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Rich, dark, and dare I say, moist, nothing beats a no-frills classic chocolate cake. It’s what I turn to when I want dessert to really hit the spot. But if like me, you have been on a mission to make your chocolate cakes better—i.e., more deep and more, uh, chocolaty— then you’ve likely followed a glut of internet tips. You bought the Dutch process cocoa powder. You used a combination of cocoa and chopped chocolate in the batter. You swapped the granulated white sugar for dark brown. You added soy sauce. You even went the extra mile and layered it with creamy chocolate ganache. I too have tried a few things to take the flavor of my cakes up a notch, but there’s one tip I slept on for too long: adding espresso powder.
As a person who doesn’t care for coffee-flavored desserts, this not-so-secret ingredient never spoke to me. But recently, a couple of pro bakers informed me it would not make my cakes taste like a cafe mocha and inspired me to purchase my first jar. According to Joanne Lee Molinaro, author of The Korean Vegan, if your goal is to take a bite and say, “Wow, that’s the chocolatiest cake I’ve ever had!” you simply can’t skip the espresso. And keeping a stash of it in powdered form is the quickest, easiest, and cheapest way to get it.
In this case, the bitterness of coffee balances the sweetness of chocolate, keeping it from becoming cloying. At the same time, coffee adds another layer to the chocolate flavor, making it more complex and intense.
What exactly is espresso powder?
Contrary to popular belief, espresso powder, a.k.a. instant espresso, isnt just ground coffee beans. It’s actually made from darkly roasted coffee beans that are ground, brewed into espresso, dried, and then ground even further to make a very fine dissolvable powder. Unlike instant coffee, which is made from dehydrated coffee, espresso powder is much more concentrated and lends a more complex, deep flavor. To understand the difference, just think of the taste of a cup of espresso versus a cup of regular coffee. And while espresso powder doesn’t make a very good drink, it does amplify the flavor of chocolate treats like cakes (and also cookies, brownies, and frostings).
How does it make chocolate cakes taste more chocolaty?
“Espresso and chocolate have a lot of crossover in terms of flavor profiles, so they complement each other really well,” says Benjamina Ebuehi, author of A Good Day to Bake. Good dark chocolate usually has notes of fruitiness, bitterness, and a little acidity, and adding a bit of espresso—whether in liquid or powder form—both highlights and balances those properties.
Molinaro explains that using good espresso also brings a creamy factor to chocolate cakes: “That creaminess lends an unctuous, fattiness to the cocoa. Thats also why a cup of espresso and a piece of chocolate go hand and hand.” While cocoa alone can taste flat and one-dimensional, cocoa with espresso tastes complex and intense. “It’s the difference between a cake thats just dark brown and sweet and one that’s super chocolatey,” says Molinaro.
Moist Chocolate Cake From Scratch (with Coffee)
FAQ
Can I add coffee to box cake mix?
Can I add ground coffee to cake?
Can I use coffee instead of cocoa powder for chocolate cake?
Can I skip coffee in chocolate cake?
Should you add coffee to chocolate cake?
If you’ve baked enough chocolate cakes, you might have noticed a pattern across ingredient lists: coffee, whether in powder or liquid form. This is not meant to add espresso flavor to the cake, but rather, to make it even more chocolaty. And if your cake recipe doesn’t call for coffee, you should add it anyway, even if you’re not a coffee fan.
Can one drink milk and coffee?
You can drink coffee with milk, as long as you are lactose tolerant and digest milk well. Coffee, due to its caffeine, can sequester some nutrients from milk, such as calcium.
What does coffee do to chocolate cake?
For starters, coffee helps to bring out the flavor of the chocolate. When you take a bite of chocolate cake that has been brewed with coffee, you’ll notice that the chocolate tastes richer and more intense. Additionally, coffee adds a bit of moisture to the cake, making it even more moist and delicious.
Does coffee make a chocolate cake more chocolate?
Hint: It’s not more chocolate. If you’ve baked enough chocolate cakes, you might have noticed a pattern across ingredient lists: coffee, whether in powder or liquid form. This is not meant to add espresso flavor to the cake, but rather, to make it even more chocolaty.