What is better than sitting on your couch, drinking a cup of coffee with a slice of cake? What happens if you can add the coffee to the cake? Well coffee cake has been around for centuries and so I thought this would be a perfect addition to the cake blog, hope you enjoy and let me know what you think when you test out this recipe…

What you will need;

–          ­150g stork margarine or butter at room temperature

–          3 eggs

–          150g caster sugar (I like to use the golden caster sugar in this cake

–          150g plain flour

–          1 tbsp instant coffee

–          1 tsbp hot water

–          2 tsp baking powder

(If you have espresso at home, then you can add one shot of espresso instead of the instant coffee and hot water. The same goes for the butter cream icing).

Coffee Butter Cream

–          500g Icing Sugar

–          250g unsalted butter

–          2 tbsp instant coffee

–          1 tsp hot water

Method;

Set the oven to 160C and grease your baking tin. I like to use two so that I can divide the mixture into two parts and sandwich them together with the butter cream in the middle. Add the butter/ stork margarine into a clean, dry bowl and mix for 5 minutes until the colour of the stork has changed from a yellow colour to a pale cream colour. Once the stork has been whipped sufficiently, add the sugar to the mix and stir in, until the texture becomes light and fluffy. Individually, add the eggs in one at a time and make sure each egg has been incorporated into the mix before the next addition of egg. Then, in a separate clean, dry bowl add the flour, baking powder and coffee granules, pour this dry mixture into the egg mixture 1/3 at a time and stir well until all the ingredients have been added together. Then pour in the hot water and mix again until you have a smooth batter. Pour this mixture into the baking tins equally and place in the oven for approximately 30 mins. Make sure you keep an eye on the mixture to ensure that it is fully cooked through. You can check if your cake is ready by inserting a skewer into the centre of the cake and if you can remove it without any cake mix on it, then it is ready. Additionally, you can test by using your finger by pushing down and releasing the cake. If it springs back, then the cake is ready. Remove from the oven, and leave to stand in the tins for 10 minutes, then remove them from the tins and leave to stand on a wire cooling rack.

Whilst the cakes are cooling, this will give you the perfect amount of time to make the coffee butter cream icing. Add the butter to a clean, dry bowl and mix for 5 minutes like you did at the very beginning when making the cake batter, keep mixing until the colour of the butter has gone from a yellow colour to a pale cream colour. This next step will require some elbow grease. DO NOT USE AN ELECTRIC MIXER. Add the icing sugar to the butter 1/3 part at a time and ensure all of the icing sugar has been taken up by the butter, before the next addition. Once you have added all the icing sugar, then you can use an electric mixer, if you use one before this stage, then your kitchen will go from being its normal colour to a white colour, in a matter of seconds. Take my advice as this is the voice of experience. Once all the icing sugar has been incorporated, then place the granules in a cup and add the hot water. Do not use too much hot water as this can cause your icing to become runny and not set. Once everything has been mixed, now it is time for the fun bit. Decorating the cake is always my favourite part.

Take one half of your coffee sponge and dollop a bit of butter cream on your cake board or serving plate, then place your first half of cake on top. The butter cream will secure the cake to the cake board. Then, add a dollop to that half of cake and spread liberally. Then, sandwich the cake together with the second half of cake. Add lashings of icing onto the top and the sides of the cake and set in the fridge. Once, the buttercream has set, I like to add a second coat of buttercream to ensure a clean and tidy finish on the cake. Now serve, whilst you’re on the couch, watching your favourite soap with a coffee and a nice slice of cake.

Enjoy!!