I love weddings! After being married myself for over 30 years, I get teary eyed when I see a young couple take the plunge into happily-ever-after. And this weekend is especially meaningful for me, as I have the privilege of not only watching an amazing young lady I’ve known for years tie the knot, but I also get to create her wedding cake. (Congrats Hannah and Ben!)

As she already had several desserts at her reception, we decided to do a unique flavor combination around coffee flavors. I infused my white butter cake with espresso powder, and filled it with a coffee syrup, mocha ganache, espresso French Custard, a sprinkle of coffee-bean dark chocolate, and a drizzle of homemade caramel sauce. I stuck with my traditional Italian Meringue Buttercream frosting to finish, though the guests will be in for a pleasant surprise if they are expecting a typical wedding cake experience.

Because the wedding cake prep and my Daytime Tri-Cities appearance overlapped, I decided to kill two birds with one stone and create a super-simple dessert based on the flavors I had created for my friend. I used pre-made ingredients and box mixes for most of the dessert, because when the weather turns to summer, who wants to spend time in the kitchen?

This is the perfect dessert to take along to summer gatherings, just like you’d do with banana pudding. You can (and should) make it at least one day in advance, and several days ahead won’t hurt. You can use any container you want, including clear disposable cups for individual servings. It’s so easy, kids can put it together. And you can use whatever ingredients suit your fancy.

I decided to call this dessert, “Café Mocha Delight” because it’s a light blend of coffee and chocolate flavors that’s simple to create. It may not taste exactly like my wedding cake, I guarantee it will take way less time! Enjoy!

You’ll need:

Pre-baked Angel Food cake, torn into chunks

Chocolate sandwich cookies of your choice, some broken into quarters

One small box of chocolate pudding

One no-bake cheesecake mix

One large box of vanilla pudding

One tub of frozen whipped topping

Instant coffee or espresso powder

For Coffee Syrup: Use this simple recipe, but with brewed coffee instead of plain water: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/20216/simple-syrup/

For Mocha Ganache: Go to my recipe link here, near the bottom of the post, and add a spoon of instant coffee to the cream once it’s warm:
http://bakingwithjulie.com/cookies-and-cream-cake-step-by-step/

3 3/4 cups of milk

chopped chocolate/coffee bean candies if desired

The Components:

You can make your own “Espresso Custard” by making the ‘pie’ version of instant vanilla pudding, with one addition: take a few tablespoons of the milk, heat it, and stir in a teaspoon (or more to taste) of instant coffee. Let cool, and add the rest of the cold milk. Continue to mix as directed on the package. Fold in 1/2 tub of whipped topping. Set aside

Chocolate Mousse

In a bowl, mix together the dry mixes from the no-bake cheesecake filling and the small chocolate instant pudding. Add 2 cups of cold milk and mix thoroughly. Fold in 1/2 tub of whipped topping. Set aside.

Along with the coffee syrup and ganache (which are optional of course), and the prepped cookies and angel food cake, you’re ready to put it all together.

To Assemble:

I start with a layer of espresso custard, followed by a layer of angel food cake pieces, then a drizzle of the coffee syrup, a layer of the chocolate mousse, some of the crumbled cookies, and some spoonfuls of the chocolate ganache with chopped chocolates on that. (I found a dark chocolate bar with crushed coffee beans in it that I chopped into small pieces). Then I repeated the process until I reached the top of my container, finishing with whole cookies on top.

But honestly, you can layer it anyway you want and include or add your own favorites. Let me know how you put your own twist on it!