"Poor Man's" Cafe Mocha Cake

2 things I love in life are chocolate and coffee. By themselves, they're lovely but together, it's a match made in Heaven.

I say "Poor Man's" because I used what I thought would be the quickest and best decision at the time and that's instant coffee mix of course in place of espresso. You can also use freshly brewed coffee, which in hindsight was probably what I wish I should've done. Mehhh, you live and you learn haha. Either way, I thought it came out delicious and my family loved it as well. I was nervous about how the texture of the cake was going to come out because I based this off of a chocolate cake recipe. I'm so happy that it came out so moist and delicious!

- 2 C all purpose flour
- 2 C sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 C canola oil
- 3/4 C cocoa powder (unsweetened)
- 2 tbsp instant coffee mix
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 C milk
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 C boiling water

*(If you want to use freshly brewed coffee, omit boiling water and instant coffee mix. Dissolve sugar in brewed coffee instead.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

In a medium bowl, dissolve sugar and coffee in boiling water. Set aside

In a separate large bowl, combine all the rest of the ingredients and beat until incorporated. Add coffee and sugar mixture last.

Poor into greased cake pan and bake for 18-22 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool.

Carefully take cakes out of pans. Trim the tops of both cake discs for a flat surface. Spread a thick layer of frosting on top of first cake.Then carefully lay 2nd cakeon top.

Evenly spread the rest of frosting and crumble left over cake on top for a quick garnish.

ENJOY!