The beloved classic: coffee-dipped biscuits layered with silky mocha buttercream, finished with cocoa and chocolate shavings. No oven, and even better the next day.
Ingredients
For the cake: 2 packs of rectangular María-style biscuits; 200 ml strong coffee, cold; 1 tbsp coffee liqueur or brandy (optional). For the mocha cream: 250 g unsalted butter, at room temperature; 150 g icing sugar; 2 tbsp instant coffee; 2 tbsp hot water; 1 tsp vanilla essence. To decorate: unsweetened cocoa powder; chocolate shavings; chocolate coffee beans (optional).
Method
Brew a strong coffee and let it cool completely, stirring in the liqueur if using. Dissolve the instant coffee in the hot water and let that cool too. Beat the butter until creamy, add the icing sugar a little at a time, and keep beating until pale and fluffy. Beat in the dissolved coffee and the vanilla until the cream is smooth, silky, and full of mocha aroma. Dip each biscuit in the cold coffee for just a second or two per side — any longer and they will fall apart. Lay a compact rectangle of dipped biscuits in a mould or on a tray and spread over a generous layer of mocha cream. Keep alternating biscuit and cream layers until everything is used, saving enough cream to cover the top and sides. Finish with a thin coat of cream, a dusting of cocoa, and chocolate shavings. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight, so the biscuits soften and the layers settle. Take the cake out 10 minutes before serving and cut with a clean knife.
Tips
Always dip the biscuits in cold coffee — hot coffee will make them disintegrate; room-temperature butter gives a smooth, lump-free cream; a quick dip is enough, never soak; the overnight rest genuinely improves both texture and flavour; for a milder cake, swap part of the coffee for milk.
