Ina Garten’s Simple Secret to Elevate Your Chocolate Cake with Just One Ingredient!

My passion for baking sparked from my love for chocolate cake. During high school, I was determined to find the ultimate chocolate cake recipe, which led me to try numerous recipes from magazines, cookbooks, and newspapers over several months. (Yes, this was before the internet offered its near 750 million chocolate cake recipes at our fingertips today.)

To this day, Ina Garten’s Beatty’s Chocolate Cake remains my favorite. It’s straightforward to prepare, delightfully moist, and deliciously rich in chocolate flavor—thanks largely to its use of coffee. Ina’s recipe cleverly incorporates coffee twice, once in the batter and once in the frosting.

Coffee naturally brings out the deeper flavors in chocolate without adding a coffee flavor itself. The trick lies in using the right amount at the right time—too much and your cake might lean towards tasting like mocha. Although Ina’s recipe is my staple, I always add coffee when baking other chocolate cakes that don’t include it. Here’s how I do it.

Best Coffee Choices for Chocolate Cake

Depending on the specific cake recipe, there are several ways you can incorporate coffee. It’s crucial to use fresh coffee that you enjoy drinking. Below, find detailed suggestions on how to incorporate coffee into your cake and the right amount of coffee to use.

1. Hot Brewed Coffee: Prepare it using a drip coffee maker, a Bialetti Moka Express, or a French press.
2. Shot of Espresso: This is ideal if you have an espresso machine. Alternatively, purchase a shot from a local cafe. If more than a shot is needed, dilute it with hot water to make an Americano.
3. Instant Espresso Powder: I prefer brands like Medaglia D’Oro or Café Bustelo.
4. Instant Coffee Granules: I grew up with Nescafé Clásico instant coffee, so that’s typically what I use.
5. Decaf Coffee: When sharing the cake with children or those sensitive to caffeine, I opt for decaf. If I don’t have any on hand, I’ll pick some up from a coffee shop.

Integrating Coffee into Chocolate Cake Recipes

When the recipe involves hot water: Many recipes use hot water to enhance the moistness and flavor of chocolate cake. To deepen the chocolate taste even further, replace the hot water with an equal measure of hot brewed coffee.

If milk or buttermilk is in the recipe: Instead of swapping out milk or buttermilk with brewed coffee, which could disrupt the balance of the recipe, dissolve a teaspoon of instant espresso powder or two teaspoons of instant coffee granules into the dairy.

Mixing in instant espresso powder or coffee granules: If the recipe doesn’t include a liquid component like water, milk, or buttermilk, add one teaspoon of instant espresso powder or two teaspoons of instant coffee granules directly to the dry ingredients, such as flour, cocoa, salt, and leaveners.