This Stracciatella, Mocha, Cream Cheese and Mars Cake is made with chocolate sponge cake, wet with caramel espresso coffee, filled with a whipped cream and cream cheese filling and topped with a Mars Chocolate ganache.
The other day it was my son’s birthday and I asked him what kind of cake he would like this year.
He answered stracciatella!!
For those who don’t know what stracciatella is, in Italy we find three different Italian foods: soup, cheese, and gelato – the only thing they have in common is their name, which means little rags.
The other components of the cake were made based on what he likes the most: Chocolate and coffee!
To make the cake, it is preferable that you start the preparations from the previous day.
You will have to make the sponge cake, which will be divided in two pans and you will melt the chocolate to have it ready for the stracciatella cream.
The next day, you will make a sweet espresso lungo (if you don’t have an espresso machine you can make an instant coffee. The coffee will be used to wet the sponge cakes and some of this coffee for the second ganache.
You will make a first layer of ganache with melted Mars chocolates and some whipped cream.
The whipped cream will be divided and used for two preparations. The larger amount will be mixed with cream cheese and the chocolate for stracciatella to make the filling and the rest for the second ganache.
Finally, the ganache will be made with couverture and Mars chocolates for the glazing.
Ingredients needed to make the Stracciatella and Mocha Mars Chocolate Cake:
For the sponge cake:
- Eggs
- Sugar
- All-purpose flour
- Corn flour (starch)
- Cocoa powder
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Butter, for greasing the pan and flour
To wet the sponge:
- Sweet Caramel flavoured espresso lungo
To make stracciatella:
- Couverture chocolate
- Vegetable oil
To make Whipped cream:
- Heavy cream (35%)
- Icing sugar
- Vanilla
- Philadelphia cream cheese
For first layer of chocolate:
- Mars chocolate
- Cream or milk
For the Mars chocolate ganache:
- Couverture chocolate
- Mars chocolates
- Butter
- Part of above whipped cream
- Part of above espresso lungo
For the filling and decoration:
- Part of above cream cheese filling
- Part of above whipped cream and chocolate ganache
- Candied red and yellow stars (optional)
Let’s make the Stracciatella and Mocha Mars Chocolate Cake:
One day ahead:
Prepare the sponge:
- Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and corn flour. Add the salt and vanillins and mix to combine.
- Beat the eggs with the sugar on high speed until white and fluffy. Lower speed to minimum and add the dried ingredients.
- Preheat the oven to 160οC fan forced oven.
- Line two 22cm diameter baking pans with parchment paper and grease and flour the sides.
- Divide the mixture into the baking pans.
- Bake both together for about 20 minutes or until a knife inserted in the centre of the cakes comes out neatly clean. Remove to a wire rack and allow to cool.
To Prepare the Stracciatella:
- Melt the 65 grams couverture chocolate over a water bath. You can do this in the microwave at 480 Watt for 2 minutes.
- Put parchment paper on two flat surfaces (20 x 30 cm) and brush them with the vegetable oil. With a spoon take some chocolate and start spreading it over the surface until all chocolate is added.
- Refrigerate until ready to use.
Next day :
Invert the cakes on a flat surface, remove the parchment paper and cut each sponge cake in the middle.
Prepare the espresso lungo: (if you don’t have an espresso machine use instant coffee).
What is an espresso lungo?
Espresso is an Italian coffee. The word “lungo” in Italian means long. So, to make it you will have to use the program on the espresso machine. Actually it’s an espresso shot with the double amount of water i.e. about 60 ml water.
I prepared an espresso with caramel flavour but you can make a regular espresso or any other flavour you like. When done, add the sugar, mix and set aside to cool.
Wet the sponge cakes with the coffee. Reserve two tablespoons to add to the chocolate ganache.
Prepare the Whipped Cream:
- Put the heavy cream, icing sugar and vanilla in the bowl of the stand mixer, fitted with a whisk attachment and whip the heavy cream on medium-high speed until medium peaks form, about 3-4 minutes.
- Remove 1/3 of the whipped cream in a bowl and refrigerate for later use.
Prepare the filling:
In the remaining 2/3 whipped cream, add the cream cheese and continue whipping until stiff peaks are formed. Add 2 heaped tablespoons in a piping bag and refrigerate.
To make the cream into stracciatella:
Add the chocolate stripes made the previous day and mix to combine.
To prepare the first layer of Mars chocolate ganache:
Melt the Mars bars over a water bath.
Add the cream or milk and mix until smooth and creamy.
To assemble the Stracciatella Cake.
Put the first sponge in a platter and fix a ring around it. Add 1/3 of the chocolate ganache and spread it over the sponge cake.
Add 1/3 of the stracciatella cream and spread it as well.
Continue adding a sponge, chocolate ganache and Stracciatella. Top with the fourth sponge.
Cover with cling film and refrigerate for 2 – 3 hours.
Prepare the Mars Chocolate Ganache:
Put the couverture chocolate and the mars bars over a water bath and melt. Add the reserved coffee, half of the reserved whipped cream and the butter and mix until smooth.
Remove the ring and the cling film.
Pour the ganache on top, leaving about 2 tablespoon in the bowl, and let it drip to the sides.
To make the dark whipped cream:
Add the remaining whipping cream to the leftover ganache and using a hand mixer mix to combine.
To decorate the cake:
Cut the tip of the piping bag with the cream cheese filling and make horizontal and vertical lines on top.
Put a star nozzle in a piping bag (I used the same). Fill it with the dark whipped cream and decorate around the cake.
Decorate with the chocolate stars. Refrigerate the cake for a couple of hours before cutting.
Stracciatella and Mocha Mars Chocolate Cake
This Stracciatella, Mocha, Cream Cheese and Mars Cake is made with chocolate sponge cake, wet with caramel espresso coffee, filled with a whipped cream and cream cheese filling and topped with a Mars Chocolate ganache.
Ingredients
For the sponge cake:
- 6 large eggs
- 200 grams sugar
- 140 grams plain flour
- 18 grams corn flour (starch)
- 15 grams cocoa powder
- 15 grams baking powder
- 1 gram salt
- Softened butter, for greasing the pan and flour
To wet the sponge:
- 1 caramel espresso lungo
- 2 tbsp sugar
To make stracciatella:
- 65 grams chocolate
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil, to wet the parchment papers
Whipped cream:
- 600 grams heavy cream (35%)
- 3 tbsp icing sugar
- 2 sachets lemon flavoured vanillin sugar
Cream Cheese filling:
- 2/3 of the whipped cream
- 300 grams Philadelphia cream cheese
For first layer of chocolate:
- 100 grams Mars chocolate
- 100 grams cream or milk
For the Mars chocolate ganache:
- 125 grams couverture chocolate
- 100 grams Mars chocolates
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 heaped tablespoon of whipped cream
- 2 tbsp of the espresso lungo
For decoration:
- About ½ cup of the cream cheese filling to make the lattice
- Half of the reserved whipped cream mixed with 3 tbsp of the chocolate ganache
- Candied red and yellow stars (optional)
Instructions
One day ahead:
To make the sponge:
- Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and corn flour. Add the salt and vanillins and mix to combine.
- Beat the eggs with the sugar on high speed until white and fluffy. Lower speed to minimum and add the dried ingredients.
- Preheat the oven to 160°C (fan forced oven).
- Line two 22cm diameter baking pans with parchment paper and grease and flour the sides.
- Divide the mixture into the baking pans.
- Bake both together for about 20 minutes or until a knife inserted in the centre of the cakes comes out neatly clean.
- Remove to a wire rack and allow to cool.
Melting the chocolate for stracciatella:
- Melt the 65 grams couverture chocolate over a water bath. You can do this in the microwave at 480 Watt for 2 minutes.
- Put parchment paper on two flat surfaces (20 x 30 cm) and brush them with the vegetable oil.
- With a spoon take some chocolate and start letting it drop over the surface, making lines, until all chocolate is added.
- Refrigerate until ready to use.
Next day:
- Prepare the espresso lungo in an espresso machine. (If we don't have one make an instant coffee using 1 tbsp coffe and half cup water).
- Add the sugar, mix and set aside to cool.
- Invert the cakes on a flat surface, remove the parchment paper and cut each sponge cake horizontally in the middle.
- Wet the sponge cakes with the coffee. (Reserve two tablespoons to add to the chocolate ganache).
- Prepare the Whipped Cream: Put the heavy cream, icing sugar and vanilla in the bowl of the stand mixer, fitted with a whisk attachment and whip the heavy cream on medium-high speed until medium peaks form, about 3-4 minutes. Remove 1/3 of the whipped cream in a bowl and refrigerate for later use.
- Prepare the filling: In the remaining 2/3 whipped cream, add the cream cheese and continue whipping until stiff peaks are formed. Add 2 heaped tablespoons in a piping bag and refrigerate.
- To make the cream into stracciatella: Add the chocolate stripes made the previous day and mix to combine.
- Prepare the first layer of Mars chocolate ganache: Melt the Mars bars over a water bath. Add the cream or milk and mix until smooth and creamy.
To assemble the cake.
- Put the first sponge in a platter and fix a ring around it.
- Add 1/3 of the chocolate ganache and spread it over the sponge cake.
- Add 1/3 of the stracciatella cream and spread it as well.
- Continue adding a sponge, chocolate ganache and Stracciatella.
Top with the fourth sponge. - Cover with cling film and refrigerate for 2 - 3 hours.
- Prepare the Mars Chocolate Ganache: Put the couverture chocolate and the mars bars over a water bath and melt.
- Add the reserved coffee, half of the reserved whipped cream and the butter and mix until smooth.
- Remove the ring and the cling film.
- Pour the ganache on top, leaving about 2 tablespoon in the bowl, and let it drip to the sides.
- To make the dark whipped cream: Add the remaining whipping cream to the leftover ganache and using a hand mixer mix to combine.
- To decorate the cake: Cut the tip of the piping bag with the cream cheese filling and make horizontal and vertical lines on top.
- Put a star nozzle in a piping bag. Fill it with the dark whipped cream and decorate around the cake.
- Add the chocolate stars.
- Refrigerate the cake for a couple of hours before cutting.
Nutrition Information
Yield 15 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 615Total Fat 40gSaturated Fat 23gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 14gCholesterol 169mgSodium 331mgCarbohydrates 56gFiber 2gSugar 37gProtein 11g
"These values are automatically calculated and offered for guidance only. Their accuracy is not guaranteed."
Birthday Cakes
If you want some inspiration to make a Birthday Cake, here are a few more cakes I have made!
Chocolate Peppermint Almond Cake)
Excerpted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. Copyright © 1961 by Alfred A. Knopf. Reprinted with permission from the publisher Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.
Salted Caramel Lemon Poppy Pound Cake
A moist, buttery and subtly flavoured lemon sponge, with pastry cream between the layers and topped with salted caramel and whipped cream. Â
Strawberry Red Velvet Cake
An amazing red velvet cake sandwiched with strawberry cream cheese filling and topped with cream cheese frosting.
Two Tier Valentine's Cake
This Valentine's Dark Chocolate Cake is rich and delicious. Â It is super moist, filled with cream cheese, whipped cream and sour cherries and gets all its flavour from the sour cherries.
White Chocolate Genoise Sponge Cake with Caramelized Bananas
This spicy white chocolate cake is made with a Genoise, filled with cream cheese, whipped cream, white chocolate and spicy poached grapes and decorated with caramelized bananas and dark chocolate.
Ferrero Rocher Chocolate Cake
Ferrero Rocher is a cake made with chocolate sponge, filled with a cream cheese chocolate ferrero rocher filling and topped with chocolate ganache.
Kopiaste and Kali Orexi!