FOXFORD Cafe's Coffee Cake

One of our lovely customers sent us an email saying how much they love our Coffee Cake recipe. Messages like this are such a joy to receive. Our coffee cake is a best seller on our cafe counter too so we thought we would share the recipe with you to enjoy at home. The espresso-soaked layers make all the difference. This cake makes the perfect weekend bake. All you’ll need is a few of your nearest and dearest to share it with. Enjoy.

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE CAKE:

-          1 shot espresso or 40ml of very strong coffee

-          300g butter, plus extra for greasing

-          300g soft brown sugar

-          6 eggs

-          300g plain flour

-          1 ¼ tsp baking powder

-          Dark chocolate shavings to garnish

FOR THE ICING:

-          270g butter

-          810g icing sugar

-          250g cream cheese

-          3 tbsp coffee extract

SOAKING SYRUP:

-          160ml boiling water

-          3 shots espresso or 120ml very strong coffee

-          2 tsp coffee extract

RECIPE:

• Preheat your oven to 160 degrees fan / 180 degrees Celsius / gas mark 4. Grease a 23cm loose-bottomed cake tin well using some butter, and line the base with a disc of parchment paper. Make your espresso or coffee and set aside to cool.
• Cream your butter and soft dark brown sugar together using a stand or hand-held mixer, until the mix lightens in colour and becomes light and fluffy. Stop the mixer a couple of times and scrape down the sides to ensure all butter is incorporated.
• Add your eggs one by one, continuing to mix and full speed and mixing back up to that fluffy stage after each one. This will prevent the batter from splitting so don’t rush it.
• Add the flour, baking powder and cooled espresso and slowly continue to mix until fully incorporated. Use a rubber spatula to give it a final mix by hand, ensuring it scrapes the bottom of the bowl, before scooping the mix into the tin.
• Bake for 1 hour and 5 minutes. Insert a clean skewer into the centre of the cake – if it comes out clean, the cake is ready. If not, bake for a further 5 minutes and check again. Once out of the oven, place on a wire rack to cool completely, ideally overnight.
• To make the icing, beat the butter and icing sugar using a handheld or stand mixer. Increase the speed gradually stopping and scraping down the sides of the bowl regularly until the mix becomes light and fluffy. Only then add the cream cheese.
• Continue mixing until the cream cheese is fully incorporated, stopping to scrape down the bowl a couple of times, then add the coffee extract, and mix well. The icing should be firm, shiny and smooth. Pop it in the fridge to set for 30 minutes or so.
• Meanwhile, mix the ingredients for the soaking syrup together in a jug. Set aside to cool.
• Run a palette knife around the edge of the cake in the tin to ensure it’s not stuck. Lift out using the loose base. Slice in three horizontally, using a sharp serrated knife.
• Pop the bottom layer of the cake on a flat plate. Using a pastry brush, dab the bottom layer with syrup until 1.3 is gone. Carefully spoon on 3 heaped tablespoons of the icing and use a palette knife to spread it, leaving 2cm around the edge of your cake. Pop on the middle layer of the cake, press lightly, and repeat the syrup and icing as for the first layer. Turn the top layer of the cake cut side up on the countertop and soak the inside with the remaining syrup. Then carefully turn it baked side up, pop it on top of the cake and press down lightly. I put the cake in the freezer at this stage for about 30 minutes to set it a little before icing the outside.
• Finally, scoop the remaining icing on top of the cake and spread over the top and down the sides using a palette knife. Garnish with some dark chocolate shavings.

We hope you love this coffee cake recipe as much as we do. If you enjoy it, why not explore the FOXFORD Cafe Cookbook for similar treats. If you're not a baker, it would be our pleasure to serve you a slice from our cafe counter.