Mary Berry Mokatines
The best thing about Mary Berry’s Mokatines is how they transform a light genoise sponge into elegant, coffee-flavoured petits fours with rich buttercream, glossy fondant, and crunchy toasted almonds.
Ingredients
For the Genoise sponge:
- 40 g butter
- 3 large eggs
- 75 g caster sugar
- 65 g self-raising flour
- 10 g cornflour 3½–4 level teaspoons
For the coffee icing:
- 50 g butter
- 1 tbsp instant coffee
- 225 g icing sugar sifted
For the crème beurre au moka:
- 40 g caster sugar
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 large egg yolk
- 75 g softened butter
- 2 tsp coffee essence
For the fondant icing:
- 100 g white ready-to-roll fondant icing
- 4 tbsp water
- Dark brown food colouring paste
To assemble:
- 4 tbsp apricot jam
- 100 g toasted almond nibs
Instructions
Prepare the oven and tin.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/Gas 4. Grease an 18 cm square cake tin and line the base with baking parchment.
Make the Genoise sponge mixture.
- Melt the butter in a small pan and leave it to cool slightly. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar at full speed until pale, mousse-like, and thick enough to leave a trail when the whisk is lifted. Sift the flour and cornflour together. Carefully fold half the flour mixture into the egg mixture, then gently pour half the cooled butter around the edge and fold in. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and butter. Pour into the prepared tin.
Bake the sponge.
- Bake for 35–40 minutes, or until well risen and the top springs back when lightly pressed. Cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Peel away the parchment and leave to cool completely.
Slice the sponge.
- Once cold, cut the sponge horizontally in half. Sandwich the two layers with coffee buttercream or your chosen filling.
Continue with the Mokatines (optional).
- Coffee icing: Melt the butter in a small pan, remove from the heat, and stir in the coffee powder until dissolved. Add the icing sugar and beat until smooth and glossy. Leave to thicken.
- Crème beurre au moka: Heat the sugar and water in a small, heavy-based pan until the sugar dissolves. Boil steadily for 2–3 minutes until the syrup is clear. Pour over the whisked egg yolk, stirring until thick and cold. In another bowl, cream the butter until soft, gradually beat in the egg yolk mixture, and stir in the coffee essence. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a No. 7 star nozzle.
- Fondant icing: Beat the fondant icing with a wooden spoon until smooth. Gradually add water and a little food colouring to make a coffee-coloured glaze.
Assemble the Mokatines.
- Trim the edges of the cake and cut into 9 equal squares. Heat the apricot jam, then pass it through a sieve into a small bowl. Brush the sides of each square with jam and press the toasted almond nibs around the edges. Spoon the fondant glaze into the centres of the cakes and leave to set. Pipe small rosettes of crème beurre au moka around the top edges to prevent the glaze from running off, and pipe a border of rosettes around the base.