Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, combine the boiling water with the cocoa powder and the red cayenne pepper. Whisk until smooth and set aside to cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 3 8” cake pans with baking spray and parchment paper rounds on the bottom.
3. In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Then add the eggs one at a time until they are well mixed in.
4. In a separate bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients.
5. Add the cooled chocolate mixture to the batter. Then add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix well until it is smooth.
6. Divide the batter between the three pans evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
7. While the cakes are baking, make the frosting.
8. In a medium saucepan, heat the heavy cream and the jalapeno over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Add the chocolate to the pot and remove it from the heat and set aside.
9. After 5 minutes, whisk the cream and chocolate until it is very smooth. Use an immersion blender on the mixture to completely puree the jalapeno chunks into the frosting.
10. Set it aside to cool and thicken- this will take about 1 hour. (You can speed this process up by sticking it in the fridge)
11. When the cake is completely cooled, place one of the cake layers on a cake plate and use ¼ of the frosting and spread it as a filling over the first layer. Repeat with a second layer and another ¼ of the frosting.
12. Add the last layer and then use the remaining frosting to frost the whole outside of the cake.
13. Use sprinkles to decorate if desired. Slice and serve. Enjoy!