I’m obsessed with Ombre! I can’t help it!
This 7 Layer Mocha Cake in Ombre shades is going to change your life!
It’s surprising that many people think Mocha is pure coffee flavored icing with a vanilla cake.
When actually it’s a combination of chocolate and coffee
Ombre effect was so easy with just one vanilla cake recipe as the base
Then gradually adding cocoa powder to the layers for an eye catching Ombre effect!
Turning this cake into a more fudge-y brownie-like cake layer by the very last addition!
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL YOUTUBE VIDEO TUTORIAL FOR HOW TO MAKE THIS CAKE!
This website may contain links as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, which means when you click a link and make a purchase through my website I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you
Notes for Success:
**In the video you may notice I keep saying 1/4 sheet pans! this was an error!
While I don’t often try to talk you guys into buying “more stuff” it would be worth the investment as these pans sure do make the work fast and efficient.
One more note about this cake before we begin, is that this is a giant cake!
7 Layers of cake with the filling and icing makes a really tall cake that will serve close to 16 people!
So if you don’t need that much cake you can scale it down to just half recipe of cake batter for a very beautiful ~ 4 layer cake instead!
As you already saw my recent Matcha Green Tea Cake was only 4 layers and quite stunning!
Notes about measuring flour:
Highly recommended to use a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients, mainly the flour
A heavy hand with cups/volume measure can really throw off the measurements and cause a heavy, dry cake
Mocha Ombre Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- Vegan Butter *room temperature 1½ cups 336g
- Granulated Sugar 3 cups 600g
- Golden Flax Meal 8 Tablespoons 64g
- Hot water 1 cup 237ml
- Plant Milk * I use soy 2 cups 474ml
- Vinegar 2 Tablespoons 30ml
- Vanilla Extract 2 teaspoons 10ml
- All Purpose Flour 5 cups 625g *see notes
- Baking Powder 6 teaspoons 12g
- Salt 1 teaspoon 6g
- Cocoa Powder 8 Tablespoons 48g
for the icing
- 1 Recipe Mocha Buttercream
- Optional garnish: Cacao Nibs
- ¼ recipe Vegan ganache *optional
Instructions
- Combine the flax meal with the hot water & whisks smooth, set it aside to thicken
- Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt
- Combine the apple cider vinegar with the soy milk and the vanilla extract and let it stand to thicken for approximately 5 minutes.
- With an electric mixer cream the softened vegan butter with the granulated sugar on medium to high speed for approximately 5 minutes until light & fluffy.
- Scrape the bottom & sides of the bowl as you mix and then add the flax paste while mixing on medium speed.
- Increase speed to high and whip for 30 seconds to emulsify
- Add 1/3 of the sifted dry ingredients mixing only until combined then add half of the soy milk mixture mixing just until combined
- Scrape the bottom & sides of the bowl and then add another 1/3 of the dry ingredients
- Add the rest of the soy milk mixture and then the last of the dry ingredients.
- Mix well
- Spread approximately 1¾ cups of the batter into one of your prepared pans.
- The first addition of cocoa powder will be 2 Tablespoons to the remaining batter in the bowl and mix well.
- Spread approximately 1¾ cups of the light cocoa batter into another pan
- The remaining cocoa additions will now only be 1 Tablespoon at a time to the remaining batter until all the cocoa powder is gone and you have spread the graduating layers of cocoa batter into each of your prepared pans.
- If you are like me and only have 4 - 1/8 sheet pans,, you will have had to stop and wait for the first 4 to bake.
- The bake time in a preheated oven for these thin layers of cake are approximately 15-18 minutes or until springy to the touch when you gently press the centers.
- Cool the cakes, then re-grease & parchment line the cake pans again for the remaining batter and layers.
- Once the cakes are completely cooled, fill & ice with mocha buttercream
- Garnish with cocoa nibs and ganache drip * optional
Video
Notes
Hi
With thus recope u solved my problem, my daughter she is turning 21,and she want cake exactly like this!@ but my question is I have gathering for 30/40 people,how much ingredients and what size cake pan should I use?
Please let me know ????thanks
Hey great! This cake will serve about 16 people, it’s quite large! So if you double it.. there is at least 30 servings 😀
I would say to use ¼ sheet pans though for a larger cake 2X all the recipes, same method, temperature and bake time
Is it possible to do this in with circular cake pans, but just not fill up the pan entirely? Like weigh the batter and distribute accordingly?
The first time around I tried the instant granules and it was okay but this time I used coffee emulsion and The Taste was absolutely incredible! I made my buttercream recipe as usual added cocoa powder and coffee Emulsion and I tested it so much my stomach hurt LOL
Okay I just posted my comment and autocorrect put in a bad word I tried to say coffee Emulsion and well you can read what it wrote…..
LOL I corrected it for you ~ although I kinda liked the autocorrect version! hahahaha
Hey Gretchen!
I know this is an old post so i hope you don’t mind me asking
I was planning on making this but doing a 4 layer cake because I’ve only got about 8 people to feed. What ratios of cocoa powder would you recommend to add to keep the ombre effect?
You’re amazing,
Amy
Thanks Amy! Sure thing, If you wanted to keep the same size pans as me, but just make a 4 layer cake, you can do so by cutting the recipe in half.
I would start with the plain vanilla layer as usual then add just 1 Tb cocoa to the next, and repeat again with just 1 Tb cocoa each time for the next 2 layers
*As I mentioned in the text~ by doing it this way, you will end up with a more “fudgy” cake texture by the last layer.