Dalgona Coffee Chocolate Cake

One of the best things to emerge out of the current pandemic (trying to look at the bright side here!) is the emergence of food trends. We are all spending the vast majority of our time at home, so those who like to experiment in the kitchen are taking this opportunity to do just that. And a lot of it! And I'm totally here for it.

Along with bread baking, Dalgona Coffee has become a hot food trend. I've tried it and I love it and I'm currently trying to find all kinds of desserts in which to use it.

And, so this beautiful Dalgona Coffee Chocolate Cake was born. And you're gonna love it, maybe even more than the trendy coffee drink itself! If you really love coffee, you will love these Espresso Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies. Try my Chocolate Pound Cake for a super rich and chocolatey cake made in a loaf pan.

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What is Dalgona Coffee?

Dalgona coffee is basically whipped, sweetened instant coffee.

And its origins seem to be disputed, but it's fair to say Dalgona coffee has been around a lot longer than the current pandemic.

It's seen a resurgence thanks to social media and boy, am I glad it's made its way into our lives!

How to Make Dalgona Coffee

Dalgona coffee is easy to make. It's equal parts instant coffee granules, granulated sugar and boiling water.

Whip for a few minutes until silky, glossy peaks of whipped coffee form.

Whipping the coffee can be done by hand or by mixer.

A hand mixer is easiest because there isn't quite enough ingredients or volume for a stand mixer to really get in there and whip the coffee.

What I recommend is to start whisking the Dalgona coffee by hand, then once the mixture has increased in volume, use the mixer to finish whipping the coffee.

If you do not own a mixer, you can whisk all the way by hand. It's a great arm workout, as it'll take about 3-4 minutes to achieve the beautiful, silky texture to the Dalgona coffee.

How to make this Dalgona Chocolate recipe

This chocolate coffee cake recipe is pretty darn easy to make. And, honestly, could there be anything greater than a Dalgona chocolate recipe?

It's my basic chocolate cake recipe which I used to make these Sour Cream Fudge Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting and these Halloween Spider Cupcakes.

This is the best chocolate cake. It's moist and fudgy and simply perfect - all the best qualities you could ask for in a chocolate cake.

Bake the cake in two 8-inch cake pans and allow them to cool. Then, whip the Dalgona coffee and mix into mascarpone whipped cream. Fill and frost your chocolate cakes and you're done!

I am by no means a cake decorator. If you've been following along you've probably read my statement about this over and over again. I like to fill and frost as simply as possible.

For this Dalgona coffee chocolate cake, the same frosting is used to fill the cake as it is to top the cake.

Add a couple of chocolate shavings (my way of decorating cakes) and you've got yourself one fine chocolate cake.

Tips for Making Dalgona Coffee Chocolate Cake

• To make the Dalgona coffee, I recommend you start out by whipping the ingredients together by hand then switch to a stand mixer or hand mixer. This will allow some volume to be created so the mixer can continue whipping. I have tried to whisk it straight away with the stand mixer and there was not enough volume in the bowl for the whisk to actually whisk everything together. Whisking the ingredients together by hand will take about a minute or so before you can begin whisking with the mixer
• You'll know the Dalgona coffee is done when it's silky smooth and stiff peaks have formed. What this means is that when you lift the whisk out of the whipped coffee, the peaks hold their shape. If the peaks fall over, keep whisking for another minute or so
• I recommend leveling the cake layers before filling, stacking and frosting them. This means removing the domed or rounded top of the cake. To do this, use a serrated knife or cake leveler. Hold it parallel to your countertop and saw across the top of the cake to remove just the domed top and create a flat surface. Don't worry if it's not perfect. This cake is not meant to be fussed over

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Dalgona Coffee Chocolate Cake

Adding silky, whipped Dalgona coffee to a fudgy chocolate cake is even better and more delicious than the coffee drink itself!

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Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes minutes

Course: All Recipes, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: dalgona cake, dalgona chocolate cake, dalgona coffee cake

Servings: 14 slices

Calories: 373kcal

Author: Kimberlee Ho

US Customary - Metric

Equipment

• 2 8-inch round cake pans

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake

• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup brewed coffee hot
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup light brown sugar packed
• 3 large eggs room temperature
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Dalgona Coffee Filling and Frosting

• ¼ cup instant coffee granules
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup boiling water
• ½ cup mascarpone cheese stirred until smooth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prepare Chocolate Cake:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans. Sprinkle about ½  tablespoon of flour in each pan, tapping the sides of the pan while tilting it slowly in a circle to spread the flour evenly over the butter. Tip the pans over the sink, one at a time, to tap out any excess flour. Set aside
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, brewed coffee, sour cream, and vanilla to make a shiny fudge. Set aside.
  1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 cup brewed coffee, ½ cup sour cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and shiny, about 2-3 minutes.
  1 cup unsalted butter
• Add the granulated and brown sugars and continue beating until fluffy, then beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition.
  1 cup granulated sugar, ½ cup light brown sugar, 3 large eggs
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in thirds, alternating with the fudge mixture, scraping down the bowl with a spatula several times as you go.
  1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake for 25 - 28 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes should come out clean when they are done. If there’s batter on the toothpick, continue baking for a few minutes more until it comes out clean.
• Let the cakes cool in their pans for 10 minutes before turning them out on a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Prepare Dalgona Coffee Frosting:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the instant coffee, sugar and boiling water. Whisk by hand for 30-60 seconds until the mixture begins to thicken a little and get frothy and has increased in volume.
  ¼ cup instant coffee granules, ½ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup boiling water
• Switch to whisking with the stand mixer using the whisk attachment. Whisk on medium to high speed for a few minutes until stiff peaks form and the coffee is a light brown color.
• Scrape gently into a clean bowl and set aside. Wipe out the mixing bowl and add to it the mascarpone, heavy cream and powdered sugar.
  ½ cup mascarpone cheese, 1 cup heavy cream, 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
• Whisk, starting on low speed and gradually increase speed, until mixture is light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.
• With the mixer off, scrape the whipped Dalgona coffee into the whipped mascarpone and whisk on medium speed for 30-60 seconds to combine evenly.

Fill and Frost the Cake:

• Be sure the cakes have cooled completely before filling and frosting.
• Level both cakes by trimming the domed top off with a serrated knife or with a cake leveler. 
• Frost one layer with about ½ the Dalgona coffee frosting.
• Top with the second cake layer and frost the top with the remaining coffee frosting.
• Garnish with chocolate shavings and serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 373kcal | Carbohydrates: 42.3g | Protein: 5.4g | Fat: 22.2g | Saturated Fat: 13.4g | Cholesterol: 95.6mg | Sodium: 311.6mg | Fiber: 2.2g | Sugar: 27.2g

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