I have been baking this very chocolate cake recipe for years because it’s always perfect. Yes, there’s coffee mixed into the batter. Even if you say you hate coffee– have no fear! You can’t taste the coffee, I promise. The coffee enhances the flavor of the chocolate. The cake batter also has buttermilk and a little oil, which ensures you will have a tender and uber moist cake. As for the frosting, I modified my “Whipped Vanilla Frosting” by adding some espresso powder. The combination of mocha buttercream and the rich chocolate cake was insanely good. Any leftover slices (if there are any) freezes beautifully. When we get a craving for cake, a slice will thaw in about 30 minutes. What a treat!
Another Super Bowl has come and gone. Our gathering was very small. Just my husband (born and raised in Kansas City), me and a friend. I made my traditional chili and guacamole. So, what to make for dessert?
I decided to bake a cake. My husband was surprised at my announcement. Yes, a cake! I decided to bake a cake in a 9×13 cake pan, so I wouldn’t have to fuss around with frosting a layer cake. I had recently posted a recipe for a White Snack Cake. This time I wanted to bake a chocolate cake. I have been baking this chocolate cake recipe for many years. This recipes doesn’t require adding melted chocolate. Tempering chocolate is an art I haven’t perfect, yet. This recipe uses cocoa powder, and I always have that in my pantry. Perfect. In less than an hour, the cake was cooling. Easy peasy.
As for the frosting, I’ve had a hankering for a mocha frosting. I decided to make the Whipped Vanilla Buttercream frosting and to modify it a bit by adding some Espresso Powder.
The frosting was creamy and dreamy– and we are coffee lovers in our home. If you hate coffee, you can make the frosting sans espresso powder. This chocolate cake recipe is so moist… so tender… so flavorful, that you can add most any frosting to it (but, please, no canned frosting!).
This cake was ready to go in no time at all. Frosting a sheet cake is so simple to do. Just plop some frosting on, grab an off-set spatula and go to town.
TASTING NOTES: This chocolate cake recipe is guaranteed to be a big hit for your guests. The only coffee flavor in this recipe comes from the frosting. The chocolate cake is rich with a deep flavor of chocolate. I sent our guest home with several slices, because it’s just the two of us nowadays. I ended up freezing individual leftover slices. So, when we get a craving for chocolate cake– or have unexpected company– the slices will thaw out in about 30 minutes and will taste as fresh and good as the day I baked it.
Unfortunately, my husband’s home team didn’t win. Chocolate is always a good salve, don’t you think?
The Ultimate Chocolate Mocha Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour I use King Arthur Flour unbleached flour
- 2 cups sugar
- ¾ cups unsweetened cocoa
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup black coffee cooled (I used a dark roast coffee. You can’t taste the coffee, as it only enhances the flavor of the chocolate
- 1 cup buttermilk or 1 Tbsp lemon juice with milk to equal 1 cup; or 1 Tbsp vinegar with milk to equal 1 cup
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil or canola oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the whipped buttercream frosting
- 1 cup butter softened 2 sticks or 226g
- 2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
- 32 oz confectioners sugar sifted; very important!
- 2 tablespoons whole milk add more in small amounts, to increase to a creamy consistency
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 tsp espresso powder
Instructions
For the cake:
- Prepare 2 9-inch cake pans (I always line mine with parchment paper and then use a non-stick baking spray with flour.NOTE: I used a 9×13 cake pan for this recipe.
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, & salt in a large bowl or in bowl of stand mixer.
- Add eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil, & vanilla.
- Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. (Batter will be thin.)
- Divide evenly into sheet cake pan (this cake also works in 9" cake pans or cupcakes).
- Bake for 20 minutes (for cupcake for 27 minutes ) at 350°F or until toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes.
- Cool completely and frost.
For the frosting:
- Beat butter in bowl of stand mixer with whisk attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. (about 3 minutes)
- Add vanilla extract. Taste and adjust for more extract, depending on what you like.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add in confectioners sugar , espresso powder, milk, and salt; frequently scrape sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Once incorporated, whip frosting for at least 3 minutes on medium high to high– up to 7 minutes)
- If frosting is too thick to spread, gradually beat in additional milk.
- Store in refrigerator up to 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.
Oh my goodness, this was one of my favorite flavor combinations when I was a kid. It was such a treat to have the mocha icing because coffee was a no-no for us kids. And a chocolate cake like this with either this or peppermint frosting would have been my birthday request cake every year. (My 8th birthday we had a cupcake decorating contest with three different icings: mocha, peppermint, and vanilla, and I put all three on my cupcake!) Need to make this soon!
I posted this chocolate cake recipe, with a peppermint candy frosting. Wow, was that good! This chocolate cake recipe has never failed me–and I hope you enjoy it, too.