Chocolate Cake with Mocha Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Hershey’s chocolate cake with mocha Swiss meringue buttercream is filled with an espresso almond butter ganache for a velvety & moist homemade cake that’s easy to make.

I graduated from the baking and pastry program at Johnson & Wales, so I’d like to think that I’m a pretty good baker.

Let’s put the emphasis on the word BAKER though because I almost failed my cake decorating class…. definitely NOT my forte. (I’m pretty sure my chef felt bad for my fondant and gum paste making skills).

So yeah, my cakes may not turn heads, but damnnit they taste good and that’s the most important part, right? 😉

Perfectly moist and velvety, this chocolate cake recipe is always my go-to because it’s one of the easiest from-scratch cake recipes you can find.

There’s no sifting, creaming, or using 5 different bowls.  It’s simple and quick, yet moist and delicious.

The original recipe is from Hershey’s, and it’s been my no-fail favorite, easiest chocolate cake recipe for years.

Why do you add boiling water to chocolate cake?

The boiling water is added to the batter at the end because it enhances the cocoa powder, giving the cake that rich delicious chocolate flavor.

This chocolate cake recipe also uses oil instead of butter keeping it super moist.

Let’s talk about this Swiss meringue buttercream frosting for a minute.

It may be a little more effort than regular buttercream that’s made with powdered sugar, but I’ll tell ya, this is one of my FAVORITE frosting recipes, and I am a frosting fanatic.

I was the girl in cake class that would eat spoonfuls of frosting, and am also the girl that request the piece of cake with the most frosting :).

For those of you that have never had Swiss meringue buttercream, it’s silky, smooth, not to sweet, and easy to frost with.

To make Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

1. Heat your sugar and egg whites to 160 degrees.  Place in stand mixer and whip until fluffy and stiff peaks form.
2. Once cooled, gradually add small pieces of butter until fully incorporated.
3. Add in vanilla, coffee and cooled melted chocolate.

A couple of tips for making the perfect Swiss meringue buttercream:

• To make sure your egg whites are cooked to a high enough temperature, you’ll want to use a thermometer.  If they aren’t cooked to at least 160-165, your meringue won’t turn fluffy with stiff peaks.
• Cut your butter into small chunks.  I like to cut mine in 1” pieces.  Also, don’t add your butter too quickly.  I like to add 2-3 pieces at a time, while keeping the mixer on high, and letting it incorporate until adding more.
• If your buttercream looks curdled after all of your butter, DON’T PANIC.  This is totally fine.  Just keep mixing and it will eventually come together.  This could be because you added the butter too quickly or because your meringue wasn’t cool enough before adding the butter.

The swiss meringue buttercream recipe is from Liv for Cake who has an awesome post and tutorial for making perfect buttercream if you want to check it out!

This chocolate cake with mocha Swiss meringue buttercream is filled with a decadent espresso almond butter ganache.

Regular ganache is made by heating heavy cream just to boiling and pouring it over chocolate.  It’s stirred until smooth and cooled until thickened.

For this ganache filling, we’re adding almond butter and a shot of espresso.  The almond butter gives the ganache a creamier texture and the espresso emphasizes the chocolaty flavor. 

You really can’t go wrong with ganache.  It takes minutes to make and gives you a decadently smooth chocolaty filling.

If you’re not a fan of the espresso or almond butter, leave it plain or add a little peanut butter, raspberry puree or even wine like in my dark chocolate cupcakes with red wine ganache.

For an easy yet impressive cake recipe, this Hershey’s chocolate cake is a must.

You won’t be disappointed with the Swiss meringue buttercream because it’s absolutely divine.  I promise it’s totally worth the effort!!!