Chocolate Mocha Cake

This Chocolate Mocha Cake features a moist chocolate cake topped with a pourable frosting. The chocolate and coffee flavors come together to create an amazing dessert!

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I had some trouble figuring out the best name for this recipe. It’s a moist chocolate cake made with coffee topped with a chocolate and coffee frosting. My initial thought was ‘Chocolate Coffee Cake.’ However, that sounds more like a coffee cake with chocolate – a very different recipe! (If you’re looking for a fantastic coffee cake recipe, this one is better than most bakery versions.)

Ok, so Chocolate Coffee Cake was out. What about ‘Chocolate Cake made with Coffee with a Chocolate Coffee Frosting?’ Say what? That might be an accurate description of the recipe, but it’s too long and confusing. In the end, I settled on Chocolate Mocha Cake. Yes, I know mocha technically means both chocolate and coffee, but I felt like this sounded the best while still describing the flavors in the cake.

Chocolate Mocha Cake

No matter what you call it, I call this cake AMAZING. Seriously. It’s one of my favorite chocolate desserts I’ve made in a long, long time….and I make a lot of chocolate desserts.

Coffee is a common ingredient in chocolate cakes. The bitterness from the coffee keeps the chocolate from becoming too sweet. The result is a chocolate cake with an added layer of richness and more complex flavor. And depending on how much coffee you add, you often can’t even tell the cake includes coffee. It’s just a rich, delicious chocolate cake.

I wanted to take that coffee vibe a little further here. I wanted a cake with both strong chocolate and strong coffee flavors. I wanted this Chocolate Mocha Cake.

Chocolate Cake with Coffee

The cake portion of this recipe is one I’ve made at least 100 times. I’m not kidding. This chocolate cake recipe is from my mom’s recipe box, and it made an appearance at every major holiday in our house. It’s a great cake. It relies on oil rather than butter, so it’s very easy to make. It’s moist, flavorful and chocolatey. Basically it’s everything you want a chocolate cake to be.

Well, I took that cake and played with the ingredients a bit. I reduced the buttermilk slightly and increased the coffee a bit. The original version always called for coffee…I just added more. On a side note, if you bake a lot, then I highly recommend powdered buttermilk. It’s an easy way to make sure you always have buttermilk on hand for baking recipes.

The coffee-fied version of this cake has a very slight coffee flavor. I don’t find the taste to be too strong, but it’s there if you look for it. Either way, it’s a fantastic cake!

Mocha Frosting

The frosting on the other hand? It’s a chocolate coffee combination that will slap you in the face! If you love coffee and chocolate together, then this frosting is for you! It’s creamy and smooth. It’s thick but still pourable. It has strong chocolate flavor and strong coffee flavor. I could’ve eaten this frosting with a spoon.

Together, this cake covered with that frosting turned into something magical. This is the kind of cake that’ll become your signature recipe. It’s the kind of cake you want to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and 4th meal. One bite, and you’ll know exactly what I mean!

Storing Leftovers

Leftover slices of this Chocolate Mocha Cake should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. I suggest refrigerating the leftovers because of the sour cream and half-and-half in the frosting. In actuality, the sugar in the frosting probably acts as a preservative…but why risk it? Just put the leftovers in the refrigerator and then pull ’em out ~30 minutes before serving so that it comes back to room temperature.

The cake itself freezes well. Just let it cool completely and then wrap in foil. Place the cake in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 4 months. Let the cake thaw at room temperature before adding the frosting. (Note: The frosting doesn’t freeze well. I recommend making and adding the frosting before serving.)

If you love mocha flavor, then this cake has your name all over it! It’s delicious, and I know it will be making multiple appearances over the years in our house. Happy baking!

Did you bake this Chocolate Mocha Cake recipe at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog) – I’d love to see your version!

Chocolate Mocha Cake

This Chocolate Mocha Cake features a moist chocolate cake topped with a pourable frosting. The chocolate and coffee flavors come together to create an amazing dessert!

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Resting Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 2 hours hours 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 16 servings

Calories: 498kcal

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Ingredients

For the Chocolate Cake

• 1¼ cups strongly brewed coffee or espresso
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2¼ cups granulated sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 3 large eggs
• 1⅓ cups buttermilk
• 1 cup + 2 Tbsp vegetable oil or canola oil
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• 2½ cups all-purpose flour

For the Mocha Frosting

• 4 oz. semisweet chocolate chopped
• ½ cup unsalted butter melted
• 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• ⅓ cup sour cream room temperature
• 2½ Tbsp strongly brewed coffee or espresso room temperature
• 3 Tbsp half-and-half or heavy cream

Instructions

For the Chocolate Cake

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Grease and flour (or spray with nonstick cooking spray) a 12-cup Bundt pan; set cake pan aside.
• Using a small saucepan, add coffee and cocoa powder; stir until well combined.
• Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove from heat and let cool.
• Meanwhile, using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add sugar, salt, baking soda and eggs; mix on low speed until well combined.
• Add buttermilk, oil and vanilla extract; mix on low speed until well combined.
• Add flour; mix on low speed until well combined.
• Finally, add the cooled coffee/cocoa mixture; mix on low speed until well combined.
• Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out mostly clean.
• Let cake cool in pan for 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

For the Mocha Frosting

• Using a double boiler (or a heatproof bowl set over a gently simmering pot of water), add semisweet chocolate. Heat, stirring occasionally, until chocolate has completely melted.
• Using a large bowl, whisk together the melted chocolate and melted butter.
• Add half of the confectioner’s sugar; stir until well combined.
• Add remaining confectioner’s sugar and sour cream; stir until well combined.
• Add coffee and half-and-half; stir until well combined.
• Pour frosting on top of cooled cake. Let frosting set (~1 hour) before slicing and serving.

Looking for more chocolate coffee dessert recipes? Check out these other favorites, too: