Mocha Chiffon Cake

I was flipping through the channels on Saturday morning and stopped at a cooking show where two women were making a chiffon cake. Of course I was inspired immediately, so instead of watching the rest of the show or even figuring out what show it was, I started googling chiffon cake recipes. There are quite a few ways to make a chiffon cake, but the mocha chiffon cake caught my eye. My mother makes the best chocolate mocha torte (which I will have to put up at some point because it is so good), and the mocha taste is just heavenly. I love this lighter version where the cake is not as heavy, and the frosting is optional but who opts for no frosting?

Ingredients:

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup brewed coffee

1/2 cup cooking oil

8 egg yolks

8 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 cup white sugar

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Sift the flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour the coffee, oil, and egg yolks into the well; beat well by hand until the batter is smooth with no lumps.
Beat egg whites with the cream of tartar in a large bowl until foamy. Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar, continuing to beat until stiff peaks form. Lift your beater or whisk straight up: the egg whites should form a sharp peak that holds its shape. Fold the batter into the egg whites; pour into a non-stick Bundt® fluted tube pan.
Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 60 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack. Loosen the sides with a knife and release the cake onto a serving platter.

Mocha Buttercream Icing:

For the Mocha Buttercream

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons instant coffee, dissolved in a splash of hot water

Directions:

In your mixer, beat the softened butter with the powdered sugar until it is creamy.
Add in the cocoa powder, vanilla extract & coffee.

Beat with the mixer until it’s nice and fluffy (about a minute or 2)
This makes a perfectly spreadable frosting. The nice thing about it is that you can put it in the fridge to make it a little more firm if you would like.