This recipe's based on the All Occasion Downey Yellow Butter Cake from page 39 of Rose Beranbaum's Cake Bible, though I don't think that, strictly speaking, she ought to be held responsible for this...
9 Oz All Purpose flour (about two cups, via scoop 'n sweep)
1/2c Corn meal
4 Oz cheddar cheese, the sharper the better
12T butter, softened
3/4C sugar
1T + 1.5t Baking powder
1t Ancho chile powder
1/2t Chipotle chile powder
1/4t Cayenne pepper
6 egg yolks
1/2c sour cream
2/3c milk
Heat the oven to 350, and line two 9" pans with baking parchment.
Grate the cheddar cheese, coarsely is fine. Toss the grated cheese into a baggie and put it into the freezer until it's pretty much frozen.
Put the dry ingredients into a food processor. Toss in the frozen grated cheeze and whiz it up until the cheese is pulverized such that it doesn't look like there's any cheese in there at all. (Freezing it first helps keep the cheese from melting and getting gooey before you atomize it)
Mix the egg yolks and 1/4c of the sour cream in a bowl.
Dump the dry ingredients into your mixer. Cut the butter into pieces and drop into bowl. Mix on low until the butter's incorporated. Add the milk and the remaining sour cream. Mix on medium for 90 seconds or so to develop some structure. Add the egg and sour cream mix in two or three batches, mixing for about 30 seconds after each addition to incorporate.
When you're done the mix should be normal cake batter thickness. If it's too thick (it might be) add a little milk and mix until it looks right.
Split the cake into the two pans. Bake for 25-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Frost appropriately. For example:
Bacon Frosting (Because bacon makes everything better)
16 Oz cream cheese
1 C sour cream
1T sugar
1/4 t Ancho chile powder
1/8t Chipotle chile powder
1 lb bacon
Brown bacon. (And no, I never thought I'd begin a frosting recipe this way...)
Finely chop the bacon.
Beat the cream cheese a bit until it's mushy. Add the sour cream, spices, and sugar. Beat to incorporate.
Add the bacon and mix until properly incorporated.
Frost cake.
I expect this cake could be done with maple syrup instead of the chile powders if you were so inclined. (I'd use breakfast sausage spices in that case)A mildly unusual cheese cake