Chocolate Cake with Mayonaisse

INGREDIENTS:

1 Chocolate cake recipe
1 c Pecan halves (or subsitute
-the nut of your choice)
1/4 c Water
2 tb Sugar
1 tb Dried Habenero powder (use
-your judgment on this!)
1/4 ts Salt

I then added the following to the batter (reserving a dozen for garnishing the top of the iced cake): Over a medium-high heat, stir the water and sugar in a small teflon skillet until the sugar is disolved. Add the nuts, and stir constantly until the water is mostly evaporated (about 3-4 minutes). Add the chile and salt to coat well, and stir constantly until the water is gone. Remove the nuts to a piece of wax paper, separating the pecan halves from each other with a fork if necessary. Let cool, and incorporate them into the cake batter just before pouring it into the pan.

To make the habenero powder, I just put 4 dried habs in the spice grinder, and ground until very fine. Let the grinder settle for a couple of minutes before trying to remove the powder :-) Using finely powdered dried hot peppers of a lesser burn level would be appropriate for the non-maniacal chile-head.

CHILE-HEADS DIGEST V2 #295