Mocha Espresso Layer Cake

Posted by -Soap Mom's Kitchen

For Coffee Lovers Only!

Now this is one of those recipes that is passed along from friend to friend. I can't tell you where it originated from, but I got it from a good friend of mine, so that is good enough for me. I had mentioned to her that I had to make a layer cake.  She told me she had one that she wanted to try, and thought it might be a good one for me to do for Have the Cake's, October challenge.

I decided to do a decorative scalloped edging on sides with a large star tip and some chocolate drizzle decorations and a little sifted cocoa. It is one of my favorite ways to decorate a cake. It is very forgiving if you are one of those people who can't seem to get a smooth cake. I fit the bill on that one! It is quite impressive and would make a wonderful Birthday Cake for a friend.

The cake base is a yellow, sour cream cake, drenched in sweet, espresso coffee syrup, mascarpone cheese and a whole egg, butter cream filling with mascarpone cheese, more coffee and chocolate. This is a sophisticated cake and meant for an adult pallet. I have to say it reminds me of cakes I had in Europe, and I am sure that is where it originated from. Very Italian indeed!

A wonderful ending for an Italian dinner party. 

This cake must be served at Room Temperature to really enjoy the full flavors of the coffee syrup and real buttercream frosting. Before serving, let it sit out for about 4 hours at room temperature. Tasted better the next Day!

Recipe: 2  ( 6 inch cake rounds) sliced into 4 layers total

1 1/2 cups unsalted room temperature butter

1 cup sugar
3 eggs room temperature

1/2 cup sour cream room temperature

1/4 cup mascarpone cheese room temperature

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

pinch salt

1 vanilla bean split and seeded

Cream the butter with the sugar until fluffy, add room temperature eggs and beat, add mascarpone cheese, vanilla seeds and continue to beat until eggs are very well creamed and incorporated. Add room temperature sour cream and continue to beat. Sift flour with salt and baking powder and add to batter. Beat until incorporated. Butter and flour 2 (6 inch )cake pans. The recipe says to bake for 35 minutes, I had to bake for 45 minutes. Do the toothpick test to determine doneness.

You can see all the vanilla seeds in the batter, YUM!

Syrup
1 cup strong espresso
1/2 cup sugar
3 T. Kahlua

Bring coffee, sugar and Kahlua to a quick boil to dissolve sugar and remove from heat.

Second Crumb coating!

Piped with an oversize star tip and pastry bag.

Butter Cream Frosting

3 whole eggs room temperature

1/2 cup water

2 cups sugar

5 sticks softened unsalted butter
1 cup powder sugar
1/4 cup melted semi sweet chocolate
1 T. instant espresso dissolved in 2 tsp water
2 T. Kahlua

Bring sugar and water to a boil in sauce pot and wash down sides of sauce pot with pastry brush and water to retard crystallization of sugar. Whip eggs in stand mixer until lighter in color. Continue to beat while sugar water is boiling. Bring to soft stage using a candy thermometer. When the sugar is just right slowly pour into the eggs being whipped with the mixer on. Please be careful, you can get burned. You must pay attention. No children should be in the area at this time. After all the sugar water is incorporated into egg mixture, you must continue to beat for about 15 minutes until the egg sugar mixture is completely cool. Add soften butter, melted chocolate, dissolved instant espresso coffee and Kahlua. You can stabilize this butter cream by adding 1 cup powder sugar. Whip until incorporated.

For the Filling take 1 1/2 cups Butter Cream add 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese to filling and beat until incorporated with whisk.

Assembly: Yes, this is a time consuming cake to make. Cut each layer into 2 layers. Drench each layer with Coffee syrup, add cheese butter cream on each layer. Do a crumb coat and refrigerate for one hour. Continue frosting another layer of butter cream around the cake. Refrigerate for another hour. Do your piping, doing one column at a time of star tip decoration. Sift cocoa and add chocolate decorations!

A nice finale' for a dinner party!