Blackberry Espresso Chocolate Cake
Moist espresso chocolate cake layered with blackberry mousse, finished with a glossy dark chocolate ganache. Rich, a little tart, deeply chocolatey, and genuinely one of the best cakes I’ve ever made.
PREP TIME: 3 hours COOK TIME: 30 minutes TOTAL TIME: 3-4 hours
Ingredients (6-inch round, 3 layer cake)
For the cake:
240 g all-purpose flour
400 g granulated sugar
75 g dutch-process cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
2 eggs
240 g buttermilk
120 g neutral oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp espresso powder
240 g hot coffee (or 2 shots espresso + hot water to equal 240 g)
For the blackberry purée:
18 oz fresh blackberries
3 tbsp sugar
squeeze of lemon juice
pinch of salt
For the blackberry mousse:
½ cup blackberry purée
½ sheet of gelatin sheet*
¾ cup heavy cream
1 tbsp powdered sugar
tiny pinch salt
squeeze of lemon juice
*I use gold strength sheets, but you can also sub for ¼ tsp of gelatin powder.
For the whipped ganache:
(For crumb coat + mousse dam)
7 oz (200g) of dark chocolate (I like 70-80% dark)
¾ cup + 1 tbsp of heavy cream (200g)
For the glossy ganache glaze:
7 oz (200g) dark chocolate
1 cup heavy cream
2 tsp corn syrup (optional but makes it extra shiny)
Step 1: Bake the Cake
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Grease and line three 6-inch cake pans with parchment. This is a very moist cake so this step is essential!!
In a big bowl, whisk together dries: flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate small bowl whisk wets: eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Mix until combined.
Slowly stream hot coffee into batter. Batter will be relatively thin.
Divide evenly between pans. You’ll want to weight the total batter, then divide by 3.
Bake 30–35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
Cool completely at room temp. Wrap and freeze before assembly. I do this at least a day in advance!
Step 2: Blackberry Mousse
Combine blackberries, sugar, lemon juice, and salt in a saucepan.
Simmer over medium heat until berries fully break down. This may take 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove seeds.
Return purée to pan and reduce until thickened slightly and syrupy.
You want a thick coulis consistency, not jam.Soak gelatin sheet in cold water for 5 minutes until softened.
Squeeze excess water from gelatin sheet and whisk into 2-3 tbsp of warm purée until dissolved, then stir mixture back into remaining blackberry purée.
Let cool completely.
Whip heavy cream and powdered sugar to soft peaks.
Gently fold blackberry mixture into whipped cream until fully combined.
Chill briefly if mousse feels too loose before assembling.
Step 3: Whipped Chocolate Ganache
Heat cream until steaming but not boiling.
Pour over chopped chocolate and let sit 2–3 minutes.
Stir until fully smooth and glossy.
Chill, stirring occasionally, until thickened to peanut butter consistency. Essential or it won’t whip!
Whip until light, fluffy, and spreadable.
Step 3: Assemble Cake
Remove frozen cake layers from freezer for 15–20 minutes.
Level cake layers while still cold.
Place first layer on cake board.
Pipe a ring of whipped ganache around the edge to create a dam. Essential or your mousse will ooze out the edges through the ganache glaze and it will be a total disaster, trust me.
Fill center with blackberry mousse. I like to pipe mine in a spiral.
Repeat with remaining layers.
Freeze the cake 15–20 minutes to stabilize. If you dont the whipped ganache won’t stick to the very moist, crumby cake.
Apply a thin whipped ganache crumb coat, focusing on filling gaps and smoothing sides. This is to clean up the profile of the cake, especially between layers.
Chill cake again until firm and cold.
Step 3: Ganache Glaze
Heat cream until steaming but not boiling and pour over chopped chocolate. Let sit 2–3 minutes. Stir until fully smooth and glossy. Cool until 90-95 degrees F and flows like warm honey.
Pour glossy ganache over center of cake and allow it to self-level.
Use an offset spatula minimally to guide glaze over edges and smooth sides.
Chill until set.
