Three cups of strong mocha may be a bit too much in the morning, but it’s just the right amount for a beautifully moist chocolate cake.

Naked cakes are a wonderful new baking trend. It refers to cakes that are only partially glazed with fondant or ganache so that their various layers are still visible. In this recipe, chocolate and coffee layers alternate with cream and juicy redcurrants. A chocolate cream icing made with the finest couverture adds the perfect finishing touch.

Portions: 8

Ingredients:

• 100 g softened butter, plus a little butter to grease the tin
• 200 g flour (fine white flour) and a little extra for dusting
• 3 cups of strong mocha or coffee
• 100 g bitter couverture (60% cocoa, finely chopped)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 225 g sugar
• 2 packs vanilla sugar
• 3 organic eggs (medium)
• 2-3 tbsp coffee eau de vie 

For the fillings:

• 1 leaf of white gelatine
• 50 ml (grams) strong mocha or coffee
• 1 portion soluble coffee powder (2 g instant coffee)
• 200 g whipping cream (35% fat)
• 50 g sugar
• 100 g redcurrants (plus a few sprigs to garnish)

For the chocolate cream glaze:

• 2 tbsp whipping cream (30–35 g)
• 50 g couverture (60% cocoa, very finely chopped)
• 1 springform tin (18 cm diameter) 

Preparation:

1. Grease the springform tin with butter and dust with flour.
2. Brew the coffee; while still hot, mix 135 ml with the couverture and 100 g sugar, and stir to dissolve.
3. Preheat the oven. Settings: Top / Bottom Heat / 160°C.
4. Cream together the butter, 125 g sugar and 1 pack of vanilla sugar, then incorporate the eggs one at a time.
5. Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa powder and stir into the mixture. Finally, pour in the coffee and chocolate mixture, stirring continuously.
6. Pour the mixture into the tin, smooth the surface and bake the cake on the second shelf up from the bottom for 55 minutes. Test the cake with a wooden toothpick, and return to the oven (switched off) for a further 5 minutes, if necessary. Take the cake out of the oven, leave to stand for 5 minutes and then remove from the tin, placing the cake upside down on a cooling rack.
7. Before assembling the cake, slice off the domed top to level the cake and then slice horizontally into three sections. Dissolve 1 pack of vanilla sugar in ½ cup of coffee and stir in the coffee eau de vie. Moisten the three layers of cake with this mixture using a broad pastry brush.
8. For the filling, soak the leaf gelatine in cold water for 5 minutes. Pour 50 ml of the coffee into a bowl and heat gently over a water bath. Add the drained gelatine and coffee powder, stir to dissolve and leave to cool until it begins to set.
9. Whisk the whipping cream with the sugar until stiff. Add half of the cream to the coffee jelly and spread thickly and evenly over the bottom layer of the cake. Place the second layer of cake on top of this, cover with redcurrants and spread the rest of the cream over them. Cover with the third layer of cake. Leave to cool for at least 2 hours.
10. To make the glaze, heat the cream in a very small pan, stir in the couverture and melt. Pour all the mixture onto the middle of the top layer of cake and spread with a palette knife. Leave to cool and set.

Tips:

• Coffee eau de vie is rather special and is unfortunately also rather expensive. Brandy or coffee liqueur may also be used for this moist cake.
• The cake is easier to slice into layers the day after baking.
• The chocolate glaze can be replaced by a thick topping of icing sugar.

Production: Regine Smith Thyme
Food styling: Marlies Klosterfelde-Wentzel
Styling: Katrin Heinatz
Photo: © Wolfgang Kowall