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Easy Chocolate Chinese Five Spice Cake Recipe
4.5 from 78 votes

Easy Chocolate Chinese Five Spice Cake Recipe

This chocolate cake incorporates Chinese five spice powder into a moist batter combining flour, baking powder, baking soda, and buttermilk with bittersweet chocolate melted in coffee. Finished with a chocolate ganache made from heavy cream and semi-sweet chocolate chips, the cake offers a blend of warm spices layered with rich chocolate flavor.

Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Additional Time
1 hr 30 mins
Total Time
2 hrs 10 mins
Servings: 12
Calories: 389 kcal
Course: Cake
Cuisine: Chinese

Ingredients

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon Celtic salt or kosher salt
  • 2 tsp Chinese five spice blend The Spice Hunter brand
  • ⅔ cup bittersweet chocolate finely chopped or grated
  • ¼ cup coffee chai tea, or apple cider vinegar (if you don’t have coffee on hand, brewed or espresso
  • ½ cup buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 egg large
  • 1 cup sugar
For The Ganache:
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 12 oz chocolate chips semi-sweet

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, The Spice Hunter Chinese Five Spice Powder and baking soda in a bowl.
  3. In a small bowl, mix the coffee (or chai tea/apple cider vinegar) and diced chocolate.
  4. Stir vigorously until the chocolate has fully melted – don’t leave any lumps of chocolate.
  5. Add vanilla extract and buttermilk to mixture, and blend well.
  6. Set mixture aside.
  7. In a large bowl, beat the egg and sugar in a bowl until light and airy, about 3 minutes.
  8. Add the chocolate mixture and mix well with a large spoon.
  9. Add the flour mixture and stir until fully mixed with no lumps.
  10. Pour mixture into two greased 9-inch round cake pans (I prefer to use cake spray for the easiest release – but you can also line the pan in parchment paper or use silicone cake pans.)
  11. Place cake pans in oven and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  12. Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
  13. Remove cake pans from oven and let cool fully to room temperature.
  14. Remove from cake pans when pans are cool to the touch, let sit on cooling rack at least another hour. Chocolate ganache will melt if cake is still warm.
  15. Begin to make ganache by gathering a medium sized nonstick pan and large bowl.
  16. Heat heavy cream to boiling.
  17. Pour over chocolate chips and let sit for 4-5 minutes – do not stir.
  18. Whisk the mixture until it thickens and becomes a rich, dark chocolate brown.
  19. Pour a small amount of ganache over top of one layer of cake and top with other layer. Let set as ganache cools.
  20. Let ganache cool to room temperature, so it is thick and can be spread instead of poured over cake.
  21. Generously coat cake in ganache, running a flat spatula along the sides and top to make a smooth cake.
  22. Top with chocolate sprinkles and Spice Hunter Cinnamon Sticks, and a very light dusting or five spice powder or cinnamon sugar.
  23. Chill for 2 hours, up to two days before serving.
  24. Cut into slices and serve.

Nutrition Information

Serving 1g Calories 389kcal (19%) Carbohydrates 47g (16%) Protein 5g (10%) Fat 22g (34%) Saturated Fat 13g (65%) Polyunsaturated Fat 7g (41%) Cholesterol 39mg (13%) Sodium 137mg (6%) Fiber 4g (16%) Sugar 33g (66%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 12 Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 389

% Daily Value*

Serving 1g
Calories 389kcal 19%
Carbohydrates 47g 16%
Protein 5g 10%
Fat 22g 34%
Saturated Fat 13g 65%
Polyunsaturated Fat 7g 41%
Cholesterol 39mg 13%
Sodium 137mg 6%
Fiber 4g 16%
Sugar 33g 66%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.