If you are a fan of the combination of chocolate and coffee, you are going to fall in love with this moist and flavorful Mocha Toffee Crunch Cake!
Once upon a time we posted a recipe for a simple Coffee Toffee Ice Cream Cake. I’ve made this ice cream cake more times than I can count over the years, and with it’s heavenly combination of coffee, toffee, and chocolate, it is ALWAYS a crowd pleaser.
We are so excited to now have a cake that incorporates this same fantastic combination of flavors.
Our Mocha Toffee Crunch Cake consists of rich chocolate cake layers sprinkled with pecans and toffee, and a Mocha Buttercream that has just the right balance of espresso and chocolate!
For this recipe, we used our Classic Chocolate Cake recipe, but it would work well for whatever your favorite chocolate cake may be. If you are a fan of doctored cake mixes, our Chocolate Sour Cream Cake- Doctored Mix is a great option!
What makes these chocolate cake layers even more fabulous is that we sprinkled the batter-filled pans with toffee and pecans just before baking. I love the flavor and crunch that this adds!
Here is a photo of the layers just before baking…
…and here they are fresh from the oven!
When assembling the cake layers, we frosted mocha buttercream frosting onto each layer and followed with another sprinkling of toffee bits and and chopped pecans before adding the next layer.
SO good!
We hope that you enjoy the recipe! If you would like to make a cupcake version, I would recommend our Classic Chocolate Cupcakes, which use the traditional method of mixing, making a fluffier cupcake!
The chocolate cake recipe that we used for this recipe calls for the Reverse Creaming Method of mixing. Although the order of ingredients may seem a little strange at first, you are going to love the final results!
Cakes that are made with this popular method of mixing result in a slightly denser, velvety, melt-in-your-mouth texture.
If you are new to this method, you may be interested in watching our free video here: The Reverse Creaming Method of Mixing.
If you love cakes with a hint of espresso (like me!!) , then you must also check out our DELICIOUS Caramel Vanilla Latte Cake recipe! This homemade cake has the perfect balance of vanilla, caramel, and espresso. Mmmmmm… I could never choose a favorite. I highly recommend making them both!
Mocha Toffee Crunch Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- 2 3/4 cup (322g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (82g) unsweetened cocoa (lightly spoon into cup then sift)
- 2 teaspoons ((10g) baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon (2g) baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon (2g) salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) (226g) unsalted butter, softened (do not soften in microwave) I cut the butter into 1 inch pieces onto waxed paper leaving on the countertop for 8 to 10 minutes it will still be quite cool when adding to the dry ingredients. If it becomes too soft, just refrigerate a few minutes
- 1/4 cup (54g) vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup (220g) milk
- 1 teaspoon (4g) vanilla extract
- 1 cup (220g) hot coffee, it can be instant or brewed (we used instant espresso)
- 1 cup (93g) pecans, chopped
- 1 cup (145g) toffee bits — I used Heath English Toffee Bits
For the Mocha Buttercream Frosting
- 3 sticks (339g) unsalted butter, slightly softened
- 9 cups (1035g) powdered sugar (icing sugar in UK)
- 1 Tablespoon (7g) unsweetened cocoa (sifted)
- 1 teaspoon (3g) salt
- 1/2 teaspoon (2g) vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon (5g) instant espresso coffee
- 1/4 cup (60g) hot water
Directions
For the Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Grease and flour THREE 8 inch cake pans
- In a mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients: sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk for 1 minute to blend.
- Add softened butter a few pieces at a time while the mixer is on low speed. Mix until the dry ingredients look like coarse sand and the dry ingredients are moistened. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
- In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, milk , oil and vanilla until blended.
- Method is important when using the Reverse Creaming Method. With the mixer on low speed, SLOWLY add approximately 1/2 of the egg mixture to the dry ingredients. Increase the speed to medium and mix for 1 1/2 minutes at medium speed. Don't mix above medium speed. Scrape the bottom and sides of bowl. Add the remaining egg mixture in 2 pourings, beating for 20 seconds after each pour. Scrape the sides and bottom of bowl.
- Slowly add the cup of hot coffee and mix another 30 seconds until blended. The batter will be very runny. Don't worry!
- Pour into 3 prepared 8" pans
- Once the batter is in the pans, sprinkle about 1/2 of the pecans and toffee bits over the top of the batter. The remaining pecans and toffee will be sprinkled over the mocha buttercream filling when assembling the cake. You can increase the amount used if you would like more crunch.
- bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until the center of the cake springs back to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool the cakes 10 minutes on a rack and then turn out of the pans.
- *Yields approx 9 cups of batter.
- Making cupcakes? Check out our Classic Chocolate Cupcake Recipe (conventional method of mixing for fluffier cupcakes) Holds up well to fondant
For the Mocha Buttercream
- Mix the instant espresso coffee into the 1/4 cup of hot water, set aside to cool slightly
- Beat the butter on medium speed until smooth. Blend in the vanilla and cocoa powder and salt.
- Add half of the powdered sugar and half of the coffee. Beat at medium speed until the powdered sugar is incorporated.
- Add the remaining powdered sugar and coffee and mix at medium speed another 3 to 6 minutes scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally.
- This recipe makes 6 cups of frosting. This is enough to fill, frost and add a moderate amount of decorative piping on a 3 layer 8 inch cake.
- If your consistency is too thin, add more powdered sugar. If too thick, add a bit more water or milk, a teaspoon at a time.
If you are interested in learning even more about cake decorating, don’t miss our Free Cake Tutorials section! In addition to cake recipes, you will find hundreds of step by step cake decorating tutorials as well as Free Cake Decorating Videos!
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Oh that looks and sound delish! Adding it to my To Bake List! :-)
Yummmmmmm. I have to try this. Thanks Melissa
THANK YOUUU for listing how many cups of batter & frosting this yummy recipe yields! It helps so much when considering different sized tiers!
Question. I have Coffee Emulsion, it is similar to extract. Could I use that in place of the vanilla extract? Or would I use it in place of the Instant coffee>
Hi Beth, You would use it in place of the instant espresso coffee. I have read that 1 teaspoon emulsion is equal to 1 teaspoon extract. You will still need the 1/4 cup water ( you could also use milk ) to thin the buttercream. I would make the buttercream adding 1 teaspoon emulsion. Taste, then add additional emulsion 1/2 teaspoon at a time as needed to reach the coffee flavor you like in the mocha frosting. Below is the link I referred to for information on emulsion.
http://www.pastrychef.com/BAKERY-FLAVORING-EMULSION–COFFEE-NATURAL_p_2259.html
I am a new baker and made this. It was easy and really good! Very light. The next time I make it I will add more toffee bits. I made a strong attempt to decorate it like the picture but lets just say, no one judged my book by its cover. I had very willing participants to eat it all up.
Hi Laurel, I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe, thanks for giving it a try. You are a new baker so don’t worry that something doesn’t look perfect, we are always our worst critic. Be patient, practice will improve your piping skills. The important thing is that your friends enjoyed the cake. Thanks so much for posting a review.
I just seen another recipe for this cake. It’s the same pic for sure. However I think a couple of items has been changed in theirs. Check under Desserts and Cakes. Just want to be sure someone is not using your recipe for their own behalf
Can this be made in a 13×9 pan?
Hi Amy, You can bake this in a 13×9 pan 2 inches deep. You will need 7 cups of batter, bake at 350 degrees 35 to 40 min. The recipes makes approximately 9 cups of batter so you will have enough leftover for one 6 inch round layer or cupcakes to freeze for later.
Does it matter if you use regular cocoa powder or dutch process? Which one do you prefer for the mocha buttercream? Thanks. The two different kinds always confuses me.
Hi Gloria, All of our recipes so far use regular cocoa powder. I think I will add the type of cocoa powder to recipes so there will be no confusion.
Hi, Is your mocha buttercream a crusting buttercream? How long can it stay out of the fridge in a cake when its used as a filling only? Thanks!
Hi Gloria, It is a crusting buttercream. In normal room temperature, used as a filling only or both filling and frosting, it should be good for 3 days……longer if refrigerated and brought out of the refrigerator about 2 hours before serving.
Can you use selfrising flour?
Hi, by how much would I need to increase the ingredients for 9” cake tins? Thank you.
Hi Mildred, Leaving the recipe as it is, there is enough batter for two 9 inch cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. If you need to have 3 layers, I would increase the recipe by 1/2…..you might have a bit leftover.
Hi Barbie, I am sorry but you cannot substitute self-rising flour for this recipe.
This recipe is screaming my name! I’m planning to try this recipe for a church event, but was wondering if the cake needed to be leveled after baking. I would hate to have to level all of that toffee goodness away.
Hi Melissa, I think it will have a very small dome when baked. You can eliminate this by using Baking Strips. If you are not familiar with these, below is a link to a Wilton youtube video that gives a good explanation.
link to google.com..69i57j0l2.6631j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Also, you can make your own using wet (water squeezed out) paper towels that are folded in a long strip then placed in aluminum foil that is folded to the size of the sides of your cake pans. There is probably a youtube video on this method also. The downside to using the aluminum foil is it will last only 4 to 5 times of use. Hope you will enjoy the cake!
Hi Star, This recipe makes 10 cups of batter. If you are going to use a 4×4 inch pan you would need only 1 cup of batter for that size of pan. I am sorry but I can’t scale the recipe down to that small quantity.
Hi, I was wondering if you could use espresso powder instead of instant espresso coffee. Same thing for the frosting? Plus, can you use two 9 inch cake pans instead of three 8 inch ones. I don’t own 8-inch pans and don’t really want to buy three of them.
Hi Brenda, You could use espresso powder. It is more concentrated and will give you a deeper flavor than the instant espresso granules that we used. Check the directions on your espresso, you may need to use less than the instant espresso granules we used. You do need to add the cup of hot water. As for the frosting, you will need to test the taste when making the frosting to judge how strong you want the flavor to be. You can replace the 1/4 cup water with milk if you like, adding more if needed to reach the consistency you like. All should go well with this substitution. Below is a link to using espresso powder that you might find interesting.
link to kingarthurflour.com