chocolate espresso cake with coffee glaze

torta glassata al caffè

TOTAL TIME: 1 hour, 30 minutes

MAKES: 8 servings

Filled with coffee flavored whipped mascarpone and covered in a chocolate and coffee glaze, this is a layer cake for grown-ups.

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Ingredients

For the cake

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened plus more for pan (see Note)
3 large eggs
¾ cup sugar
½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoon finely ground espresso
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

For the filling:

1 cup (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese
1 tablespoon coffee-flavored liquor
1 tablespoon finely ground espresso

For the glaze:

5½ ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon coffee-flavored liquor
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
Whole coffee beans for garnish

Instructions

To make the cake: Put rack in center position and heat oven to 350°. Butter an 8-inch cake pan. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat sugar and butter together at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and beat 3 minutes more. In a bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, espresso, baking powder and salt. Whisk dry ingredients into egg mixture. Pour batter into cake pan. Bake until edges darken and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack, then remove from pan.

To make the filling: Place mascarpone, liquor and espresso in a bowl and stir well to combine. Using a serrated knife, cut cake in half widthwise. Transfer 1 layer, cut side up, to a cake plate. Spread mascarpone mixture over cake layer on plate. Place top half of cake over filling.

To make the glaze: Combine chocolate, heavy cream and liquor in a large metal bowl set over saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir until melted and combined, about 4 minutes. Pour glaze over cake, using a spatula to spread; let cake stand until glaze is set, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with cocoa powder and coffee beans.

Note: When originally published in the magazine, the recipe did not include butter, and it tested well. But we found it was even better with the addition of butter.

February 2009

keywords:

dessert, sweet, coffee, creme de moka, creme de kaffee, kahlua, tia maria, espresso, mascarpone cheese, chocolate, semisweet chocolate, coffee-flavored liquor, coffee flavored liquor

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average of 13 ratings

Comments [10] | Add your comment

I love chocolates! :)

Posted: May 14, 2011 00:08 by LaikaC
I made this for my husband's birthday, and everyone thought it was delicious. I used Kahlua as the liqueur and put some chocolate covered espresso beans around the edge of the cake (12 of them, like a clock face) and then sprinkled the cake with cocoa powder. I would definitely make this recipe again.
Posted: January 05, 2011 22:20 by kkkkatie
Try this
Posted: October 26, 2010 09:34 by lboshart
Mamma Mia, what a bob of calories but so satisfying!
Posted: October 07, 2010 02:25 by cook1969
Excellent recipe. eating it right now. So rich, soooo good and not too sweet. Perfect!
Posted: October 05, 2009 15:29 by Drea666
It would be nice to hear what liqueurs other people used in preparation. This is a great recipe, I highly recommend it!
Posted: September 13, 2009 03:42 by waltonsharp
I enjoyed making this cake which turned out really delicious, as confirmed by my family yesterday. I discovered I did not have heavy cream after all, so I had used mascarpone instead. Baked at 176°C - I live in the UK. As liqueur I used "Tia Maria".
Posted: September 13, 2009 03:41 by waltonsharp
I also doubled the filling using 2 cups of mascarpone.
Posted: June 21, 2009 20:11 by 2532j
[To get 1/2 an egg when increasinor decreasing recipes, just beat the egg up a bit in a cup with a fork, and then dump 1/2 down the drain.
Posted: June 21, 2009 20:08 by 2532j
This cake is truly delicious, rich without being excessively sweet. It was not hard to make, and will certainly be made again. I made 1 1/2 times the recipe, and used a 10 inch springform pan. [To get 1/2 an egg when increasing or decreasing recipes, ju
Posted: June 21, 2009 20:06 by 2532j