Everybody knows that are a match made in heaven — as well as a match made in mocha lattes, chocolate-covered espresso beans, and the like. If you're a cake baker, you might be looking for ways to combine these two ingredients in your own creations. There's just one problem: Baking is as much science as art, and dumping a hot liquid willy-nilly into a batter threatens to upset its delicate balance.
You need wet and dry ingredients in proportion; coffee is also acidic, so too much might interfere with the leaveners that react to acidity, namely . There are few easy answers in life, but here's one: Use powdered instant coffee. Or, better yet, espresso powder — the concentrated essence of coffee.
Unlike straight-up ground beans, these products are engineered to dissolve easily and can be added with the other dry ingredients. How much is up to you. Two or three teaspoons will yield full-on mocha flavors.
But even a lesser amount, like a teaspoon, can have a profound effect. The powder imparts earthy notes that play beautifully off the bitter elements, subtly enhancing the chocolate flavor. Cocoa powder on its own, you may have noticed, doesn't have a particularly interesting flavor; like a muse inspiring a great artist, a bit of espresso powder will make your chocolate cake really sing.
And that's only the beginning: You can also add powdered espresso to brownie batter, cookie dough — anywhere a fragrant coffee note is desired. How instant coffee improves all sorts of baking.