If Valentine’s Day were a food, it’d be these heart-shaped Mocha Lotta Love Cakes — decadent chocolate cake, espresso buttercream, and dark chocolate ganache. Make these cakes, and you’re sure to score a sweetheart on Valentine’s Day.
My Mocha Lotta Love Cakes were 100% inspired by these sweet 
The truth is, I don’t really care about Valentine’s Day. <3M and I skip this holiday since our anniversary is 2 weeks after this universal day of love. Though, that doesn’t mean I won’t accept a sweet Valentine’s Day gesture if he decides to get me something (hint, hint if you’re reading this <3M!).
I love any kind of chocolate and coffee flavored dessert. In fact, our wedding cake was this same combination of rich chocolate cake filled with silky espresso buttercream which inspired these love cakes! It’s simply so decadent and feels so indulgent. Perfect for Valentine’s Day.
I added to the cake’s chocolate decadence by ‘icing’ my Mocha Lotta Love Cakes with a rich, dark chocolate ganache. Ganache seems intimidating but it truly only 3 ingredients and continuous stirring. It’s like a magical frosting that’s hard to mess up and looks super fancy. My one recommendation here is to freeze the cakes before dipping. It will make them easier to handle and won’t break off in the ganache when you turn them upside down for a dunk in some chocolatey love.
To finish off my Mocha Lotta Love Cakes, and to make them extra special, I loaded them with 
These impressive Mocha Lotta Love Cakes will be hard for your Valentine to pass up and are sure to score you some extra sweetheart lovin’. Happy Valentine’s Day!
- Wilton Silicon Heart Molds or cupcake liners/tins
- 1½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup Dutch-processed cocoa, preferrable sifted
- 1½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ¾ cup buttermilk, room temperature
- ¾ cup hot water
- 2 tsp instant coffee granules
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- Preheat oven to 350*F
- Grease the baking molds with shortening (or baker's spray) and lightly dust with cocoa powder* then set aside
- Place all of the dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, stir to combine.
- In a small bowl, warm the water then dissolve the coffee granules
- In a medium bowl whisk together the vegetable oil, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla
- Slowly, add the hot-coffee water to the rest of the wet ingredients temper the eggs**
- Once combined, add the wet ingredients to dry and mix on medium for 2-3 minutes to create a thin batter
- Fill the prepared heart molds to about ¾ full***
- Bake for 17 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean (or 13-15 minutes for cupcakes)
- Cool 10 minutes in the pans then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely
- Trim the cake bottoms and cut off any excess as needed to ensure they sit flat and maintain a heart shape (skip this step for cupcakes)
** Adding the hot water too quickly will cook the eggs
*** If you only have one mold, you'll need to wash, grease/dust, and fill the molds an additional 2-3 times
- ½ cup shortening
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon meringue powder, optional
- ¼ cup luke-warm water
- 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4¼-1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
- ¼ cup half and half
- Dissolve the coffee granules in the water and set aside
- In a mixer, mix together the shortening, butter, and meringue powder (if using)
- Add in vanilla and coffee-water along with 2 cups of confectioner's sugar and mix to combine
- Gradually add more sugar, drizzling in the half and half until a soft, spreadable consistency is reached
- 8 ounces dark chocolate chips
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon coffee granules
- Pour all ingredients into a medium-sized saucepan
- Place the pan on the stove and melt the chocolate over low heat stirring continuously about 3-5 minutes
- When most of the lumps are melted, remove the chocolate from the heat and stir continuously until the ganache is smooth and shiny
- chocolate cake hearts or cupcakes
- mocha frosting
- chocolate ganache
- 1 cup white chocolate, melted*
- sprinkles
- Place the frosting into a piping bag fitted with anicing filling tip (Wilton 230)
- Fill the hearts from the bottom by gently squeezing the frosting into the center, right and left rounded tops of the heart and tip of the heart. While holding the cake you should be able to tell when it becomes full**
- Place the filled hearts onto a parchment lined tray and freeze for up to 2 hours before dipping in ganache. You must freeze the cakes before dipping so they don't break off into the ganache when dipped
- With the warm ganache, dip the tops of the frozen heart cakes (or cupcakes) into the ganache. If needed, use an offset spatula, spread the ganache evenly across the top of the cake to create a smooth, flat layer and cleaning up the edges as needed
- Let the ganache set a few minutes before drizzling with white chocolate or adorning with sprinkles
- Serve immediately or keep at room temperature for 2-3 days
** If using cupcakes, simply fill as you would normally and freeze the cupcakes for at least 2 hours before dipping the tops into the ganache
