Mocha Cake

Mocha, also known as caffè mocha, is a beverage made with espresso, chocolate, and steamed milk. This is one of the best flavour combinations for a dessert and here, we show how you can make a luscious, moist mocha-flavoured cake.

For this recipe, we have used the Trung Nguyen Legend G7 Pure Black Instant Coffee, provided to us by one of our partners, S&O (Standard and Origin).  The leading instant coffee brand in Vietnam, Trung Nguyen Legend G7 Pure Black Instant Coffee is high in quality and has a rich, earthy coffee taste. It has no added creamer or sugar, making it a great choice for those who want to enjoy a nice espresso – without a bitter aftertaste – and for getting that pure coffee flavour in different desserts.

Serving Size: 7-8

Ingredients:

For the cake

• 170g flour
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• 2 ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup lukewarm full cream milk
• 2 packets Trung Nguyen Legend G7 Pure Black Instant Coffee (2g each)
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

For the mocha whipped cream

• 1 packet Trung Nguyen Legend G7 Pure Black Instant Coffee (2g)
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1 ½ cup whipping cream
• 2 tbsp chopped chocolate (for topping)

Instructions:

1. To a bowl, sift together 170g flour, ¼ cup cocoa powder, 2 ½ tsp baking powder, and ¼ tsp salt. Mix well and set aside.
2. Then, in a glass, mix ½ cup lukewarm milk and 2 packets Trung Nguyen Legend G7 Pure Black Instant Coffee until fully combined.  Set it aside as well.
3. Into a new bowl, crack 3 eggs and add ½ cup sugar. Using a whisk, beat the eggs and sugar together for around 1 minute or until the eggs are fully mixed with the sugar.
4. Then, add in ½ cup vegetable oil, coffee milk (prepared earlier), and 1 tsp vanilla essence. Continue mixing until fully combined.
5. Next, gradually add the sifted flour mixture to the wet batter in around three batches, mixing gently each time. After the final addition of flour, mix for 1 more minute, until any lumps disappear. Do not overmix the cake batter as this will result in a dense cake.
6. Spread a thin layer of butter on the inside of a 7–8-inch round baking tray and pour in the cake batter. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes. Then, place the tray in the middle rack of the oven. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Once baked, let it cool down to room temperature and chill in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.
7. Now, prepare the mocha whipped cream for icing the cake. For this, first mix together 1/3 cup powdered sugar, 2 tbsp cocoa powder, and 1 packet Trung Nguyen Legend G7 Pure Black Instant Coffee. To prevent lumps in the cream, first sift the powdered sugar before adding it in. Set aside.
8. Then, to a large bowl, add 1 ½ cup whipping cream and whip using a hand-held mixer on medium-low speed until soft peaks form (soft peaks mean that when you take the beater out of the whipping cream, the beater should have peaks that barely hold their shape and flop easily). For us this took 6-7 minutes. Before whipping, make sure that the cream is chilled so that it will whip faster. It is also important to note that the temperature and brand of the cream may affect the time it takes to whip it.
9. Once the whipped cream reaches soft peaks, add the sugar mixture and fold it in using a spatula until semi-combined. Then, continue whipping the cream using the hand-held mixer until you reach stiff peaks, and the cream is a pastel brown in colour (stiff peaks mean that when you lift the beaters from the mixture, the peaks hold their shape). For us this took 30 seconds to 1 minute of whipping. Be careful to not over whip the cream.
10. Take the cake out of the refrigerator and using a knife, trim the uneven edges and extra raised section top to make it straight and even. Then, slice it horizontally to make two cake layers.
11. To assemble, place one layer of the cake on the serving plate/board. Then, spread around 1/3 of the cream on top and evenly smooth it out using your spatula.
12. Place the next cake layer on top of the cream and spread the same amount of cream again on top and smooth it out. You can use the rest of the cream to pipe on top of the cake or spread it around the sides of the cake. We used it to pipe simple dollops on the top.
13. Lastly, sprinkle 2 tbsp chopped chocolate on top of the cake as garnish. This mocha cake is best served chilled.