Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

Coffee Black Cocoa Cake

Say hello to the ultimate rich chocolate indulgence: Coffee Black Cocoa Cake. This moist, tight-crumbed, deeply chocolatey cake is complemented by silky and creamy coffee swiss meringue buttercream. The combination is a coffee-lover’s heaven!

  • Yield: 1 8-inch round cake 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale

For the black cocoa cake:

  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup neutral oil
  • 3 eggs, room temp
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup black cocoa powder, sifted
  • 1/2 cup dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 cup whole fat buttermilk, room temp
  • 1 cup hot water
  • 1/2 tsp espresso powder

For the coffee swiss meringue buttercream:

  • 6 egg whites
  • 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temp
  • 3 tbsp instant coffee
  • 3 tbsp hot water
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Make your cake layers. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and prepare 2 8-inch round pans with grease and/or parchment.
  2. In a large mixing bowl fitted with a stand mixer, combine oil and sugar on medium for a minute or two. Add eggs one at a time, beating on medium. Add vanilla. Beat this mixture together on medium-high for 5 minutes until lightened, fluffy, and shiny.
  3. In a small bowl, combine espresso powder and hot water. Stir until the espresso powder dissolves. Set aside.
  4. In a separate mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sifted cocoa powders, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Alternating between this dry ingredient mix and the buttermilk, reduce the mixer to low and add ingredients until the cake batter just comes together. The order will be 1/3 dry, 1/2 buttermilk, 1/3 dry, 1/2 buttermilk, 1/3 dry. Once combined, very slowly stream in the espresso powder/water mixture and combine on low until incorporated. The batter will be thin.
  5. Pour batter evenly in your two layer cake pans. Bake at 325 for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow the cake layers to cool completely to room temp in their pans on a wire cooling rack.

 

  1. Make your coffee SMBC. In a medium mixing bowl, combine egg whites and granulated sugar. Place this bowl on top of a medium saucepan filled with 2 inches of water to create a double-boiler (water should not be touching the bottom of the bowl).
  2. Heat egg white/sugar mixture over medium heat until the mixture becomes hot and opaque, about 5-7 minutes. Once the mixture appears to thicken and turn cloudy, pour into a heatproof mixing bowl attached to a stand mixer.  Using the whisk attachment, immediately whip the egg white mixture on medium-high until it becomes white, shiny, fluffy, and forms stiff peaks, about 5-10 minutes. Continue whisking on medium-high until the mixing bowl is cool to the touch.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix together warm water and instant coffee granules until granules dissolve completely. Set aside to cool to room temp.
  4. Once the egg white and sugar meringue in your mixing bowl is room temperature, add your room-temp butter one tablespoon at a time with the mixer going. This should take 5-10 minutes to add all the butter. Towards the end, you should notice the mixture thicken and begin to take on a more frosting-like consistency. 
  5. Once all the butter is incorporated, add vanilla and salt. Whisk on medium-high until combined. Now slooooowly add your water and instant coffee mixture, one tsp at a time, with the mixer going. At the end, the coffee mixture should be incorporated into your swiss meringue and it will turn a light brown color.
  6. Use this buttercream immediately, or store in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days.
  7. Assemble your layer cake with a thick layer of coffee SMBC in between the layers. I like to make this cake a naked cake using a bench scraper to smooth the sides of the frosting to a very thin layer. Enjoy!

Notes

  • This recipe will yield 2 8-inch round cake layers, or 2 6-inch round cake layers + 6 cupcakes. Cupcakes can be cooked for 20 minutes at 325 degrees F.
  • If you plan to do piping to decorate your cake, you will want to make an extra 1/2 SMBC recipe.
  • Regular dutch-process cocoa powder can be substituted for black cocoa for a rich chocolate cake.
  • Cake layers alone can be stored at room temp, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap for 1 week. They can also be frozen tightly wrapped for up to 1 month.
  • Cake is stable at room temp for several hours, but should be refrigerated overnight. Allow the cake to come back to room temp before enjoying.
  • Author: Caroline Crockett
  • Category: cakes, dessert

Keywords: black cocoa, dark chocolate, coffee buttercream, mocha cake