Coffee Mascarpone Layered Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache

Coffee Mascarpone Layered Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache, the cake of my dreams, one I baked in a hurry for my birthday! It was delicious once sliced, the flavours coming together just as I had hoped they would. Coffee and chocolate are my to-go flavour combination, and my basic sponge recipe a favourite too, one that lives in my head. It’s been a while since I baked a layer cake. The better half appreciatively called this one an old-fashioned cake, possibly because I fast track most cakes these days.It’s often a quick cheesecake or a flourless cake that I turn out, a reflection of ‘so much to do and so little time, also one that points towards my habit of procrastination. This one was planned no differently, yet, happily enough, I made a layered cake!A special occasion cake needs more effort, and for my birthday, no matter what, it’s  A L W A Y S a coffee chocolate one I bake! And call me a sucker for punishment or what you like, I just came in from a long exhausting shoot the previous day. That was great fun but had me on my feet for almost 15 hours every day, and I came back to excited puppies and guinea pigs. Family too of course!All I wanted to was to vegetate, basically sit in one place and grow roots. Yet just the thought of coffee cake had me turn on the Kitchen Aid, eight eggs & sugar whipping away silently as I readied the other stuff. There’s barely anything else to this sponge other than lining the tins and preheating the oven of course. Add some flavour {vanilla, coffee powder, coffee extract if you like}, throw in some baking powder and a pinch of salt. A quick sifting of flour over, and a gentle fold through and that’s all it takes.Then I pretty much had to think the filling and frosting. That the filling  was going to be coffee mascarpone was already in my head. Then I got a little lazy since I had forgotten to chill the cream, and decided to go with a dark chocolate ganache just because it seemed so much simpler! That was the simplest thing ever, one I hurriedly made as the sponges baked. Since the weather is quite cool, I left the chocolate ganache out at room temperature for 2-3 hours to rest. Once you have all the elements sorted out, the Coffee Mascarpone Layered Cake doesn’t take long to assemble.A quick brush of a simple coffee syrup, then coffee mascarpone, and repeat with all four layers. Since I was short on time, I popped it into the freezer for 30 minutes. Ideally I would have left it to sit for a couple of hours, or overnight, for the flavours to mature. That done, it was time for the ganache which was perfectly smooth at room temperature.You do need to move quick as the ganache hits the chilled cake. One thin base coat, followed by a generous top coat, a sifting over of cocoa powder, a scattering of chocolate flakes, a few coffee beans and we’re good to go! Into the fridge to chill for a couple of hours to allow the flavours to mature, hoping it was going to be delicious once sliced. I really had to chase the light to get a shot; daylight is really at a premium these days.​

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Coffee Mascarpone Layered Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache

Coffee and chocolate are a pairing made in heaven, and this Coffee Mascarpone Layered Cake doesn't disappoint. Make it the previous day if you like, the flavours mature well over time.

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 45 minutes minutes

Servings 8 people

Ingredients

Coffee sponge 8" X 2

• 8 eggs
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup vanilla sugar
• 3 tbsp instant coffee
• 1 tsp coffee extract
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch salt
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp cornflour

Coffee Syrup

• 1/3 cup Water
• cup ½sugar
• 1 tbsp instant coffee powder

Coffee Mascarpone Filling

• 250 g cream chilled
• 50 g icing sugar {to taste}
• 3 tsp instant coffee powder
• 250 g mascarpone chilled

Dark chocolate ganache

• 300 g single cream
• 450 g 52% couverture chocolate

Garnish

• cocoa powder chocolate shavings, coffee beans

Instructions

Coffee Sponge

• Preheat the oven to 180C. Line the bottom and sides of 2 X 8″ spring form/loose bottomed round tins.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs with both sugars till thick and mousse like, 7-10 minutes.
• Add the coffee and vanilla extract and beat in again for a minute, then beat in the baking powder and pinch of salt.
• Sift the flour over, folding gently in 3 lots, lightly till it’s mixed through well. Be careful not to release the beaten in air.
• Turn the batter into the prepared baking tin, and bake for 30-35 minutes, till a tester comes out clean.
• Cool completely on racks, then slice into two horizontally, total 4 layers.

Coffee Syrup

• Place ingredients in a small pan and stir until sugar dissolves. Cool.
• tbsp instant coffee powder

Coffee Mascarpone Filling

• Whip the cream, sugar and coffee together till medium stiff peaks form. Fold in the mascarpone. Taste and adjust sweetness if required.

Dark Chocolate Ganache

• Place chopped chocolate and cream in a heatproof bowl and run at high in the microwave for 1 minute. Whisk until smooth, then leave it to rest to cool. Whisk again before using.

Assemble

• Brush each layer with the coffee syrup, and sandwich with the filling.
• Give the whole cake a thin layer of ganache as a base coat. Let it set for about 5 minutes.
• Frost with the remaining ganache.
• Sift over with cocoa powder and garnish with chocolate shavings and coffee beans.
• Chill for about an hour or overnight. The flavours mature nicely over time.