An elegant, coffee-packed mocha cake with soft, moist, almost fudgy chocolate cake layers, perfectly coffee-flavored mocha buttercream, and a dark chocolate ganache drip that ties it all together — a real crowd-pleaser for any gathering.
Dark chocolate (for filling ganache)Chips or chopped½ cup
Heavy cream (for filling ganache)¼ cups
Dark chocolate (for top ganache)Chips or chopped chocolate bar90 g
Heavy cream (for top ganache)¼ cups
Chocolate-covered espresso beansChopped, used between layers and as garnish~12-16est.
Steps
▶ Tap a timecode to jump to roughly that moment in the video.
1
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and prep three 9-inch cake pans with baking spray or butter and flour, lining the bottoms with parchment rounds.
2
In a large bowl, whisk the cocoa powder with hot coffee until smooth and lump-free, then set aside to cool for about 10 minutes to let the cocoa bloom.
3
In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until combined.
4
Once the cocoa-coffee mixture has cooled, whisk in the vegetable oil, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla extract until well combined.
5
Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk just until combined — avoid overmixing to prevent a dense, gummy cake.
6
Divide the batter evenly among the three prepared pans, using a scale to check for equal amounts if desired. Wrapping the pans with damp cake strips helps the layers bake flat and stay soft throughout.
7
Bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes, rotating the pans after 20 minutes if baking on different oven racks.
8
For the mocha buttercream, sift together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and instant espresso powder to remove any lumps.
9
Beat the room-temperature butter with the paddle attachment on medium speed for about 5 minutes until pale and fluffy.
10
Add the sifted sugar mixture one cup at a time, mixing on low speed until fully incorporated, scraping down the bowl as needed.
11
Mix in the salt, heavy cream, and vanilla extract, beating until the buttercream is smooth and silky.
12
Make two batches of ganache — one for the filling and one for the topping — by pouring warmed cream over chopped dark chocolate, letting it sit briefly, then whisking until smooth.
13
Assemble the cake by spreading a cup of buttercream on the first layer, drizzling with ganache and sprinkling chopped chocolate-covered espresso beans, then repeating for the second layer.
14
Add the final cake layer, apply a thin crumb coat of buttercream all over, then refrigerate for 10–20 minutes to set.
15
Smooth another layer of buttercream on the sides, top the cake with the ganache, creating drips down the sides, and chill again for 10–20 minutes to set.
16
Whip the remaining buttercream briefly, pipe dollops on top using a star tip, and finish with a chocolate-covered espresso bean on each dollop.
17
Chill the finished cake for at least 20 minutes to set before slicing and serving.
PrimedTableBETA
