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    Home » Recipes » Cakes

    Espresso Cake with Chocolate and Nuts

    Published: Apr 28, 2024 · Modified: Sep 8, 2024 by Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. · This post may contain affiliate links · 9 Comments

    Jump to Recipe

    Moist and tender espresso cake made with sour cream, delicious pieces of buttery pecans or walnuts and rich dark chocolate throughout. This coffee cake is rich and moist, and the perfect dessert pick-me-up! 

    Espresso cake slices with chocolate and walnuts inside.

    Coffee is something you either hate or can’t live without, and I’m most certainly a top member of the latter group. Right now, my one year old loves helping me make my morning coffee. He loves to “scoop the beans” and press the grinder button. It’s been the greatest addition to my morning routine.

    So for coffee lovers like me, I developed a new way to get my daily dose of caffeine, and that is, as you can already imagine, inside a cake. I hope you enjoy this espresso cake recipe as much as we do.

    Cake made with espresso or coffee in the batter, sliced to reveal moist and tender inside with pecans and chocolate.

    Table of contents

    • Ingredients Used
    • How to make espresso cake (coffee in cake)
    • Tips for perfect espresso cake
    • More of my favorite loaf cakes

    Ingredients Used

    • All-purpose flour
    • Baking powder
    • Ground cinnamon , optional
    • Salt
    • Unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
    • Dark brown sugar
    • 2 large eggs
    • Pure vanilla extract
    • Very strong espresso or brewed coffee, cooled to room temperature
    • Yogurt or sour cream
    • Chopped dark chocolate
    • Chopped pecans, plus more for sprinkling
    Hand grabbing a slice of espresso cake made with chocolate and pecans.

    How to make espresso cake (coffee in cake)

    • Combine the dry ingredients. In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
    • Mix the wet ingredients together. In a separate bowl, combine the sour cream and espresso. Set aside.
    • Cream together the butter and sugar. In a large mixing bowl (stand mixer) fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the room temperature butter for about 2 minutes until it’s light and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat together for another 2 minutes until completely combined.
    • Add the eggs. One at time, add the eggs to the mixing bowl and beat to combine. Be sure to use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides to make sure all the batter is combined evenly.
    • Add the dry and wet ingredients. Alternatively add the dry ingredients and the sour cream and espresso mixture to the mixer, combining slowly between each addition until everything is incorporated. Lastly, fold in the chocolate chunks and pecans, either with a rubber spatula or slowly with the paddle attachment.
    • Bake. Pour batter into a parchment lined loaf pan with overhang so you can pull the cake out of the pan easily. I like to garnics the top with chopped pecans, but this is completely optional. Put into the oven for 45-55 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean and the top of the cake looks golden brown.
    • Cool. Once the cake is cool enough to handle, you can lift it out of the loaf pan and place it on a wire rack to finish cooling.
    Chocolate Pecan Espresso cake with shots of espresso.
    Chocolate Pecan Espresso cake overhead view with knife on the side.
    Chocolate Pecan Espresso cake slices.

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    Tips for perfect espresso cake

    • Coffee Flavor. You can control the amount of coffee used so that the flavor is either strong or subtle. Speaking of which, don’t be afraid to use strong coffee here because even with a double shot espresso, my final cake ended up with a pretty mild coffee flavor. Last time I made it, I added coffee granules in addition to the espresso, and liked it even better.
    • Making strong coffee. I find that espresso yields the best flavor, but you can replace it with (very strong) freshly brewed coffee or use instant espresso powder dissolved in ¼ cup boiling water. Use the ratios on your instant espresso to figure out how much you’ll need.
    • Mix-ins. Crunchy pecans and chocolate are my favorite add-ins to this cake, although sometimes I only use pecans. The bittersweet flavors combine perfectly with one another, so I definitely recommend using both.
    Slice of espresso cake with chocolate and pecans.

    More of my favorite loaf cakes

    • White Chocolate Raspberry Loaf Cake: One of my all time favorite cakes! Juicy raspberries and rich white chocolate come together for the ultimate dessert.
    • Coffee Loaf Cake: If you’re looking for another coffee flavored cake to try, this coffee loaf cake is a must! It’s moist, tender, and amazing.
    • Mom’s Honey Cake: This light and delicate cake is bursting with honey flavor!
    • Chocolate, Dulce de Leche, and Vanilla Marble Cake: Three rich flavors are swirled together for a sensational taste explosion.
    Espresso cake slices with chocolate and walnuts inside.
    4.5 from 2 votes
    Print

    Chocolate Pecan Espresso Cake

    Flavors of chocolate, pecans (or walnuts), and coffee come together in this moist, decadent cake.

    Prep Time 15 minutes
    Cook Time 55 minutes
    Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

    Ingredients

    • 1 ½ cups (180g) all-purpose flour
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon , optional
    • Pinch of salt
    • ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
    • 1 cup (200g) dark brown sugar
    • 2 large eggs
    • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    • ¼ cup (60 ml) very strong espresso or brewed coffee, cooled to room temperature
    • ⅔ cup (160 g) yogurt or sour cream
    • ½ cup (80g) chopped dark chocolate
    • ½ cup chopped pecans (or walnuts) , plus more for sprinkling

    Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan. Set aside.

    2. In a medium bowl sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
    3. In a medium bowl using a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until combined. Beat in vanilla extract. On low speed, beat in the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the sour cream and espresso in 2 additions, starting and ending with the flour. Do not overmix. Fold in chocolate and pecans.
    4. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle with pecans if you like.
    5. Bake for 50-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. If the top browns too quickly while baking, cover pan loosely with aluminum foil. Let cake cool completely on a wire rack.
    6. Store cake at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days or refrigerate for up to 5 days.

    Recipe Notes

    For tips on how to make it perfect, go to the recipe at www.prettysimplesweet.com

    SaveSave

    SaveSave

    Chocolate nut espresso cake with walnuts or pecans pinterest pin.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Thalia @ butter and brioche says

      May 02, 2016 at 8:09 pm

      holy this cake looks incredible. love the photography too, so warm and inviting. i definitely want a slice alongside a hot shot of espresso now!

      Reply
      • Shiran says

        May 04, 2016 at 1:41 pm

        Thank you so much, Thalia! 🙂

        Reply
        • Karla says

          May 06, 2016 at 2:06 pm

          OMGosh….where’s this recipe been all my life.

          Reply
    2. Claudia | The Brick Kitchen says

      May 03, 2016 at 6:36 pm

      This is so what I feel like right now, rather than sitting in my lecture – a big chunk of cake and a coffee! Love how you flavoured the cake with espresso and chocolate chunks – decadent but still perfect for morning tea 🙂

      Reply
    3. Aaron Chow says

      May 20, 2016 at 7:09 pm

      Your photos are so beautiful!!!! I’m such a fan! One day I’ll learn how to take shorts like yours. Do you use strobes? Ahhhh! So good!

      Reply
      • Shiran says

        May 30, 2016 at 7:01 am

        Hi Aaron! Thank you so much! 🙂 I don’t use strobes, and don’t own any fancy equipment, and I only shoot with natural light. I wrote an ebook all about food photography, including all my secrets – you can view it here.

        Reply
    4. Jet says

      May 27, 2021 at 4:41 am

      I’ve made this one so many times now, it’s a hit! Thank you so much😃😃

      Reply
    5. Jean says

      November 26, 2021 at 8:07 am

      I baked this today but it turned out a little fudgy, Not ideal. The only thing I changed is I used oil instead of butter.

      Reply
    6. Jean says

      November 26, 2021 at 8:12 am

      I baked this today but it turned out a little fudgy, Not ideal. The only thing I changed is I used oil instead of butter, I wonder if that could be the reason.

      Reply

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