Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease three 6” round baking pans and dust them with cocoa powder. Line the bottoms with parchment paper.
- Place all dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Stir to combine them.
- In a medium bowl, whisk all wet ingredients together. Add the hot coffee slowly to avoid cooking the eggs if the coffee is very hot.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes. The batter will be very thin.
- Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans. You can use a kitchen scale to help distribute the batter equally.
- Bake until a cake tester comes out mostly clean. This takes about 30 to 35 minutes.
- For the mocha buttercream, place the egg whites and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk until combined.
- Place the bowl over a pot with 1 to 2 inches of simmering water. Stir constantly with a whisk until the mixture is hot and no longer grainy to the touch, or it reads 160F on a candy thermometer (about 3 minutes).
- Place the bowl on your stand mixer and whisk on medium-high speed until the meringue is stiff and cooled. The bowl should no longer feel warm to the touch (approximately 5 to 10 minutes).
- Switch to the paddle attachment (this step is optional). Slowly add the cubed butter and mix until the mixture is smooth.
- Add the vanilla, melted chocolate, and espresso powder. Whip until the buttercream is smooth.
- For the ganache drip, finely chop the dark chocolate and place it into a bowl.
- Bring the heavy cream just barely to a simmer and pour it over the chopped chocolate. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it stand for 2 minutes.
- Stir gently with a spatula until the ganache is combined and smooth. Allow it to cool and thicken slightly before you use it on the cake.
- Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or serving plate. Top with approximately 2/3 cup of frosting and spread it evenly.
- Repeat this process with the remaining layers and apply a thin coat of frosting all over the cake. Chill the cake for 20 minutes.
- Frost and smooth the sides of the cake. Chill the cake for another 20 minutes.
- Using a small spoon, place dollops of ganache around the top edges of the cooled cake, allowing some to drip down the sides. Fill in the top of the cake with more ganache and spread it evenly with an offset spatula.
Nutrition
Notes
For the meringue, make sure there is absolutely no trace of egg yolks in your whites, and your mixer bowl and whisk must be completely grease-free, or your meringue will not stiffen.
The buttercream might look like it is curdling at one point in the mixing process. Keep mixing until it becomes completely smooth.
You can make the ganache in advance and let it set overnight if you cover the surface directly with plastic wrap. If it is too thick later, microwave it for 5 to 10 seconds and stir it until it reaches the correct consistency.