This coffee chocolate cake is perfect for anyone that loves coffee and a rich, dense chocolate cake. We've got coffee in the cake, in the simple syrup, in the chocolate frosting, and in the chocolate drip. A simple and easy recipe perfect for the weekend, a festive dinner, or a special celebration cake.
Table of Content
People are often surprised that I don't drink coffee because I make the best coffee cakes, desserts and drinks. How weird is that?
In fact, I never drink coffee, never have. However, I love coffee as a flavor ingredient. And I love coffee in cakes, desserts and ice creams. But, I just can't drink it. Also, one of my favorite ways to deodorize the house is with coffee.
About this cake
Similar to a chocolate mud cake, this is a rich yet slightly dense cake with a chocolatey fudgy texture. Perfect for when you are craving chocolate. I've made two layers and split them into four. But, you can keep it to just two layers for a simpler affair.
And it is also frosted with chocolate fudge frosting. In fact, using good quality chocolate is always the secret to making the best chocolate desserts. I love dark chocolate and I often use a good 70% plus chocolate bars for my chocolate fudge frosting (no baking or cooking chocolate). Of course, you can use other frostings and I have plenty of those for you to choose from here 30 plus buttercream frosting recipes.
Honestly, you must love a dense chocolate mud cake and coffee to appreciate this cake. If not, I highly recommend looking at my other chocolate cake recipes. They are also light and airy.
And, as you can see in the video, the process is very simple and easy. There are three components to this recipe: cake, frosting, and coffee drip. Here is the timeline for this cake.
Timeline for preparing this cake
- Prepare batter - 10 mins
- Bake the cake - 45 mins
- Cool the cake completely - 3 hours or overnight
- Prepare frosting - 15 mins
- Prepare simple syrup - 10 mins
- and prepare chocolate drip - 5 mins
- Assemble the cake:
- Crumb coat - 10 mins
- Chill cake - 15 mins
- Second coat - 10 mins
- Chill cake - 15 mins
- Final drip - 10 mins
- Chill cake - 15 mins
- Pipe swirls - 5 mins
Ingredients and substitutes
- All-purpose flour - Yes, regular plain flour (maida) is all you need for this cake. And do not use any self-raising as those contain more leavening.
- Cocoa powder - I always use the ordinary unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder. You can find this in the regular baking aisle.
- Butter - I prefer to use unsalted butter so I can control the quantity of sugar in my recipe. And yet, if salted butter is all you gave go ahead and use it. Just omit salt in the recipe.
- Buttermilk - You can make buttermilk at home and it takes just five minutes - here's how to make homemade buttermilk in 5 mins.
- Brown sugar - The molasses in the brown sugar contributes to the soft texture in both the light and dark brown sugar.
- Eggs - Always use large size eggs when baking unless specified. The size of eggs varies significantly these days, so as a guide, one large egg weighs between 50 to 60 grams.
- Vanilla - A good quality vanilla will make a huge difference in anything you make. However, premium vanilla can be expensive, which is why I make my own homemade vanilla extract, bean paste or sugar.
- Chocolate - For my frosting, I like to use couverture chocolate. The quality of chocolate you use in your baking will determine the quality of your baked item. Therefore, I highly recommend using chocolate bars that you like to eat, not baking or cooking chocolate.
Step by step instructions
Prepare
- Preheat the oven to 170C / 340 F.
- Grease and line two 7-inch or two 8-inch baking pans with parchment paper.
- Next, combine dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder - and set aside.
For the batter
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Then, add the eggs, one at a time, making sure each is well incorporated.
- Next, add vanilla.
- Then, add the flour mixer, buttermilk, and brewed coffee in three batches.
- And combine well to ensure you have a smooth batter.
Bake cake
- Pour batter into the prepared baking pans.
- Then, bake into a preheated oven for about 30 to 40 minutes until a skewer inserted in the center comes clean.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then invert onto a wire rack and completely before decorating.
Prepare chocolate fudge frosting
- Melt chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl or double boiler – Set aside to cool.
- Next, cream the butter, cream, and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Then, add vanilla and cooled melted chocolate.
- And mix well to combine (if chocolate is not cooled it will seize in the buttercream).
Prepare coffee simple syrup
- Prepare simple syrup and add the coffee powder to it.
- Cool completely before using it.
Prepare chocolate drip
- Melt the white chocolate and cream.
- Then, add the coffee powder and combine well.
- Let cool to pouring consistency.
Assemble
- Once cooled, cut the domes off the cake layers.
- Then, split each cake layer into two horizontally so you have four layers.
- Next, brush each layer with the cooled, simple syrup.
- Place a cake layer on the cake board or cake stand.
- Next, top with a big dollop of frosting - spread evenly.
- Then, top the second cake layer on top followed by more frosting.
- Continue until you have used all four later.
- Place the cake in the fridge if necessary, so the layers hold together.
- Spread the remaining frosting around and top of the cake.
- Use a bench scraper to smooth the sides and off-set spatula to smooth the top (see video).
- Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Place the coffee drip in a piping bag.
- Then, cut the tip of the bag (keep the opening small so you are in control of the drip).
- Then, carefully pour the drip along the sides of the cake.
- Pour all remaining drip on the top of the cake, and
- Next, using an off-set spatula gently guide the chocolate toward the edges creating a drip effect.
- Let cool for at least 15 minutes.
- Next, place any remaining frosting in a piping bag with a star tip.
- Pipe buttercream swirls and top with a mocha chocolate balls.
- Enjoy!
Storage
- Once decorated, the cake does not need to be refrigerated.
- However, it can stay at room temperature for two days or in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Also, once cut, always cover the cut side of the cake with cling/plastic wrap so the cake does not dry out.
More chocolate cakes
- Chocolate chiffon cake
- Death by chocolate cake
- Chocolate Birthday cake
- Devil's food chocolate cake
- See more chocolate cakes or see all layer cakes
Frequently asked questions
If properly stored, this coffee chocolate cake will last for 2 to 3 days at room temperature. And it can also be kept in the fridge for up to 5 or 6 days.
This recipe works best with eggs. But, I do have an eggless chocolate Fudge cake recipe to which you can add coffee and make an eggless coffee chocolate cake.
Espresso is more potent and stronger compared to coffee. Also, take note that we do have quite a bit of coffee in everything from cake, simple syrup to frosting and drip. And yet, yes, if you prefer you can also use espresso.
If you don't want to make a layer cake like this, you can make this into a sheet cake - a 'Chocolate coffee Sheet Cake'.
And you can also pour the batter into a well-greased and dusted bundt pan for a 'Coffee Chocolate Bundt Cake'.
In addition, this recipe can also be baked into 24 beautiful coffee chocolate cupcakes.
There are so many other choices for frosting. Such as:
Swiss or Italian Meringue Buttercream
French or German Buttercream Frosting
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
I have over 30 plus frosting recipes on this blog. And I highly recommend checking them out.
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Printable Recipe
Coffee Chocolate Cake
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Video
Conversions Used
1 lb = 453 grams, 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 stick = 113g, 1 tbsp= 15 ml, 1 tsp= 5 ml,
Ingredients
Cake
- 8 oz (227 g) Butter ((2 sticks) unsalted)
- ½ cup (100 g) White sugar
- ¾ cup (165 g) Dark brown sugar
- 3 Eggs (large)
- ½ cup (50 g) Cocoa powder
- 2 cup (250 g) All-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ cup (60 ml) Buttermilk
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (60 ml) Coffee brewed
Chocolate fudge frosting
- 12 oz (340 g) Butter ((3 sticks) unsalted, room temperature)
- 4 cup (480 g) Powdered sugar
- 7 oz (200 g) Chocolate (melted cooled)
- ¼ cup (60 ml) Whipping cream ((38% fat))
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
Coffee simple syrup (optional)
- ½ cup (0.50 cups) simple syrup
- 1 teaspoon Instant coffee powder
Chocolate drip
- 4 oz (113 g) White chocolate
- ¼ cup (60 ml) Whipping cream (38%)
- 1 teaspoon Coffee powder
Extra
- 8 Mocha chocolate balls (OR)
- 8 Chocolate coated coffee beans
Instructions
Prepare
- Preheat the oven to 170C/340 F.
- Grease and line two 7-inch or two 8-inch baking pans with parchment paper.
- Combine dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder – and set aside.
Batter
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure each is well incorporated.
- Next, add vanilla.
- Add the flour mixer, buttermilk, and brewed coffee in three batches.
- Combine well to ensure you have a smooth batter.
Bake cake
- Pour batter into the prepared baking pans.
- Bake into a preheated oven for about 30 to 40 minutes until a skewer inserted in the center comes clean.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then invert onto a wire rack and completely before decorating.
Chocolate fudge frosting
- Melt chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl or double boiler – Set aside to cool.
- Cream the butter, cream, and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add vanilla and cooled melted chocolate.
- Mix well to combine (if chocolate is not cooled it will seize in the buttercream).
Coffee simple syrup
- Prepare simple syrup and add the coffee powder to it.
- Cool completely before using it.
Chocolate drip
- Melt the white chocolate and cream.
- Add the coffee powder and combine well.
- Let cool to pouring consistency.
Assemble
- Once cooled, cut the domes off the cake layers.
- Split each cake layer into two horizontally so you have four layers.
- Brush each layer with the cooled, simple syrup.
- Place a cake layer on the cake board or cake stand.
- Top with a big dollop of frosting – spread evenly.
- Then, top the second cake layer on top followed by more frosting.
- Continue until you have used all four later.
- Place the cake in the fridge if necessary, so the layers hold together.
- Spread the remaining frosting around and top of the cake.
- Use a bench scraper to smooth the sides and off-set spatula to smooth the top (see video).
- Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Place the coffee drip in a piping bag.
- Cut the tip of the bag (keep the opening small so you are in control of the drip).
- Carefully pour the drip along the sides of the cake.
- Pour all remaining drip on the top of the cake and.
- Using an off-set spatula gently guide the chocolate toward the edges creating a drip effect.
- Let cool for at least 15 minutes.
- Place any remaining frosting in a piping bag with a star tip.
- Pipe buttercream swirls and top with a mocha chocolate balls.
- Enjoy!
Storage
- Once decorated, the cake does not need to be refrigerated.
- It can stay at room temperature for two days or in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Once cut, always cover the cut side of the cake with cling/plastic wrap so the cake does not dry out.
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Riccardo
Week 2 Day 5,Done
Riccardo
Week 2 Day 2,Done
Marcel
Love it, looks great!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Marcel.
Sophie
Wow, coffee with chocolate is my favorite combination. This is really something I would love to try. Thank you.
Veena Azmanov
Thanks, Sophie. I hope you try it
Connie
Omg I'm the same way when it comes to coffee. I rarely drink it and if I do, it's a flavored latte but you would never see me drink a cup of plain coffee. But have it in dessert, chocolate in particular, and it elevates the flavor to a whole new level!
Veena Azmanov
Thanks, connie. I hope you try this one