Mocha Cake

Mocha Cake is a coffee and chocolate flavored cake topped with Chocolate Glaze or melted ganache. This a great cake for a party or to ring in an occasion. Everyone loves it.

Choose from our endless options of coffee based treats like coffee wine cake, Greek Frappe, Coffee Poke Cake.

With my interest in baking, especially cakes it was fated to come across very elaborate fondant, non-fondant, stencil cakes, royal icing borders, etc. When I initially started baking, even I thought of pursuing cake decoration. But it was something I found myself with no patience for. I am honest to admit that such detailed cakes are beyond my zone of interest as well as capabilities. They require attention to detail, patience and talent – I lack in all three. There, I said it!! Great respect to bakers who do that, especially home bakers!

I am more interested in flavors, mixing different seasonal produce including veggies and fruits to make them into delectable and sometimes healthy baked goods. I do my share of decoration but limited to coarse results and basic techniques.

All those of you who follow me regularly would know that I have zeroed in and perfected Chocolate & White Cake base recipes for frosted cakes. What I usually do is take these 2 recipes and play around with flavors.

That’s what I did for this Mocha Cake. I used the chocolate cake recipe and soaked it in 1/3 cup of coffee syrup. Filled the layers with whipped coffee cream and did a rustic crumb coat on top of the layers. Finally I used warm chocolate glaze (Ganache) to create drip pattern on the cake.

And I must say, the cake was one of the best I have made in a long time. It was perfectly moist, rich, full of coffee and light without too much cream or chocolate at the same time.

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Mocha Cake

Mocha Cake is a coffee and chocolate flavored cake topped with Chocolate Glaze or melted ganache. This a great cake for a party or to ring in an occasion. Everyone loves it.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr

Assembling Time30 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

Course: Baking, Dessert, Filling & Frosting

Cuisine: Vegetarian

Keyword: Bakery, chocolate, Coffee, cupcake, eggless

Servings: 8 inch layered cake

Ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• ½ cup +1 tbsp sugar granulated
• ⅛ cup +1 tsp cocoa powder unsweetened
• ¼ tsp baking soda heaped
• ¼ tsp salt
• ⅔ cup hot water
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp instant coffee granules
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp whiskey optional
• 60 ml sugar syrup for soaking

Instructions

• Pre-heat oven to 180 °C. Line the bottom of one 8 inch pan.
• Whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda & salt in a large mixing bowl. Do not use a mixer as it will not aerate the dry flours.
• Combine water, oil, vinegar, instant coffee & vanilla in a separate bowl.
• Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk them till they are just combined. Do not overmix. A smooth batter is not necessary, few lumps in it are fine. If you are adding any liquor, then add it now.
• Pour batter into the prepared pan. Gently tap the pan so air bubbles are removed and batter spreads evenly.
• Bake for 20-25 mins in the preheated oven. After about 18-20 minutes, insert a tooth pick towards the side of the pan. If it comes out clean, then cake is done.
• Cool the cake in the pan on the rack for 15 minutes, then invert it on the rack. Leave it upside down to cool, it helps in flattening any dome shape. I baked three layers by baking this recipe three times separately. And then froze the layers wrapped in cling film. Continue with assembling and frosting the cake.

Notes

1. Old fashioned chocolate cake is perfect as a moist base for frosting and layering cakes.
2. Using coffee is optional.

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How To Make Chocolate Ganache

Chocolate Ganache is a very versatile and basic preparation. By learning how to make chocolate ganache, the sky is the limit. Use it as filling, frosting or even as set mousse or in cheesecakes and tarts.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time5 minutes mins

Total Time10 minutes mins

Course: Dessert, Filling & Frosting, Sauce

Cuisine: Vegetarian

Keyword: Bakery, chocolate, eggless

Servings: 220 ml

Ingredients

• 250 gram dark chocolate finely chopped
• 200 ml heavy whipping cream
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter softened

Instructions

• Put chopped chocolate in a large heat proof bowl & keep aside.
• In a saucepan, heat cream & butter on medium heat. As soon as it starts to boil, remove from flame & pour over chopped chocolate. Allow it to stand without mixing for few mins (about 3-4 mins). Do not stir as we do not want to incorporate air in Ganache.
• Using a wooden spoon/ rubber spatula or whisk, gently stir by beginning in the center & gently moving out to the edge of the bowl. When the chocolate is fully melted & mixture is smooth, add any liqueur or liquid flavorings (all should be at room temp.)
• Allow it to cool down completely & set properly. Before storing, cover with a piece of plastic wrap pressed on the top of the ganache so a film doesn’t form.It can be stored at room temp in a cool corner for 2 days & freeze upto 3 months.

Notes

1. The consistency of ganache for topping and filling is different. For filling, you need thick consistency (which you get by leaving the ganache at room temperature for few hours) and for pouring as topping, you need the ganache to be pouring consistency. You can re-heat/ warm up the ganache to adjust the consistency.
2. The proportion between cream and chocolate will vary based on the usage. If you wish to use ganache for filling up a cake and thick glaze then the proportion is 1:1, equal parts chocolate and equal parts cream. For making chocolate truffles, use 2:1 ratio, with 2 parts chocolate and 1 part cream and for soft icing and pourable glaze the proportion of cream is higher i.e. 1:2, 1 part chocolate and 2 parts cream.