Our Moist and Rich Chocolate Mocha Cake is a dream for all coffee lovers. It’s a delight that combines the sweet and enchanting flavor of chocolate with the lush taste of coffee.
This chocolate mocha cake recipe offers three layers of creamy goodness. This homemade chocolate mocha cake carries a beautiful aroma of coffee along with a generous layer of frosting made of a remarkable mocha buttercream.
If you like this excellent mocha cake recipe, you might also like our dark chocolate pudding. I promise you will not be disappointed by its irresistible taste.
Now let’s get back to the cake at hand, and talk about everything you need to know.
Why This Chocolate Mocha Cake is so Irresistible!
Where do I even start, there are so many things that I absolutely love about this recipe. I’ll try to keep it short for you:
Ease of Preparation:
This chocolate cake recipe is surprisingly easy to make. It uses simple layering techniques and easy-to-find ingredients. You will find making this amazing mocha cake a breeze.
Moist and Soft:
This recipe gives you an incredibly soft and fluffy cake. You will never get enough of this wonderful delight. It gives an enchanting lightness along with a mouth-watering taste.
Espresso:
This chocolate mocha cake is not like your regular coffee cake. Every bite of this dessert is filled with the bold flavors of espresso that go hand in hand with its chocolatey richness.
The mocha frosting brings a beautiful blend of flavors to the already delicious chocolate cake.
Ingredients for a Perfect Chocolate Mocha Cake
Here are some things that you should know about the ingredients used in this excellent recipe.
Let’s start with the oil. It is best to use vegetable oil. This makes the cake moist and soft.
Then there is sour cream. This ingredient also helps in keeping the cake moist. If you don’t have sour cream, you can use plain Greek yogurt. You won’t notice any difference.
Cocoa powder is an important part of this recipe. The best advice I can give you is to use natural cocoa powder and if you can find dark chocolate powder, even better.
The final ingredient I would like to tell you about is the Espresso powder. In this recipe, this ingredient plays the most essential role in both the cake and the frosting. It brings an otherworldly flavor to the cake.
Choose the Right Coffee
Freshly brewed espresso gives a moist and fresh edge to your mocha cake. It adds a strong taste that leaves you asking for more. Without it, this recipe is incomplete.
However, if you can’t get any espresso, Instant coffee also works. But be sure to make a slightly stronger blend for a nicely pronounced flavor.
Also, I find that it saves a lot of trouble if you mix the wet ingredients really well before adding the hot coffee.
In baking, coffee is not like just any other ingredient. It is very special. When paired with chocolate, it intensifies the flavor and makes the dessert pop. It creates a fudgy texture that does not taste like too much coffee.
Decorating Your Chocolate Mocha Cake
Now let’s see what we can do to make your mocha cake even more special.
For this, the recipe offers a simple yet wonderful suggestion. You can sprinkle dark chocolate shavings to create an amazing-looking cake for yourself.
But if you want to try something different, try adding a drizzle of chocolate ganache for an extra touch of chocolate.
And if you wish for a different frosting. Feel free to experiment to make a cake that suits your taste perfectly. We use this frosting because we feel it sits best with the chocolate & coffee fusion in the recipe.
So, what are you waiting for? Take a bite of this incredible Chocolate Mocha Cake and discover the beauty of chocolate and coffee. And if you like it, take a look at our Dark Chocolate Pudding Recipe.
Chocolate Mocha Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 ½ cups 285g granulated sugar
- ½ cup 118 ml vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tbsp 15 ml pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup 118 ml sour cream, at room temperature
- 2 cups 280g all-purpose flour, sifted
- ½ cup 40 g cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 tablespoon 5g instant espresso powder (optional)
- 2 ½ teaspoons 9 g baking powder
- ½ teaspoon 2 g baking soda
- 1 teaspoon 5 g salt
- 1 ¼ cup 296 ml hot brewed coffee
For the Frosting:
- 3 tbsp 45ml heavy whipping cream, divided
- 2 ½ tablespoons 38g instant espresso powder, divided
- 2 cups 459g cold unsalted Butter
- 8 cups 1041g powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons 10ml pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 – 6 ounces 113-170g dark chocolate, chopped (optional)
Instructions
The Cake:
Step 1:
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Prepare three 8” round baking pans by lining the bottom with butter paper and greasing the sides.
Step 2:
- Mix sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Beat this mixture until everything is smoothly blended. The batter should turn lighter in color as well.
- Then add the sour cream and continue beating so that it is incorporated in the batter.
Step 3:
- Take another bowl, and sift the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt) into it. Mix them well and then add half of these into the sour cream batter.
- Then add half of the brewed coffee, and beat at a low speed until the dry ingredients are mixed into the batter. After that add the rest of the dry ingredients and the remaining coffee. Continue beating at a low speed until all ingredients are blended together smoothly.
- Use a spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl and stir the batter to ensure that everything is incorporated.
Step 4:
- Divide this batter evenly into the three prepared pans, Bake at 350 °F for 20 or so minutes. Check if the cake is done by inserting a toothpick into its center, if it comes out clean; you are good to go.
- Remove the pans from the oven and set aside to cool.
The Frosting
Step 5:
- Microwave 2 tablespoons of whipping cream for 30 seconds and then dissolve a tablespoon of instant espresso into it. Place this mixture in the freezer. Make sure that it is chilled before adding it to the frosting.
- Cut the cold butter into small pieces (about the size of a tablespoon) and put them into a bowl. Whip this butter for 5 or 7 minutes. Make sure all of the butter is of the same consistency by scraping down the sides of the bowl. In the end, the butter should be smooth and should spread easily.
Step 6:
- Add 3 cups of powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla extract into a mixing bowl and beat at a medium speed until well combined. Continue beating for another minute or two.
- Then add 3 more cups of powdered sugar into this mixture. Next, add the whipping cream and espresso mixture along with the remaining espresso powder. Beat on a low speed until the dry sugar has folded into the batter.
- Then add the remaining 2 cups of powdered sugar along with a tablespoon of heavy whipping cream. Beat until all ingredients are well incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high, and continue beating for a couple of minutes.
Step 7:
- You will have to use the frosting immediately but you can also store it in the refrigerator for later.
- Place a dollop of frosting onto a cake board, and gently place the bottom layer of cake on top. Use a piping bag to pipe the first layer of frosting, and move in a spiral starting from the edge of the layer to the center. Spread it evenly and place the second layer of cake on top of it.
Step 8:
- Add the remaining frosting and place the third layer. (It is best to invert the top layer). Fill in any gaps between the layers with frosting. Use a spatula to remove any excess frosting. Use a large open round tip to pipe the remaining frosting along the outside edge of the cake.
- Smooth the edges with a spatula. Save the leftover frosting to pipe the rosettes on top of the cake. Chop the dark chocolate into thin flakes and gently sprinkle them over the cake.
- And finally, your cake is ready to serve or store.
