Sweet meets heat

A bit of heat and a lot of sweet make this mango-topped chocolate honey cake a fine choice for celebrating Cinco de Mayo.

Bake the cake in any style Bundt pan you like. A more conventional tube pan also would work. You even could divide the batter between mini Bundt cake pans for individual servings.

After it cools, the cake is topped with an easy coffee glaze made by whisking together instant coffee, vanilla and powdered sugar. You can substitute cooled coffee for the 3 tablespoons of water in the glaze, but you still need to use the instant coffee, which adds considerable flavor.

Once topped with mango, leftovers need to be refrigerated. As an alternative, glaze the entire cake, cut servings from it, then top each serving with mango.

Mexican Chocolate Honey Cake

1/3 cup cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup honey

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

2 eggs

3 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon instant coffee

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Fresh mango, to serve

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a tube or Bundt pan with cooking spray, then sprinkle it with cocoa powder, turning all around to coat the inner surfaces of the pan. Tap out any excess.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, 1/3 cup of cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon, cayenne and salt. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, melt together the honey and butter. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium-high until cooled to room temperature, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating between each.

Adding a third at a time, beat in the dry ingredients, scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted at the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the water, instant coffee and vanilla until the coffee granules are completely dissolved. Whisk in the powdered sugar until smooth. Drizzle the mixture over the cake and serve topped with fresh mango.

Yield: 8 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 520 calories, 25 grams fat (15 grams saturated, 42 percent fat calories), 5 grams protein, 75 grams carbohydrate, 105 milligrams cholesterol, 2 grams dietary fiber.