Mocha Torte

My Mom’s birthday was this week and I make this cake annually for her. The funny part is, I personally don’t like it at all. And yet, it’s her favorite dessert on the planet. Well, this and Cream Cheese Coffee Cake. I make the coffee cake for the morning and the mocha torte for after dinner.

The reason I personally don’t care for this torte is because I’m not a fan of whipped cream. I explain it more on this post: Coffee & Chocolate Parfait, also a whipped cream based dessert. My Mom, however, adores whipped cream. So if you’re one to eat whipped cream with everything, whether is be on desserts or drinks, or even directly from a can, you’ll likely love this torte. You’ll also likely love this if you have a thing for coffee and chocolate. I love coffee and chocolate together but I prefer them in more custard based desserts like this, Mocha Pot de Crème.

The torte part of this cake is almost entirely egg based. The eggs create a light, and conveniently gluten-free, chocolate cake. Almost like an angel food cake but every so slightly more dense due to the egg yolks. When you pull it from the oven, it’s puffy and elegant, but within minutes, and intentionally, it collapses in the center, making a perfect well for your coffee spiked whipped cream. It slices beautifully because it’s air-y nature. It’s really an angelic cake…very well suited for my Mom.

Enjoy!

*A little help from my Mom and Jesse (in the background) for this photo shoot. :-p