease a small 20-22cm loaf tin and line with baking paper.
Mix the flour, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl.
In a mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and xylitol or sugar until fluffy. Then beat in the cocoa powder on a low speed. Mix in the eggs one by one, then stir in half of the flour mixture, cream or milk and finally the remaining flour mixture. Stir in the chopped basil leaves and Szechuan pepper into the batter.
Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf tin and bake in the middle of hot oven for 60-70 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Remove the chocolate cake from the oven, leave to cool in the tin on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Dust with some cocoa powder if desired.

22 comments:

eileeninmd 5/6/24 12:54: Hello,
I love most things made with chocolate, yum!
Thanks for sharing! Take care, have a great day!
Tom 5/6/24 13:09: ...it's a work of art!
DEZMOND 5/6/24 14:12: That is a bit too weird combo for me, but it looks so wonderfully moist and compact!
Lola Martínez 5/6/24 14:31: Que maravilla de bizcocho, menudo corte tiene. Y esa combinación de ingredientes tan rica, aportan sabor y aroma, me comía una buena ración.
Brian's Home Blog 5/6/24 15:11: Yummy chocolate, I want some!
Cooking Julia 5/6/24 16:15: What a generous cake with so many flavors, a slice would make my day...
Anne in the kitchen 5/6/24 16:19: I have always loved a little heat with my chocolate but never thought of adding basil. I am definitely going to try this soon.
Norma2 5/6/24 16:26: Angie, xylitol is an alcohol sugar obtained from birch or corn bark that has fewer calories, glycemic load, and health effects than sugar. The same amount of xylitol can be used as sugar. It is also used to sweeten candies and chewing gum, avoiding the risk of contracting cavities between 30% and 85%.
Pam 5/6/24 18:52: So clever to use Szechuan pepper! Looks tasty.
Christine 5/6/24 18:57: Interesting
Bill 5/6/24 19:38: The chocolate part sounds good.
Judee 5/6/24 22:29: Such and interesting and unusual recipe. I would love to taste it.
roentare 6/6/24 00:19: I wonder how that would taste like having 3 quite different ingredients
My name is Erika. 6/6/24 02:36: I've never tried pepper with chocolate cake, but it does add a lot of taste to gingerbread. Now the basil, I'm really curious about that. It's a really interesting combo.
Citu 6/6/24 02:52: Nunca he hecho pastel de chocolate con pimienta. Gracias por la receta. Te mando un beso.
Raymund | angsarap.net 6/6/24 03:04: The combination of fresh basil and Szechuan pepper in a chocolate cake sounds incredibly unique and intriguing! The balance of spicy and aromatic flavors with the rich chocolate must create an unforgettable taste experience. Yum!
babYpose 6/6/24 03:54: Love the luscious ganache, sounds good with basil, used to mint.. Interesting and yummy
Margaret D 6/6/24 07:36: Hope it tastes as nice as it looks.
Emma Loabez 6/6/24 09:32: Hello Angie. I'm a fan of chocolate, so I think your suggestion is fantastic. The touch of spice goes great with chocolate.
Happy Thursday. 😘
David M. Gascoigne, 6/6/24 13:18: Seems like a really interesting combination of ingredients.
Lowcarb team member 6/6/24 23:14: A different combination of tastes ... and I'm sure it tastes delicious :)

All the best Jan
sherry 9/6/24 02:07: I love this idea of combining what we think of as savoury items to a sweet dish. I have a big jar of szechuan peppers to use up, so I might have to make this cake soon!