Espresso cake. It can be a dilemma for me; choosing between chocolate and coffee, but there are times when only coffee cake will do. As a point of interest, (well, for me anyway) a search on the internet highlighted a common theme for us Brits in that coffee cake in the US is a type of cake – being one that is eaten with coffee as opposed to being coffee flavoured. I was briefly confused as to why these recipes had no coffee in them – then the penny dropped.

I have a recipe for a sour cream golden cake that with some amendments to the quantity of flour, was delicious. It had scope for further adaptation and I have found that the average coffee flavoured sponge cake can err on the side of dryness. I didn’t want to rely on making a soak for the cut sections of cake, so this already moist cake fitted the bill.

Some espresso strength coffee in the icings kept the whole cake pleasingly and instantly identifiable as coffee. More cappuccino than espresso in colour, but there is nothing wishy-washy about the flavour.

Preheat oven to GM4/350F/180C
Grease and line with baking parchment an 8″ square tin (or a 9″ round tin).

Sift 1 ½ cups plain flour, 1 tbsp cornflour, ½ tbsp baking powder,a  mean ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda and a pinch of salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

Dissolve 2 tsp of espresso powder in 1 tbsp of hot water and let it cool.

Put 4oz unsalted butter and 1 cup caster sugar into a large bowl and cream until fluffy (high five!).  Scrape down the bowl after each step.

Add 2 eggs, one at a time. Beat well after each addition.

Beat in the espresso.

Add half the flour mix, beating on low speed until just incorporated.
Add 1 cup of sour cream, mixing until just combined.

Add the remaining flour, mix and finish off by hand with a large spatula making sure the batter is smooth. Put the batter into the lined tin, smooth the top.

Bake until a tester comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs clinging to it – about 40 mins. I checked mine at 30 mins, but it was still liquid. As a result of opening the door too soon, my cake sported a crack. Darn it. Hooray for icing.
Cool in tin for 10 mins, then remove from tin and cool completely on the wire rack.

Whilst it’s cooling, make the icings.

Dissolve 2 tsp espresso powder 2-3 tbsp hot water and allow to cool.

Beat 5oz unsalted, softened butter until creamy.
Gradually add 1 ½ cups sifted icing sugar until fluffy.

Add the coffee

and beat well to combine and get it to the consistency you like.

Make the glace icing.

Sift 1 cup icing sugar into a bowl.
Add 3-4 tsp espresso dissolved in water (use what’s left from the buttercream, or make up more as required) and stir with a small whisk to combine.

Taste to check the strength of coffee flavour.

Split the cooled cake in half horizontally

Spread with half the buttercream

Replace the top layer. Pipe rosettes of buttercream around the edge of the top of the cake and flood the top middle with the glace icing.

Sprinkle a little cocoa over the top to pretty it and enjoy!

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Espresso sour cream cake

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1 ½ cups plain flour
1 tbsp cornflour
½ tbsp baking powder
mean ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt
4oz unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp espresso powder dissolved in 1 tbsp hot water, cooled
1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to GM4/350F
Grease and line with baking parchment an 8″ square tin (or a 9″ round tin).

Sift the flour, cornflour, baking powder and bicarb into a medium bowl and set aside.

Put the butter and sugar into large bowl and cream until fluffy. Scrape down the bowl after each step.
Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
Beat in the cooled espresso.
Add half the flour mix, beat on low speed until just incorporated.
Add the sour cream, mixing until just combined.
Add the remaining flour, mix and finish off by hand with a large spatula making sure the batter is smooth.

Put batter into the lined tin, smooth the top.
Bake until a tester comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs clinging to it – about 30-40 mins.
Cool in tin for 10 mins, then remove from tin and cool completely on the wire rack.

Espresso Buttercream

5oz unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ cups icing sugar, sifted
2 tsp espresso powder dissolved in 2-3 tbsp hot water, cooled

Beat the butter until creamy.
Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy.
Add the espresso – 2 tsps at first, then taste and increase to suit you.

Continue to beat until light and creamy.

Espresso glace icing

1 cup icing sugar
3-4 tsp espresso (use what’s left from the buttercream, or make up more as required)

Sift the icing sugar into a bowl.
Add the espresso and stir with a small whisk to combine.
Taste to check the strength of coffee flavour.

Assemble the cake

Split cake horizontally. Spread the bottom layer with half the espresso buttercream. Place the other half of the cake on top.
Put the other half of the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.
On top of the cake, pipe rosettes of buttercream around the edge and make a ‘pond’ of espresso glace icing in the middle.