My grandma swore by adding a pinch of cayenne to chocolate cake

She said it would 'wake up the flavor' but I was sure it would ruin a birthday cake for my friend in Austin. I tried it anyway last month, using just an eighth of a teaspoon in a three-layer cake. Everyone loved it and couldn't figure out the secret ingredient! Has anyone else tried a weird spice trick that actually worked?

3 comments

3 Comments

milarodriguez1mo ago

My mom always put a tiny bit of black pepper in her strawberry jam. It sounds crazy, but it just makes the berry flavor pop without tasting spicy at all. I use maybe a quarter teaspoon for a whole batch.

robins831mo ago

My aunt does the black pepper thing too, just like @milarodriguez said. She puts it in peach pie filling. It's wild how a tiny bit of something spicy just makes the sweet stuff taste more like itself. I read a cookbook once that said a dash of chili powder in hot cocoa is the same idea. It doesn't make it hot, just deeper.

wood.eric1mo ago

Okay, the "deeper" thing is exactly it. I tried the chili powder in hot cocoa once because a food guy on TV said to. My wife looked at me like I was trying to poison the family. It was one tiny pinch, but she still brings it up every winter. "You gonna put dirt in the hot chocolate again?