Mocha Cake Recipe & Chocolate Frosting

Cute Chocolate Cupcakes Decorated in Chocolate Icing

May 13, 2009 Donna Diegel

Quick & easy cupcakes with chocolate frosting, and mocha layer cake with dairy-free & egg-free cake recipes. Kid-friendly cupcake recipes they can decorate themselves!

Mocha cupcakes with chocolate frosting are so easy to make, even a child can assemble the ingredients, bake and decorate! They'll need a little help assembling the 9" inch double layer mocha cake, but the square cake should be a piece-of-cake!

Mocha Cake & Cupcake Recipe

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
6 Tablespoons Dutch cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups brown sugar, packed
2/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
2 teaspoons instant coffee
2 Tablespoons vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups room temperature water

How To Make Mocha Cake and Mocha Cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter or spray one 9 X 13 - inch baking pan, or prepare 24-30 cupcake tins with paper liners. If using two 9 X 2 - inch round cake pans, spray or butter the pans, and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Set aside.
Sift flour, corn starch, cocoa, baking soda and salt into a medium size bowl. Add brown sugar and blend, breaking up lumps as needed and set aside.
With mixer on medium speed, whisk canola oil, instant coffee, vinegar, vanilla and water together.
Turn down mixer and add half the dry ingredients to the liquid ingredients, alternating again, and scraping as needed between additions. Mix until batter is nice and smooth with no lumps.
Pour the batter into the prepared pans, or divide evenly between the cupcake tins.
Bake round cake layers for 25 - 30 minutes, 9 X 13 - pan for 45 - 60 minutes, or until a pick comes out clean. Bake cupcakes for approximately 20 - 25 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched.
Cool 9 X 13 - inch cake and cupcakes completely on wire racks before frosting or freezing. Cool round layers 10 minutes before loosening, then remove them from the pans, and cool completely.
The cake, layers and cupcakes can be double wrapped in plastic and frozen for later use.

Chocolate Frosting Recipe

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, or margarine for dairy-free frosting
1 cup white or brown sugar
4 Tablespoons Dutch cocoa
4 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
3 cups confectioners' or icing sugar

How To Make Chocolate Frosting

Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the brown sugar, and bring to a boil.
Turn the heat to low, add cocoa and continue boiling for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add milk very slowly, being careful not to splatter. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from burner and cool to lukewarm.
Using a stand mixer at medium speed, slowly add confectioners' sugar 1 cup at a time, beating after each addition. Beat until frosting reaches desired spreading and/or piping consistency. Add more milk a little at a time if the frosting is too thick. Add more confectioners' sugar if the frosting is too thin.

How To Assemble & Decorate a 9-inch Round Mocha Cake

Spread a bit of chocolate frosting on a flat, round, decorative serving plate. Place one round cake layer on top of the frosting and press lightly.
Spread a thick coat of frosting over this layer and place the second layer on top, pressing down lightly to seal.
Spoon approximately 1 cup of frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a medium size star tip and set aside.
Frost the sides and top of cake using an off-set spatula, making sure to seal all edges evenly.
Using the pastry bag, place 12 evenly spaced rosettes on the top of the cake.
Refrigerate any leftovers. Cake and cupcakes can be double wrapped in heavy duty plastic wrap and frozen.

How To Decorate Cupcakes

Spread the frosting over the tops of the cupcakes as desired, maybe with a slight twist of the wrist to form a swirl.
Or, place the chocolate frosting in a large pastry bag fitted with a large star or rosette tip.
Starting close to the cupcake, firmly squeeze the bag and frosting through the tip in a round circular motion, finally swirling the frosting into a peak.

Mocha Cake Variations:

Add instant coffee to the frosting, and decorate for an all mocha flavor.
Omit the coffee and add white and/or dark chocolate chips to the batter.
Try adding a 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon and, 1/4 teaspoon chili powder to the mix for a Mexican chocolate cake!

Looking for more awesome cake recipes? Try the extra moist Red Velvet Cake or spicy Carrot Cake, both with cream cheese frosting. The snow-white Coconut Cake is equally beautiful topped with toasted coconut.

Makes one 9 X 13 - inch cake, one thick 9-inch double layer round cake, or 24 - 30 cupcakes depending on the size. The recipes for Mocha Cake and Chocolate Frosting can be halved to make and decorate one 8 X 8 - inch square cake or 12 cupcakes.

The copyright of the article Mocha Cake Recipe & Chocolate Frosting in Baking & Desserts is owned by Donna Diegel. Permission to republish Mocha Cake Recipe & Chocolate Frosting in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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