Consisting of moist chocolate cake layers infused with an espresso simple syrup and frosted in the most divine salted caramel mocha frosting, this salted caramel mocha cake is truly a spectacular treat!
Mocha on its own is absolutely delicious. I mean, what’s not to love about chocolate and coffee mixed together!?! Now add salted caramel into the mix and you have yourself a flavor combination that is wickedly delicious! I cannot take full credit for this flavor combination in cake form as it was my sister’s suggestion, but I am so happy that I listened to her. As a lover of salted caramel, coffee and chocolate, this salted caramel mocha cake is my dream dessert as each bite is packed with the balanced mix of these flavors. If you share my love of salted caramel and mocha, then I am most certain you will adore this cake as well.
(NOTE: The full recipe with exact measurements is down at the bottom of this post in the recipe card!)
How to Make Salted Caramel Mocha Cake
Chocolate Cake
Key Ingredients
- Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Eggs
- Plain Whole Milk Yogurt – may substitute with sour cream.
- Expresso/Strong Brewed Coffee
- Granulated Sugar
- Neutral Flavored Oil
- Vanilla Extract
To Make Chocolate Cake
- Preheat – oven to 350F(175C). Grease (3) 6” baking pans and line the base of each pan with 6” parchment paper circle cutouts.
- Sift – using a fine mesh sieve, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Alternatively, the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt can be added to a large mixing bowl and whisked to combine.
- Mix – in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or with a hand-held electric mixer, add the oil and sugar. Mix ingredients at medium speed to combine, about 30-60 seconds. Next, mix in the yogurt into oil-sugar mixture.
- Beat – the eggs into wet batter one at a time allowing the initial egg to be fully incorporate before mixing in the next egg. Next, mix in the vanilla extract into wet batter.
- Reduce – mixer speed to low. In an alternating fashion, starting and ending with the flour mixture, mix half of the flour mixture into wet batter, followed by all of the espresso/strong brewed coffee and ending with the remaining flour mixture. Stop mixer and use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and base of mixing bowl. At medium speed, mix chocolate cake batter for an additional 30-60 seconds to ensure you have a smooth cake batter.
- Bake – equally divide batter into prepared baking pans and bake for 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
- Cool – allow chocolate cakes to cool in pans for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely to room temperature.
Espresso Simple Syrup
Key Ingredients
- Espresso/Strong Brewed Coffee
- Granulated Sugar
How To Make Espresso Simple Syrup
- Whisk – in a small saucepan, add and whisk together the espresso/coffee and granulated sugar.
- Boil – under medium heat, bring espresso/coffee-sugar mixture to a boil and allow to cook down until mixture is reduced by half and takes on a slightly thicker consistency, about 6-8 minutes.
- Cool – allow espresso simple syrup to cool to room temperature before using.
Salted Caramel Mocha Buttercream
Key Ingredients
- Confectioners’ (Powdered) Sugar
- Unsalted Butter
- Salted Caramel Sauce – homemade/store-bought
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- Instant Espresso Powder
- Salt
- Vanilla Extract
How To Make Salted Caramel Mocha Buttercream
- Cream – in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or with a hand-held electric mixer, cream the butter and salt at medium high speed until smooth and fluffy in appearance, about 3-4 minutes.
- Mix – add salted caramel sauce into bowl with creamed butter and mix to combine at medium speed, about 1 minute. Stop mixer and with a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides and base of bowl.
- Reduce – mixer speed to low and mix in 4 cups of the confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, and instant expresso powder into creamed butter-caramel mixture. Gradually increase mixer speed back to medium. Once all the dry ingredients have been incorporated into butter-caramel mixture, mix in the vanilla extract into salted caramel mocha buttercream. If buttercream appears to be on the soft side, mix in the remaining confectioners’ sugar 1/2 cup at a time until a thick but spreadable consistency is reached.
- Increase – mixer speed to medium high and mix salted caramel mocha buttercream for an 30-60 seconds. The resulting buttercream should be smooth and fluffy in appearance.
Bringing It All Together – Salted Caramel Mocha Cake
Tools I Used to Make Layered Cakes
- Cake Leveler or Serrated Knife – is used for cutting off the dome tops of baked cakes so that they stack up evenly. I was gifted this cake leveler by my awesome sister but originally used a serrated knife for years.
- Cake Turntable – helps with spreading and smoothing buttercream on layers of cake due to the fact that it rotates making it easier to consistently apply buttercream without having to manually rotate and ice at the same time.
- Offset Spatula – is used for layering buttercream between the layers of cake and applying buttercream to the sides and top of cake.
- Bench Scrapper – is my most valued cake decorating tool as it makes for a perfectly smooth cake. I used this aetco and norpro bench scrapers interchangeably.
- Pastry Bag and Tips – is mostly used for adding buttercream and decorative piping to the top and sides of cake. My go to pastry tips for decorating cakes are Wilton’s 1M, 2D and 6B.
Salted Caramel Mocha Cake Assembly
Required Items
- Cooled Chocolate Cakes
- Salted Caramel Mocha Buttercream
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar – Finely Chopped
- Warmed Heavy Cream – warmed to just hot not boiled
- Coffee Beans – Decorative (Optional)
- Cake Layering Tools – see list above
How To Assemble Salted Caramel Mocha Cake
- Level – remove the domed tops off cooled chocolate cakes with a serrated knife or cake leveler.
- Stack – place a clean surface on top of a turntable i.e. cake stand/cake board and spread a small amount of buttercream onto the center. Place the first chocolate cake layer faced up in the center of prepared surface. Using a pastry brush, coat the cake with some of the expresso simple syrup. Next, spoon 1/2 cup of the salted caramel mocha buttercream onto cake and spread into an even layer using an offset spatula. Repeat layering process once more with second chocolate cake layer and buttercream. Place the final chocolate cake layer faced down on top of the second layer. This will create a flat instead of a domed cake surface once cake is completed frosted.
- Crumb Coat – using an offset spatula, fill in the gaps between cake layers with salted caramel mocha buttercream and smooth out with bench scrapper. Add a small amount of salted caramel mocha buttercream on top layer of cake – just enough to spread into a thin layer with offset spatula (about 2-3 tablespoons of buttercream).
- Refrigerate – place cake in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to an hour to allow crumb coat to firm up before applying final coat of salted caramel mocha buttercream.
- Make – chocolate ganache for filling the center of cake by placing finely chopped chocolate in a small mixing bowl. Pour warmed heavy cream over chopped chocolate and allow to sit untouched for 1 minute before whisking into a smooth mixture. Set chocolate ganache aside to cool and thicken up before using.
- Final Coat – fill a large pastry bag with some of the salted caramel mocha buttercream and cut ½ inch off the tip. Pipe salted caramel mocha buttercream along the sides of cake until it is completely covered. Spoon a good amount buttercream onto the top of cake, about 1/4 cup.
- Smooth – using an offset spatula, spread the buttercream on top of cake into an even layer. This will push some of the buttercream over the edge of the top layer which is fine. Switch to a bench scrapper. With dominant hand, hold bench scrapper at a 45-degree angle against the side of cake and apply light pressure while rotating turntable with non-dominant hand. Repeat action until the sides of the cake is perfectly smooth.
- Refine – some of the buttercream may extend over the edge of the top cake layer. Use an offset spatula, to bring extra buttercream toward center of cake and smooth out while turning turntable with non-dominant hand.
- Fill – a pastry bag fitted with preferred pastry tip (I used a Wilton 6B pastry tip) with remaining salted caramel mocha buttercream.
- Pipe – desired pattern around the top border of the cake.
- Top – the center of piped border with cooled and slightly thickened chocolate
- Add – coffee beans along the lower base of cake (optional) and refrigerate cake until ready to serve.
How to Store Salted Caramel Mocha Cake
- Unfrosted chocolate cakes individually double wrapped in plastic wrap will last up to 3-4 days in the refrigerator and 1-3 months in the freezer. When ready to use frozen chocolate cakes, simply thaw out in the refrigerator overnight.
- Salted caramel mocha buttercream stored in an airtight container will last up to 1 week in the refrigerator and 3 months in the freezer. When ready to use frozen buttercream, simply thaw out in the refrigerator overnight and re-whip to restore fluffy texture before using.
- Sliced assembled salted caramel mocha cake stored in an airtight container will last up to 2-3 days in the refrigerator and 1-2 months in the freezer. When ready to eat, frozen salted caramel mocha cake slices may be thawed overnight in the refrigerator.
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If you make this recipe, please make sure to let me know by tagging me @nourishedendeavors on Instagram or by leaving a comment in the comment section down below so I can find out how this recipe turned out for you! If you have any questions, ask away! I would love to answer your questions! Happy baking!
PrintSalted Caramel Mocha Cake
Consisting of moist chocolate cake layers infused with an espresso simple syrup and frosted in the most divine salted caramel mocha frosting, this salted caramel mocha cake is truly a spectacular treat!
- Prep Time: 2 Hours 30 Minutes
- Cook Time: 40 Minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 8 Slices 1x
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 2 Cups (250 g) Unbleached All-Purpose Flour, Spooned and Leveled
- 1/2 Cup (40 g) Unsweetened Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 2 Large Eggs, Room Temperature
- 1 1/3 Cups (272 g) Granulated Sugar
- 1 Cup (8 oz) Plain Whole Milk Yogurt, Room Temperature
- 1 Cup (240 ml) Espresso/Strong Brewed Coffee, Room Temperature
- 1/2 Cup (120 ml) Neutral Flavored Oil i.e. Grapeseed/Vegetable Oil
- 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
Espresso Simple Syrup
- 1 Cup (240 ml) Espresso/Strong Brewed Coffee
- 1/4 Cup (50 g) Granulated Sugar
Salted Caramel Mocha Buttercream
- 4–5 Cups (480–600 g) Confectioners’ (Powdered) Sugar, Sifted
- 2 Cups (16 oz/4 Sticks) Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature, Slightly Firm to Touch
- 1/2 Cup (144 g) Salted Caramel Sauce, Homemade/Store-Bought, Room Temperature
- 2 Tablespoons (6 g) Instant Espresso Powder, Finely Ground
- 2 Tablespoons (10 g) Unsweetened Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder
- 1–2 Teaspoons Salt, Adjust To Taste
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Salted Caramel Mocha Cake Assembly
- Cooled Chocolate Cakes
- Salted Caramel Mocha Buttercream
- 2 Ounces (57 g) Semi-Sweet Chocolate, Finely Chopped
- 1/4 Cup (60 ml) Heavy Cream, Warmed to Hot Not Boiled
- Coffee Beans, Decorative, Optional
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
- Preheat oven to 350F(175C). Grease (3) 6” baking pans and line the base of each pan with 6” parchment paper circle cutouts.
- Using a fine mesh sieve, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Alternatively, the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt can be added to a large mixing bowl and whisked to combine.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or with a hand-held electric mixer, add the oil and sugar. Mix ingredients at medium speed to combine, about 30-60 seconds. Next, mix in the yogurt into oil-sugar mixture.
- Beat the eggs into wet batter one at a time allowing the initial egg to be fully incorporated into batter before mixing in the next egg. Next, mix in the vanilla extract into wet batter.
- Reduce mixer speed to low. In an alternating fashion, starting and ending with the flour mixture, mix half of the flour mixture into wet batter, followed by all of the espresso/strong brewed coffee and ending with the remaining flour mixture.
- Stop mixer and use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and base of mixing bowl. At medium speed, mix chocolate cake batter for an additional 30-60 seconds to ensure you have a smooth cake batter.
- Equally divide batter into prepared baking pans and bake for 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
- Cool chocolate cakes in pans for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely to room temperature.
Espresso Simple Syrup
- In a small saucepan, add and whisk together the espresso/coffee and granulated sugar.
- Under medium heat, bring espresso/coffee-sugar mixture to a boil and allow to cook down until mixture is reduced by half and takes on a slightly thicker consistency, about 6-8 minutes.
- Cool espresso simple syrup to room temperature before using.
Salted Caramel Mocha Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or with a hand-held electric mixer, cream the butter and salt at medium high speed until smooth and fluffy in appearance, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add salted caramel sauce into bowl with creamed butter and mix to combine at medium speed, about 1 minute. Stop mixer and with a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides and base of the bowl.
- Reduce mixer speed to low and mix in 4 cups of confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, and instant espresso powder into creamed butter-caramel mixture.
- Gradually increase mixer speed back to medium. Once all the dry ingredients have been incorporated into butter-caramel mixture, mix in the vanilla extract into salted caramel mocha buttercream. If buttercream appears to be on the soft side, mix in the remaining confectioners’ sugar 1/2 cup at a time until a slightly thick but spreadable consistency is reached (You may not need to use all or any of the remaining confectioners’ sugar).
- Increase mixer speed to medium high and mix salted caramel mocha buttercream for an additional 30-60 seconds. The resulting buttercream should be smooth and fluffy in appearance.
Assembly
- Remove the domed tops off cooled chocolate cakes with a serrated knife or cake leveler.
- Place a clean surface on top of a turntable i.e. cake stand/cake board and spread a small amount of buttercream onto the center. Position the first chocolate cake layer faced up in the center of prepared surface.
- Using a pastry brush, coat the cake with some of the espresso simple syrup.
- Next, spoon 1/2 cup of the salted caramel mocha buttercream onto cake and spread into an even layer using an offset spatula. Repeat layering process once more with second chocolate cake layer, espresso simple syrup and buttercream.
- Place the final chocolate cake layer faced down on top of the second layer. This will create a flat instead of a domed cake surface once cake is completely frosted.
- Using an offset spatula, fill in the gaps between cake layers with salted caramel mocha buttercream and smooth out with a bench scrapper. Add a small amount of salted caramel mocha buttercream on top layer of cake – just enough to spread into a thin layer with offset spatula (about 2-3 tablespoons of buttercream).
- Place cake in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to an hour to allow crumb coat to firm up before applying final coat of salted caramel mocha buttercream.
- Make chocolate ganache for filling the center of cake by placing finely chopped chocolate in a small mixing bowl. Pour warmed heavy cream over chopped chocolate and allow to sit untouched for 1 minute before whisking into a smooth mixture. Set chocolate ganache aside to cool and thicken up before using.
- Fill a large pastry bag with some of the salted caramel mocha buttercream and cut ½ inch off the tip. Pipe salted caramel mocha buttercream along the sides of cake until it is completely covered. Spoon a good amount buttercream onto the top of cake, about 1/4 cup.
- Using an offset spatula, spread the buttercream on top of cake into an even layer. This will push some of the buttercream over the edge of the top layer which is fine.
- Switch to a bench scrapper. With dominant hand, hold bench scrapper at a 45-degree angle against the side of cake and apply light pressure while rotating turntable with non-dominant hand. Repeat action until the sides of the cake is perfectly smooth.
- Some of the buttercream may extend over the edge of the top cake layer. Use an offset spatula, to bring extra buttercream toward center of cake and smooth out while turning turntable with non-dominant hand.
- Fill a pastry bag fitted with your preferred pastry tip (I used a Wilton 6B pastry tip) with remaining salted caramel mocha buttercream.
- Pipe desired pattern around the top border of cake.
- Spoon cooled chocolate ganache into the center of piped border.
- Add coffee beans along the lower base of cake (optional) and refrigerate cake until ready to serve.
Notes
- Salted caramel mocha cake is best eaten the day it is prepared but will last up to 2-3 days in the refrigerator and 1-2 months in the freezer stored in an airtight container.
- For both the chocolate cake and salted caramel mocha buttercream, I used dutched-process unsweetened cocoa powder but regular unsweetened cocoa powder may be used.
- Chocolate cakes may be baked in advanced. Cakes double wrapped in plastic wrap will last 3-4 days in the refrigerator and 1-3 months in the freezer. Frozen cakes should be thawed in the refrigerator overnight when ready to use.
- For salted caramel mocha buttercream, I used unsalted butter to be able to control the level of saltiness in buttercream. However, salted butter may be used in place of unsalted butter. Just omit adding salt to buttercream.
- Leftover espresso simple syrup may be used to flavor coffee drinks!
- When making layered cakes, I always have these essential tools handy: serrated knife (cake leveler), cake turntable (lazy susan), offset spatula, bench scrapper, pastry bags and pastry tips (1M, 2D and 6B).
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