After eyeing this MOCHA TORTE recipe for a couple of months , we finally gave it a try.
A perfect and delicious mix of vanilla sponge cake , espresso drizzle and chocolate Italian butter cream. This recipe from CIA is pretty unbeatable however … layers of the butter cream are there to remind us that a small serving is good enough. Seventy-five percent of the cake was given away to our friends : Jane , KK and their extended family.
This cake requires both long hours and patience (even with its amateurish look)
I hope you like the photo and learn a little fun fact why this is called Mocha Torte instead of Mocha Cake ….
A torte ( from German Torte ) is European- styled multilayered cake. It can be filled with whipped cream , butter cream , mousses , jam , fruit or nut .
Torte is rich and complex dessert which is often served in the middle of the afternoon together with coffee or tea, rather than as a dessert following dinner.
We thank the CIA for this amazing recipe .
In order to make this delicious mocha torte in a systematic manner , we followed this sequence .
1.First we make coffee syrup .
Ingredients
¾ cup strong brewed coffee or espresso
¼ cup Kahlúa or other coffee-flavoured liqueur
1/4 cup sugar
Combine the coffee, Kahlúa, and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until the sugar is completely dissolved and the syrup has reduced slightly, about 3 minutes. Remove the syrup from the heat and let it cool down to room temperature.
2.Bake vanilla sponge
Ingredients
2 cups cake flour
6 Tbsp (¾ stick) unsalted butter plus extra for greasing
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1¼ cups sugar
5 large eggs
5 large egg yolks
Makes two 8-inch layers
Preheat the oven to 375°.
Lightly butter two 8-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper.
Sift the four twice and set aside. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Remove from the heat, add the vanilla extract to the melted butter, and stir to combine. Set aside to cool.
Combine the sugar, eggs, and egg yolks in the bowl of a stand mixer and set the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Whisking constantly with a wire whisk, heat until the mixture is warm to the touch or reaches 110°F on a candy thermometer.
Remove the bowl from the heat and attach it to the stand mixer fitted with the whisk arachment. Whip the eggs on medium speed until the foam is 3 times the original volume and no longer increasing in volume, about 5 minutes.
Fold the flour into the egg mixture using a rubber spatula. Blend a small amount of the batter into the melted butter and then fold the tempered butter into the remaining batter.
Fill the prepared cake pans about two-thirds full. Bake until the top of each layer is firm to the touch, about 30 minutes.
Let the layers cool in the pans for a few minutes before turning out onto wire racks. Let cool completely.
3. We make Italian Buttercream .
Ingredients for Italian Buttercream. ( 2 steps )
1.Make Italian Meringue
2.Mixing meringue and butter
For meringue
Cooking spray for greasing
¾ cup sugar (divided use)
¼ cup water
5 large egg whites
To mix in
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, diced, at room temperature
1½ tsp vanilla extract
Just before you are ready to make the buttercream, prepare the Italian meringue.
Grease a heatproof glass measuring cup. Combine ½ cup of the sugar with the water in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat without stirring until the mixture reaches 230°F. At that time, place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and whip on medium speed until frothy. Add the remaining ¼ cup of sugar and beat the meringue to medium peaks. When the sugar mixture reaches soft ball stage, 240°E, pour it into the measuring cup, then into the meringue in a slow, steady stream on low speed.
Increase the speed to high and whip until the meringue cools to room temperature and has the desired peak.
Once the meringue cools to room temperature and reaches stiff peaks, add the butter a few pieces at a time while continuing to whip on high speed. Once all the butter has been incorporated and the buttercream is thick and very smooth, blend is the vanilla extract. The buttercream is ready to use now, or store covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Let the buttercream soften at room temperature before beating it on low speed with the paddle attachment to make it warm and soft enough to spread.
Once you have done these 3 steps , you will now have to assemble the mocha torte .
Slice each of the sponge cake layers into 2 even layers.
Place one layer of the sponge cake on a cake plate and brush it evenly with enough coffee syrup to moisten the layer, about ¼ cup.
Spread ¾ cup of the buttercream in an even layer over the cake.
Repeat this sequence with the next 2 layers of cake, pressing the layers gently into position. Add the last layer of cake, press down gently, and brush it with ¼ cup syrup.
Spread 1½ cups of she buttercream evenly over the top and sides of the cake. If using , drizzle the melted and cooled chocolate over the top , creating a random pattern. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a small star tip with the remaining ¾ cup buttercream and pipe 10 rosettes of buttercream at even intervals around the cake's edge. Place a coffee bean in the center of each rosette, if desired.
Note: If the cake is not going to be served right away wrap it carefully or place it in a covered container to preserve the decoration, and store in the refrigerator. Let the cake return to room temperature before serving it, however, so that the buttercream is not too hard to cut easily.
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