Coffee definitely isn’t my favorite thing. If I am going to get a coffee drink, I always go for a mocha! A frozen mocha is definitely my favorite! So when I saw this Mocha Chip Angel Food Cake in the January/February 2011 issue of Everyday Food Magazine it lingered in my head for weeks before I had the chance to try it.
When I finally had the chance to make it, it was well worth my time. It is denser than a regular angel food cake, but has rich taste of mocha. Topped with the mocha ganache and homemade whipped cream, it was delicious!
MOCHA CHIP ANGEL FOOD CAKE
Ingredients
-2 Tablespoons INSTANT ESPRESSO POWDER*
-2 teaspoons PURE VANILLA EXTRACT
-12 large EGG WHITES, room temperature
-1 teaspoon CREAM OF TARTAR
-1 1/4 cups SUGAR
-1 cup CAKE FLOUR**
-1/2 teaspoon COARSE SALT
-1 cup MINIATURE SEMISWEET CHOCOLATE CHIPS (6 oz)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together espresso powder, vanilla, and 1 Tablespoon water until powder dissolves.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat egg whites on medium-high until foamy, about 1 minute. Add cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form, 4 minutes. Continue to beat, gradually adding sugar, until stiff glossy peaks form, about 2 minutes.
Place cake flour and salt in a fine-mesh sieve and sift over egg-white mixture in three additions, gently folding with a rubber spatula after each addition. Gently fold in espresso mixture and chocolate chips. Gently spoon batter into an ungreased angel food cake pan. With a knife, cut through batter to release air bubbles, then smooth top. Bake until cake is golden brown and springs back when lightly pressed, 30 to 35 minutes.
Invert pan on a baking sheet; let cake cool in pan, 1 hour. Run a thin knife around pan tube, then unmold cake. Serve drizzle with ganache. Store cooled cake in pan, wrapped in plastic wrap, up to 3 days.
To make the mocha ganache:
Place 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, 1/2 cup skim milk, and 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder* in a medium heatproof bowl set over (not in) a pot of simmering water. Stir until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat. Refrigerate up to 1 week. Makes 1 cup
To make whipped cream:
Whip 1 cup cold heavy cream in a bowl with an electric mixer. When it starts to thicken add 1 Tablespoon powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract and continue to whip until the cream forms stiff peaks.
*Espresso powder can be hard to find. If you don’t have it, use the darkest roast coffee that you can find. I used Italian Roast VIA packets from Starbucks
. I used 4 packets for the cake and 1 packet for the ganache.
. I used 4 packets for the cake and 1 packet for the ganache.**If you don’t have cake flour you can make it with flour and cornstarch. Take 1 cup of flour and minus 2 Tablespoons. Replace those 2 tablespoons with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Sift. To ensure that it is mixed enough, sift approximately 5 times before using.
