Orange-Mocha-Chocolate Cake

A sprinkle of instant espresso and a dash of orange liqueur turns a plain chocolate cake mix into an elegantly flavored cake. ...MORE+ LESS-

Cake

(18.25-oz.) pkg. chocolate fudge cake mix with pudding

teaspoon instant espresso coffee or instant coffee granules or crystals

1 1/3

cups water

1/3

cup oil

eggs

cups whipping cream

1/4

cup sugar

tablespoons butter

1/2

teaspoon instant espresso coffee or instant coffee granules or crystals

(12-oz.) pkg. (2 cups) semisweet chocolate chips

tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur or orange juice

1/2

cup orange marmalade

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1

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottoms only of two 8-inch square pans. In large bowl, combine cake mix, 1 teaspoon espresso coffee, water, oil and eggs. Beat with electric mixer at low speed for 1 minute, scraping bowl constantly. Pour into greased pans.
2

Bake at 350°F. for 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Run knife around sides of pans to loosen. Remove cakes from pans; place on wire racks. Cool 1 hour or until completely cooled.
3

In medium saucepan, combine 1/2 cup of the whipping cream, sugar, butter and 1/2 teaspoon espresso coffee. Cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture comes to a boil, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Add chocolate chips; stir until melted. Stir in liqueur. Cool 30 minutes or until completely cooled.
4

In medium bowl, beat remaining 1 1/2 cups whipping cream just until stiff peaks form. Fold whipped cream into cooled chocolate mixture. Cover; refrigerate 30 minutes.
5

Place 1 cake layer, top side down, on serving plate. Spread orange marmalade and 1 cup of the chocolate whipped cream over top. Top with second cake layer, top side up. Reserve about 1/2 cup chocolate whipped cream for garnish. Frost sides and top of cake with remaining chocolate whipped cream.
6

Pipe reserved chocolate whipped cream around top edge of cake. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. Just before serving, garnish as desired.

Mocha is a port in Yemen from which very fine Arabian coffee has been shipped since the 16th century. The word has come to designate a coffee and chocolate flavor combination very popular for beverages, desserts and candies.
This recipe may be assembled into a round layer cake; bake the cake in two 9-inch pans. Bake as directed on the package. To keep the serving plate clean while frosting the cake, arrange pieces of waxed paper under the bottom edge of the cake. When you are done frosting it, gently remove the waxed paper.
Prepare the recipe in advance; cover and refrigerate it for up to eight hours.
Garnish the dessert with orange zest dipped in sugar.