I admit it, I’m not a big believer in luck, but I’ve heard that chocolate cake, particularly a round one, ushers luck into a new year. Well, I am a believer in chocolate, a big believer! And if a deliciously decadent chocolate cake and a great year happen to coincide, well, I’m okay with that too.
So… cakes then! And not just any chocolate cake. Add in some coffee, espresso buttercream and dark chocolate cinnamon glaze and I think we have the perfect concoction for a great new year!
For this, I baked up 3 layers of dark, moist chocolate cake, with the addition of a good hot cup of coffee right into the batter, and then filled them with espresso buttercream. To top it off, we smothered the whole thing in a generous layer of dark chocolate cinnamon glaze. The smooth and lush buttercream really balances out the intensity of the dark chocolate and coffee flavors, and the glaze adds an amazing melt-in-your-mouth surprise.
I started off with butter and coffee. Because what great dessert recipe is complete without these two ingredients, right? To make it easy, I used my Keurig 2.0 to brew a quick cup… literally, I chose the 8 ounce brew and that’s exactly what I got. And while the butter and hot coffee melted together, with a little extra help from the stove while we whisked in the sugars, the rest of the ingredients were split into two separate bowls before mixing it all in. These cakes turned out perfectly; rich, dark and moist cakes.
The espresso buttercream is essentially a typical buttercream with the addition of a couple tablespoons of espresso or strong coffee… in celebration of our love for coffee. The satiny buttery-love filling is just what the cake needed to really compliment the dark chocolate. One thing I’ve noticed with fillings and frostings, is to refrigerate as needed so that each component isn’t too warm. I cooled the buttercream and each layer of cake for just a few minutes before layering together. 
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup hot coffee
- 10 tbsp softened butter
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups sugar
- 2/3 cup sour cream
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1tsp almond extract
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup (2 sticks) room temperature butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 tbsp strong coffee or espresso
- 4oz high quality bittersweet chocolate
- 1/3 cup softened butter
- 1 1/2 tsp corn syrup
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and prepare baking pans.
- Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- Combine sour cream, eggs and extract. Set aside.
- Combine hot coffee and butter in a medium-large sauce pan. Heat until butter is melted.
- Over medium heat, whisk in the cocoa powder and the sugar until combined.
- Remove from heat and stir in sour cream mixture.
- Whisk in dry ingredients until smooth.
- Pour into prepared pans and bake until centers are done (18-20 minutes).
- Let cool completely before layering with buttercream.
- Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, scrap the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Reduce mixer speed to low and add in the powdered sugar a little at a time, incorporating well with each addition.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl and increase mixer speed to medium-high and whip until fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add the espresso and vanilla and mix well.
- Chill if needed and spread onto cooled cake while layering.
- Place all the ingredients in a medium heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water.
- Stir the mixture using a rubber spatula until melted and smooth.
- Pour warm glaze over the assembled cake.
Yep, that’s it. Take a big spoonful of Dulce de Leche (buying the can is easier than making it, obviously, but you can make it from sweetened condensed milk as well) and drop into the bottom of your coffee pot, then brew your coffee! I love using our Keurig 2.0 for parties as well, because I can brew a pot quickly and with no clean up (it’s quickly becoming one of my favorite kitchen gadgets)! Once the coffee is brewed into the pot, give it a quick stir and you’ve got a delicious pairing for your dessert. Add a dollop of whipped cream once poured into glasses and you’re ready to cheers to a happy, and very tasty, new year!
Cheers to you friends!! And to a VERY happy New Year!
xo
This post is in partnership with Keurig. All recipes, words and opinions (and total love for Keurig) are my own. Thank you for supporting the companies that make this blog possible.
Havok says
Espresso buttercream!?! Count me in! Buttercream frosting is one of the most delicious things about cake! I think, though, I would have to cut this recipe in half as there’s only two of us, and while that cake is delicious, I don’t need to be tempted to eat so much of it, ha! It really does look and sound like it would be the perfect way to ring in the new year!!
Tabitha Blue says
Definitely the perfect cake to share with friends, so that you don’t have to eat it all!! Haha. You could make cupcakes out of the cake batter and use the buttercream to frost them… then easier to give away maybe!
Destiny says
Oh my word that looks so delicious! I could definitely see myself making this for a holiday party as I’ve still got a couple left in January!
Tabitha Blue says
Ohhh perfect for a holiday party!!! 🙂