Chocolate Mochi Cake with Thai Chili Ganache

Bring on the sweet heat.

Cake friends,

Happy lovers’ eve to all who celebrate. Ali here, with a special Valentine’s day recipe of my own to share with you all. I often use bouncy, gelatinous mochi cake as a base for my baking pop-ups, and this one is topped with a glossy, spicy Thai chili chocolate ganache that cuts the sweetness and melts right on the tongue.

Keep a glass of milk nearby, or share the heat by kissing someone sweet. Best shared in low light with one plate, two forks. Just be sure to brush your teeth before moving onto any other activities…

Find the recipe below, plus what else we’re sinking our teeth into this weekend.

Photo Credit: Ali Domrongchai

Chocolate Mochi Cake with a Spicy Thai Chili Ganache

By Ali Domrongchai

For the mochi cake

• Cooking spray

• 8-inch cake pan

• 6 tablespoons salted butter, melted

• 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar

• 2 large eggs at room temperature

• ¾ cups evaporated milk

• 1 cup full-fat coconut milk

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

• ½ cup natural cocoa powder

• 1.5 cups sweet rice flour (such as Koda Farms Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour)

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Thai chili ganache

• 3 Thai chili peppers

• ½ cup heavy cream

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Make the chocolate mochi cake:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Microwave the butter in a large microwave-safe bowl until fully melted. Add the granulated sugar to the butter and mix well to combine. Add the eggs, whisking thoroughly until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the evaporated milk, coconut milk, and vanilla extract until fully incorporated.

In a separate bowl, combine the sweet rice flour, baking powder, natural cocoa powder, and salt, whisking to remove any major clumps. Add half of the dry ingredients to the liquid mixture, stirring continuously until the batter is well combined and then go in with the second half, mixing until the batter is largely uniform (a small lump or two is plenty acceptable).

Prepare an 8-inch (or 9-inch) cake pan by coating it with cooking spray and lining the bottom with parchment paper. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 60 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Make the Thai chili chocolate ganache:

Slice the Thai chili peppers lengthwise (remove the seeds if you want to dial down the heat) and place them in a small saucepan with the heavy cream. Heat over medium heat until the cream just begins to bubble, then immediately remove from heat and allow the chilis to steep for a minute.

Place the semisweet chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Remove the chili peppers from the saucepan and pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips. Let sit for a minute, and then whisk gently until the ganache is smooth and glossy.

Pour the ganache over the cooled mochi cake, spreading evenly with the back of a spoon or offset spatula. Allow the ganache to set before serving, and garnish with additional Thai chili peppers if desired.

Make this recipe? Tag us on Instagram: @alidomrongchai and @cake_zine

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Join: Ali is teaching a Valentine’s Day-themed luk chup (Thai marzipan) class at The Mud studio in Brooklyn this Sunday. Get tickets here.

Enter: Tanya and Forsyth are raffling off all 25 framed original paintings from their upcoming book Will This Make You Happy with all proceeds going to One Love Community Fridge. Enter here.

Bake: Chewy, tender nian gao cookies from Amy Ho to celebrate Lunar New Year next Tuesday.

Decorate: A chic mini pavlova assembly idea from Sandy Truong An Tran Ho.

Submit: New York Magazine’s very cute revamped classifieds ad section is a great way to find a cutie—or look for your own soulmate. Share your own witty entry here (yes, you can be outside NYC).

Buy: Fiery Recipes to Abolish ICE, a new cooking zine that features 10 spicy recipes from 10 different food writers. Net proceeds will be donated to Minnesota-based organizations fighting ICE’s impact on local communities.

Join: Pastry chef Paola Velez, co-founder of the global bake sale Bakers Against Racism, is organizing a “coordinated month of free pastry (and food) distributions led by bakers and chefs in their own communities as an act of mutual aid” through the end of March. More info here.