- 1 box Duncan Hines Triple Chocolate Decadent Cake Mix
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon, separated
- 1/4 tsp. plus 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1 container Duncan Hines Creamy Home-Style Classic Chocolate Frosting
Special Tools:
- Pastry bag (optional)
- Preheat oven to 350. Prepare cake mix as directed. You will have your cake batter in one bowl and filling in a second bowl.
- Add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper to cake batter and mix well.
- Spoon cake batter into prepared cupcake liners and pan. Fill cupcake tins no more than half full. Spoon 1 teaspoon of filling on top of the batter in the tins. Cover filling with a tablespoon of batter. Your tins should now be 2/3 full.
- Bake cupcakes as directed and cool completely.
- Prepare frosting by adding 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper to each container of frosting that you use. Mix completely and frost cupcakes. For a more decorative look, utilize a frosting bag to frost cupcakes.
Mixing in Unique Flavors
It's always fun to throw in your own personal creative flair when you're baking with Duncan Hines. To customize cupcakes: add cinnamon and cayenne pepper into chocolate cupcake batter and frosting for a Mexican Cinnamon Chili Cupcake. For an Asian flavor, substitute sesame oil for vegetable oil in your cake mix and add powdered wasabi and ground ginger to your frosting -- you'll have a Wasabi Ginger Cupcake! To enhance Lemon Cupcakes, cut out a cone-shaped piece from the center of your cupcake and fill it with lemon curd, then frost with lemon cheesecake frosting.
What do you love most about the Mexican Chocolate Chili Cupcake recipe?
I made a Mexican chili chocolate cake last night and it was dynamite! The spice level was good. You eat it and you don't get that it's spicy... but then all of a sudden there's a little kick afterwards. I had a lot of compliments on it and people asking me for the recipe! I don't like to give out my recipes because then they find out I'm not really baking from scratch.
Do you have a tip for creating a perfectly marbled look?
Well, I use something we're all born with, and that's a finger. If I have a white cake mix in the pan and I'm using chocolate to marble with, I will take the pan or the bowl and just zigzag the chocolate over the vanilla. Then I take my finger and I zigzag in the opposite direction.
You said you made a cake, not cupcakes. What type of pan did you use?
I just did it in a Bundt pan because it's usually easier to cut and serve. I can get more tiny pieces out of that than I can out of a layer cake, as well.
