Moka

01 / ABOUT THE DISH

About the dish

Gâteau moka is a classic French cake. It consists of two layers genoise sponges that are soaked with coffee syrup. The layers and the whole cake are then coated in a coffee-flavored buttercream. The sides of the cake are usually garnished with chopped almonds or almond flakes, while the top is decorated with piped buttercream and chocolate-covered coffee beans. Moka cake was invented in 1857 by a Parisian pastry chef Guignard, and it was probably named after Mocha, a port city on the Red Sea coast of Yemen that was once a center of the coffee trade.