Mocha Rum Cake

Chocoholics rejoice! This mocha rum cake is guaranteed to satisfy your sweet tooth. This cake is downright decadent in its chocolate-y deliciousness and spiked with dark rum and Kahlua liqueur. Robust coffee balances the cake’s sweetness while also enhancing its rich chocolate flavor. Even better, this cake will stay moist for days, so you can enjoy a slice whenever you like- if it lasts that long!
For best results, I recommend baking this cake with a high-quality chocolate such as Lindt, Ghirardelli, or Scharffen Berger.  If you would prefer a slightly less tipsy cake (although I can’t imagine why anyone would), you can use cup dark rum and 2 cups coffee. If you’ like a boozier cake, you can borrow the soaking syrup recipe from my Caribbean Rum Cake (I’d recommend making it with dark rum or coffee-infused rum). For a finer texture, you can use cake flour (substitute 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of cake flour for every cup of flour).
To serve this cake, you really only need a simple dusting of powdered sugar, a dollop of whipped cream, and a good cup of coffee. But if  over-the-top chocolate flavor is what you crave, then try glazing the finished cake with a drizzle of rich chocolate ganache.
Ingredients:
  • cocoa powder for dusting
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1½ teaspoons baking soda
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ pound fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
  • 3 sticks (1½ cups) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  •  cup Kahlua or other coffee liqueur
  • 1 cup dark rum
  • 1 cups espresso or strong brewed coffee
  • 2¼ cups granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs, beaten lightly
  • 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • confectioners’ sugar for dusting
  • lightly sweetened whipped cream

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 300°F. Butter a 4½-inch-deep (12-cup) Kugelhupf or bundt pan and dust with cocoa powder, knocking out excess.

In a bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth. Remove chocolate from heat and stir in coffee liqueur, rum, coffee, and granulated sugar. With an electric mixer beat in flour, ½ cup at a time, scraping down side, and beat in eggs and vanilla until batter is combined well. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake cake in middle of oven until a tester comes out clean, about 1 hour and 50 minutes. Let cake cool completely in pan on a rack and turn it out onto rack. Cake may be made 3 days in advance and kept wrapped well and chilled.

Dust cake with confectioners’ sugar and serve with whipped cream.