Mocha Cake

Coffee is a flavour that goes so in cake as well as with chocolate, which is where the inspiration for this recipe came from. In recent times, both girls have developed a taste for coffee and so it had to feature in one of my cakes!

This cake is perfect for those who like their coffee on the subtle side, or perhaps, like my girls, are still on their starter steps into the joyful world of coffee! The sponge is predominately flavoured with cocoa, but has an underlying coffee profile that enhances the chocolate flavour and also links with the more intense icing.

This sponge is enriched with yoghurt and custard powder to give a nice bouncy texture that keeps extremely well for a few days, but also doesn’t crumble like lots of vegan sponges. As always, if you can’t find safe custard powder, swap for cornflour and a dash of vanilla. I’ve also added a handful of dark chocolate chips to add to the mocha feeling – I mean if you’re going for a mocha flavour profile, you definitely need both chocolate and coffee in abundance!

The icing is deeply delicious – buttercream fully flavoured with coffee (plus a dash of caramel if you have some syrup handy) to give ultimate caramel latte vibes. This is all topped off with a drizzle of dark chocolate, swirled into the buttercream for both flavour and appearance. I think the dark and pale marbled top is as pretty as a picture and certainly makes this a cake not worth skipping.

I’ve been enjoying this cake all week – as a snack at elevenses with a cup of coffee for extra punch (it really has been one of those weeks when coffee is needed to get through the working days!) or as a teatime treat with a fresh herbal tea; it’s worked superbly in both scenarios. How would you serve your mocha cake?

Mocha Loaf Cake

dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, peanut-free, sesame-free, soya-free, vegetarian and vegan

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Ingredients

  

• 175 g self-raising flour
• 10 g cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp custard powder
• ¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 110 g caster sugar
• 125 ml dairy-free milk
• 20 ml freshly brewed strong coffee
• 1 tbsp dairy-free yoghurt
• 50 g dairy-free margarine or butter melted
• 30 g chocolate chips optional
• For the icing:
• 60 g dairy-free butter at room temperature
• 175 g icing sugar
• 1 tbsp strong coffee
• ½ tsp caramel syrup optional
• 15 g dairy-free dark-chocolate

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade and line a 2lb loaf tin
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the self-raising flour, cocoa powder, custard powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
• In another bowl/jug, mix together the milk, coffee, yoghurt and melted margarine or butter.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips, if using.
• Pour into the lined loaf tin, level off and then bake for 25-30 minutes, until a knife comes out clean.
• Remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack.
• Meanwhile, make the icing: whisk together the butter, icing sugar, coffee and caramel syrup (if using) until light and fluffy.
• Generously spread over the cooled cake.
• Melt the chocolate and drizzle over the icing, swirling in with a skewer to give a pretty marbled effect.

Notes

This cake keep well for 3-4 days if loosely covered.

Keyword coffee cake, mocha