Yummy Chocolate Expresso Cake with Mocha Latte Frosting
Calling all choco-holics! We know you because the crew here at Inspiration Bakery and Mixes is part of your posse!Founder Debbie and her sister, Cathy, love dark chocolate while plenty of their family members love milk chocolate. So, the two sisters invented this Yummy Chocolate Expresso Cake with Mocha Latte Frosting to be crowd-pleaser. Their motto: "A piece of chocolate (cake) a day has to be good for you!"This Yummy Chocolate Expresso Cake with Mocha Latte Frosting uses our Delicious Chocolate Cake Mix and can be made dairy-free and vegan. And you can make it ahead of any special event and freeze it to thaw and serve later. You can also bake in some flavor zip by adding mint chocolate chips.A gentle warning: you're going to find this recipe is quite rich. So, take a small piece to start with...or not!)
Equipment
- Oven
- Stand Mixer (with paddle and wire whisk attachments)
- Dry Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Liquid Measuring Cups
- Wire Whisk
- Sifter
- Spatula
- 8" or 9" Cake Pans (2 or 3, depending on the number of cake layers you want)
- Spray Oil (non-stick)
- Pastry Knife
- Wire Rack
- Parchment Paper
- Mixing Bowl (1, medium)
- Plastic Cling Wrap
Ingredients
Chocolate Expresso Cake
- 1 Pouch Inspiration Bakery and Mixes Delicious Chocolate Cake Mix
- 2 Tablespoons Expresso Powder
- 1/4 Cup Butter or Margarine (softened) or Oil
- 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 3 Eggs (large)
- 1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 1/4 Cup Half and Half or Milk of Your Choice (not water)
Egg-Free Option for Cake
- Flaxseed Meal (enough for 4 eggs)
Mint Chocolate Chip Option for Cake
- 1/4 Cup Mini Mint Chocolate Chips
Mocha Latte Frosting (With Dairy)
- 3 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream
- 3/4 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 3/4 + Cup Powdered Sugar
- 3 Teaspoons Expresso Powder
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
Mocha Latte Frosting (Dairy-Free)
- 1 12-Ounce Dairy-free Frozen Whipped Topping (with no vanilla if available and vegan option, too)
- 3/4 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 3/4 + Cup Powdered Sugar
- 3 Teaspoons Expresso Powder
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract (omit if the whipped topping already has vanilla added)
Instructions
Chocolate Expresso Cake
- Preheat your oven to 350° F
- Grease your two 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray oil (or, if you don't have non-stick oil, oil the pans and then dust with tapioca flour). [Note: although the cake layers will be thinner, this cake can be made with three layers by adding a third cake pan]
- Using your stand mixer, cream the vanilla extract with either the butter, margarine, or oil
- Add half and half (or milk of your choice), eggs (or flaxseed meal option), and apple cider vinegar. Blend on low for about 1 minute until well-mixed. If you use butter, expect the mixture to be a little chunky
- Add the expresso powder to the Inspiration Bakery and Mixes Delicious Chocolate Cake Mix and whisk together
- Add the dry mixture into the wet ingredients and beat on low until the ingredients are moistened. Scrape the bowl. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high for 1-2 minutes until well-blended. Then, if you are using the mint mini chocolate chips, stir them in by hand until well-blended
- Pour the cake batter into your prepared cake pans
- Bake 20-25 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the center of your cakes. The toothpick should come out fairly clean when the cakes are well-baked
- Remove the pans from your oven and cool for 10 minutes on your wire rack. Take the cakes out of the pans and place them on parchment paper spread over the wire rack. Allow to cool completely before frosting
Mocha Latte Frosting (With Dairy)
- Take your stand mixer bowl and put it in your freezer with the wire whisk attachment for 30 minutes
- While the bowl and whisk are cooling, mix the dry ingredients together with your hand-held wire whisk. Then take your sifter and sift the mixture to remove any lumps. Set aside
- Remove the stand mixer bowl and attachments from the freezer
- Put the heavy whipping cream in the stand mixer bowl and blend on medium, and then high, until the cream forms stiff peaks. Add the vanilla and mix it in until well-blended, about 20 seconds
- With your mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the whipped cream mixture until well- blended
- Put one of the cake layers on a cake plate. Using about 1/3 of the topping (or 1/4 if you are building a 3-layer cake), spread the Mocha Latte Frosting over the top of the layer with your pastry knife, making sure some of the frosting sticks out over the cake edges (to aid in frosting the sides later)
- Place the second layer on top of the first and, again spread about 1/3 (or 1/4 for 3-layer) of the frosting on the top. Use what remains of the frosting to coat the outside of the cake
- Put your Yummy Chocolate Expresso Cake with Mocha Latte Frosting into your refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving. Once you have sliced and served the cake, cover any remaining with plastic cling wrap so it won't dry out and put it back in the refrigerator. You can also freeze the remaining cake whole or by the slice in plastic cling wrap or in airtight storage containers
Mocha Latte Frosting (Dairy-Free)
- Open the dairy-free frozen topping and turn it out into a chilled bowl
- Stir in the dry ingredients with a wire whisk until well-blended
- If the dairy-free Mocha Latte Frosting is too soft to spread on the cake, refreeze the mixture until it stiffens again
- Put one of the cake layers on a cake plate. Using about 1/3 of the topping (or 1/4 if you are building a 3-layer cake), spread the dairy-free Mocha Latte Frosting over the top of the layer with your pastry knife, making sure some of the frosting sticks out over the cake edges (to aid in frosting the sides later)
- Place the second layer on top of the first and, again spread about 1/3 (or 1/4 for 3-layer) of the frosting on the top. Use what remains of the frosting to coat the outside of the cake
- Put your dairy-free Yummy Chocolate Expresso Cake with Mocha Latte Frosting into your refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving. Once you have sliced and served the cake, cover any remaining cake with plastic cling wrap, or put in airtight storage containers, and freeze it whole or by the slice
