Mocha Pecan Cake

SilverSage

Resident Crone
It’s been a while since I posted one of my cakes here. This was for a friend's birthday last weekend. The cake is a pecan torte, 3 layers. Each layer is first spread with chocolate mocha ganache, then with a mocha Swiss buttercream, the whole thing is frosted in the buttercream, then I poured over the remaining ganache. Chopped pecans on the sides, then decorated with more buttercream and chocolate covered coffee beans.


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lilbopeep

🌹🐰 Still trying to get it right.
Site Supporter
That is a beautiful cake SS. Can you please post the recipe.
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
That is the most beautiful cake I've ever seen! Mocha is my favorite dessert flavor!

Spectacular job, Kathy! :clap:

Lee

P.S. What are the round white things in the background?
 

Sass Muffin

Coffee Queen ☕
Gold Site Supporter
That is the most beautiful cake I've ever seen! Mocha is my favorite dessert flavor!

Spectacular job, Kathy! :clap:

Lee

P.S. What are the round white things in the background?
I can't speak for Sage, but it looks like a sugar bowl/salt and pepper set to me.
?
 

SilverSage

Resident Crone
Peeps, do you happen to have Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol 2? It's the recipe for St Andre Walnut Cake, but I swapped out pecans for the walnuts, and dark rum for the kirsch. A double batch made 3 -8 inch layers. If you don't have access to the book. I'll see if I can post a pic, because it's very long to type up.

The ganache is just a standard ganache, chocolate, butter and coffee. The Swiss buttercream is online - Bravetarts chocolate Swiss buttercream recipe on Serious Eats. I like it much better than the French buttercream I used to make all the time. French uses egg yolks, while the Swiss uses egg white meringue, making it a bit lighter (as if a pound of butter can be lighter). It is also less sweet, and more stable in the hot weather. It was 83 F here on Sunday.

Lee, Sass is correct. Those were on the table at my friend's house, salt, pepper, sugar.
 

SilverSage

Resident Crone
You can tell it's a well loved recipe in a well worn cookbook!

I swap out various nuts (this time pecans, often hazelnuts) and various Liquors (brandy, rum, even coffee for a non-booze version). I also find it simpler to use a food processor instead of a blender - (when this cookbook was written in 1970, folks were more likely to have blenders at home, not FPs).
One batch makes a 10-inch layer, so for a 3 layer cake (the layers are thin), I make a triple batch. For an 8-inch cake, I use a double batch to make 3 layers. Since I make this in different sizes, I have to watch the cake for signs of doneness - you cant use 30 minutes as a baseline!

Here's a link to the buttercream. https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2018/02/chocolate-swiss-buttercream.html
I used less chocolate and more coffee, since I was going for a light mocha.
 
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