Chocolate mocha cake is a must for anyone who loves coffee and chocolate together. Soft chocolate cake layers, creamy espresso filling, and lots of mocha buttercream make this cake absolutely incredible!

I like to pretend that coffee-flavored baked goods make suitable breakfasts. Anyone else? Because starting my day without coffee is kind of unthinkable.

Soft chocolate cake layers, espresso cream filling, and mocha buttercream make this chocolate mocha cake the hands-down best breakfast ever :).

It also makes a pretty good dessert too (or even dinner, if that’s how you roll).

Why you’ll love this mocha cake:

• You don’t need a stand mixer to make it
• You can break the work up over a couple of days if you want
• It freezes well so you can always have a stash of cake on hand!

Notes:

• If your cocoa powder is lumpy, sift it before mixing it with the dry ingredients.
• Don’t over-bake your cake because it has a tendency to dry out.
• If you like doctored cake mixes, you can totally sub your favorite doctored chocolate cake here as long as it makes three 8-inch layers.
• Be sure to cool your cake layers fully before filling and frosting them.
• If you want to make your cake layers a day ahead, cool them to room temp, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store them at room temperature overnight.

How to make the espresso filling

• Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth
• With mixer on medium, beat in heavy cream and beat until it holds stiff peaks
• Beat in espresso powder and vanilla

Then just pop your filling in the fridge while you make the frosting!

Notes:

• You can use low-fat cream cheese for the filling if you prefer but don’t use nonfat.
• You can use instant coffee rather than instant espresso, but your filling won’t have as strong a coffee flavor.
• “Stiff peaks,” as specified in the recipe, means that when you pull the beaters out of the filling mixture, the filling should hold its shape rather than fold in on itself.

How to make the frosting

• Beat room temperature butter until creamy
• Add powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and a few other ingredients
• Mix until very smooth and creamy

Notes:

• Your butter needs to be at room temperature so it mixes properly with the other ingredients and also so your frosting gets nice and fluffy.
• You can add more or less espresso powder depending on how deep a coffee flavor you want in your frosting.
• You can make the frosting a day before you use it. Store it, covered, in the fridge overnight. When you’re ready to use it, beat with an electric mixer set to high until it’s spreadable. (You might have to add a tiny bit of milk or cream but I don’t usually find that necessary.)

How to assemble your cake

• Pipe a circle of frosting around the edge of one cake layer
• Spread half of the filling inside
• Top with a second cake layer and repeat the process of piping and filling the circle, then top with the last layer
• Frost your cake with the remaining frosting

Then you’ll pop the cake in the fridge to chill overnight if you’re adding the ganache drip, or just decorate and serve if you’re not.

Note:

I reserved some frosting to pipe on top of my cake. If you want to do that, cover the leftover frosting with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, beat it with an electric mixer on high speed until it’s pipe-able.

How to make the ganache drip

First, I’ll say that the drip is an optional way to adorn your cake—you can totally skip this step and your cake will still be delicious.

• Pour warm heavy cream over chopped chocolate and let it sit for a few minutes
• Whisk until smooth
• Transfer the ganache to a squeeze bottle or large plastic bag with one corner snipped off and squeeze a circle around the top of the cake, applying pressure in some points to create drips

Then spread the rest of the ganache inside the circle chill to set the ganache, and serve! (Or decorate with more frosting if you saved a little like I suggested above.)

How to store your cake

Uneaten chocolate mocha cake can be stored in the fridge, covered, for up to three days or in the freezer, tightly wrapped, for up to 3 months.

I like to freeze slices of cake individually. I freeze the slices on a baking sheet for half an hour to set the filling and frosting, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and foil.

I just eat slices of cake frozen, but you can zap them in the microwave (unwrapped) for a minute or so to defrost them.

Helpful tools for making the cake

• These are the squeeze bottles I use for the ganache
• I use Medaglia d’Oro instant espresso powder
• This Ateco 849 tip is what I used for the frosting on top of the cake
• A cake turntable is really helpful for filling and frosting cakes because you can move the cake around so easily
• An offset spatula is also super helpful when you’re frosting cakes!

A few more recipes you might enjoy: Coffee Cupcakes Death by Chocolate Cake Tuxedo Cake Flourless Brownies

Did you make this mocha cake? Awesome! Let me know what you think with a comment and a rating below. Then post a pic on IG-tag @theitsybitsykitchen so I can see your delicious creations!

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