Chocolate mocha cake w/ raspberry-pomegranate compote (v)

For this cake I didn’t do anything really original since I just combined a bunch of different recipes with slight changes but I thought I’d share this since I’m really proud of how nicely this cake turned out. It also gives me a chance to share with you some of my favorite recipes in case you’re looking to do some cake baking yourself.

Look at that raspberry-pomegranate filling in the middle!

For the cake I used this recipe for a vegan mocha cake by Ashley Adams from the spruce except I upped the fresh brewed coffee to 2 cups, reduced the maple syrup to 1/8 cup, and added a tablespoon of espresso powder. For the icing I used Geeky Cakes’ Italian Meringue Buttercream but I added a quarter teaspoon of cream of tartar to help my meringue hold its peaks, used 1 whole vanilla bean instead of extract, and I added 4 tablespoons of a homemade pomegranate molasses for color and flavor.

Lastly, for the raspberry-pomegranate compote I did make that myself but it’s not really worth writing a whole blog post for so I’ll just include how I did it here. Add 2 & 1/2 cups raspberries (I used frozen) to a sauce pot and add 1/4 cup of pomegranate molasses and 2 tablespoons of water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 10-15 minutes or until all the raspberries have broken down into small pieces. Remove it from the heat and then add another 2 & 1/2 cups of raspberries, stirring to combine. Cover and let the mixture cool until you have a thicken but lightly syrupy jam.

There you go! Now all you have to do is practice your cake making skills and you have a really tasty cake. This might sound crazy but I actually pulled off this whole cake without a lot of equipment. I didn’t have a turntable/lazy Susan, a flat spatula, or a serrated knife for trimming the cake flat. If you’re creative enough you can get a nice cake without any of those things either, not that I’m recommending that you throw your equipment out or never buy them. It’s just that not having those things shouldn’t scare you away from making delicious cakes!

Just as a heads up: I actually prefer it if my frostings aren’t so sweet since I find that a lot of American buttercream tends to overpower the flavors of the cake and all the sugar makes it hard to pick up any delicate flavors you add to your frosting like the pomegranate molasses or vanilla bean. So if you make this cake exactly the way I did, don’t expect it to be as sweet as a lot of other cakes. Instead, you’ll get a lot of subtle flavors and a tart contrast from the compote.

Here’s a close up of my simple decorations: roses and a border.