Moist Mocha Cake

A slice of moist Mocha Cake

I had to make something with chocolate this week as I’ve been making a lot of fruit cakes lately. I chose this one which is a fabulously Moist Mocha Cake and one of my Mom’s favourite. It also seems to be the one I choose to make most often for get-togethers or parties after finding it on allrecipes.com.

The coffee cinnamon icing has delicate subtle flavor which adds an extra zing to the cake.

My husband drinks percolator coffee so I just used what he had already made. If you don’t have a percolator, I guess you could try dissolving granulated coffee in hot water. If you try this, let me know how it turns out.

I baked the cake in a 10 inch spring form pan. I had to cook it for 50 minutes before it was ready. When I checked it at 35 minutes the center was still completely raw. This time the center sunk after I took it out of the oven. I am not sure why – but it happens once in a while.

 

Moist Mocha Cake

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup strong brewed coffee
• 1 cup buttermilk (or ½ cup milk and ½ cup yoghurt is what I used this time)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/4 cup of Kirsch (cherry liqueur)

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans or one 9×13 inch pan or one 10 inch round pan.
2. In large bowl combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center.
3. Add eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed (I just mixed it by hand). Batter will be thin. Pour into prepared pans.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 to 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and finish cooling on a wire rack. Fill and frost as desired.

I have also tried using plain milk instead of butter milk and it turned out fine. It did, however, take about 60 minutes to cook.

Coffee cinamon icing

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar (or till the texture is right)
• 1/3 cup milk

 

Directions

1. In a small bowl, dissolve instant coffee in a teaspoon of hot water. Stir in cinnamon and salt. In a large bowl, beat the butter until smooth, then stir in spice mixture and vanilla. Alternately beat in confectioners’ sugar and milk until desired consistency is achieved.

This is enough icing for 2 cakes. So if you just make 1 cake it would be better to make half of it. I thought the icing was too liquid so I added an extra ½ cup of icing sugar.

This Moist Mocha Cake is always a hit. Hope you try it and enjoy it.