Not long after going vegan, a coworker at the place I worked at the time wanted to make a cake for my birthday. It was a thing she did for all of the employees, which was nice. She went out and bought a vegan cookbook, made a chocolate cake and picked out a mocha frosting from the book because she knew I loved coffee. The cake was good (your typical wacky cake recipe), but the frosting was amazing. An equally strong taste of coffee and chocolate. She let me have the cookbook and I started making the frosting occasionally. Somehow over the years it became my sister’s choice for her birthday cake every year. Since my wife is definitely not a fan of coffee, I typically only make it that one time a year, but whatever.
Once I started going to culinary school for baking, I came across a recipe for a coffee flavored simple syrup to be used in Opera Cake. So I decided to try it in the chocolate cake with mocha frosting and it was great. Even more coffee flavor and it keeps the cake moist. What more can you ask for?
The only tips I can offer are pretty basic. For the frosting, the stronger the coffee, the better. Espresso works best, but really strong coffee will work okay. For the syrup, you want the grounds to be a medium grind (if possible). To strain it when done, I just pour it into my pour over coffee maker with a filter in and let it slowly drip through. A fine mesh sifter will work, but some grounds will likely get through.
Vegan Mocha Frosting
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup non-dairy butter softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup strong coffee or espresso cooled
Instructions
- Cream butter. Sift in powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Cream together until combined.
- Add coffee or espresso. Mix until light and fluffy. If too stiff, add more coffee or water by the teaspoon until desired consistency is reached. Makes enough to frost one 9" cake or a double layer 6" cake.
Coffee Simple Syrup
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup +1.5 tsp sugar 2 oz
- 1/4 cup water 2 oz
- 4 tsp ground coffee 4 grams
Instructions
- Combine water and sugar in small sauce pot over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring, until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat, add coffee grounds, stir and cover for 20 minutes. Strain. Let cool before brushing onto cake.
