Coffee Cake!
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A delicious and moist three-layer coffee cake with a light and fluffy coffee buttercream frosting – perfect for coffee lovers!
The other week I posted a standard ‘recipe request’ post on my Facebook page and got an insane amount of ‘COFFEE CAKE PLEEEEAAASSEE’ kind of posts – so, I was obviously going to oblige.
Now, if you know me then you know how much I adore an iced coffee so I obviously love a coffee based bake – and when it’s baked it’s even more delicious! You can use decaf coffee if you have it, as long as its still a strong flavour!
Coffee bakes
I would say that coffee cake is a classic and quite iconic, and I really don’t make enough coffee based content. I love it personally, and I know so many of you do as well. My coffee and walnut cupcakes have always proved so popular, along with a more recent coffee & walnut loaf cake.
I created an espresso martini cake in my second book Celebrate, and my third book Everyday features my homemade tiramisu and with how popular these were I know I needed to post a classic coffee cake, so here it is.
Cake sponges
These sponges are light and fluffy, and yes there are three decent layers. I know, 8 eggs is a lot, but it is how you make a basic sponge. You need to create an even quantity of eggs weighed in their shells, flour, eggs and sugar to create a sponge so for a three layer cake, you need a lot of ingredients.
- Butter – I use either a room temperature block butter or baking spread for a cake sponge
- Sugar – I use light brown sugar in my coffee cake as I think it helps the flavour profiles
- Flour – self raising flour as always. However, if you don’t have it, you can make your own with 2 level tsps per 150g of plain flour, mixed in before using and removing any other raising agent in the recipe.
- Eggs – 7-8 medium eggs, but weigh in the shells and try and get as close to 400g as possible and match the butter, sugar and flour to this weight
- Coffee – Instant coffee here for me, but a strong espresso works
- Baking powder – this is optional, but I think it helps. Make sure measuring you level the tsp, not heaped.
Cake frosting
This frosting is a basic American buttercream frosting that has had coffee added into it. A frosting like this is so super simple to make and that’s why I love it.
- Butter – unsalted block butter, NOT baking spread
- Sugar – icing sugar, every time
- Coffee – same as above, I use instant coffee that I have dissolved, by 2 strong espresso shots should work fine
Recipe Updated March 2024
Every now and again I will update blog posts as they are a few years old, my knowledge has developed, or I thought it required a change. However, I will always keep the original recipe on the post and that’s here.
- Cake – 400g butter, 400g caster sugar, 8 medium eggs, 400g self raising flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 4tsp dissolved coffee
- Bake at 150ºc fan into two tins for 45-55 minutes
- Frosting – 225g unsalted butter, 500g icing sugar, 3tsp dissolved coffee
- Beat the butter, add the sugar and coffee and pipe onto the cake
Tips & Tricks
- This cake will last in a container for 3+ days at room temperature, or you can freeze for up to 3 months!
- I used this Medium 2D Closed Star Piping Tip
- I used this large piping bag
- I used this 8″ Cake Tins
- Recipe updated March 2024 – original recipe on the blog post
Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Coffee Cake
- 400 g unsalted butter/baking spread
- 400 g caster sugar
- 8 medium eggs
- 400 g self raising flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 4 tsp strong espresso/instant coffee
Coffee Buttercream Frosting
- 300 g unsalted butter
- 600 g icing sugar
- 3 tsp strong espresso/instant coffee
- sprinkles/coffee beans
Instructions
Coffee Cake
- Heat the oven to 180ºc/160ºc fan and line three 20cm/8inch cake tins with baking parchment, leave to the side.
- Dissolve the 4tsp strong espresso/instant coffee in 1tbsp of boiling water and leave to the side to cool fully.
- Beat together the unsalted butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add in the self raising flour, eggs and baking powder and beat again briefly until combined - try not to overbeat!
- Fold through the cooled dissolved coffee in to the cake mix so it's evenly distributed.
- Divide the mixture equally between the tins and smooth it over.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean
- Once baked, leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, and then remove and leave to cool fully on a wire rack.
Coffee Buttercream Frosting
- Dissolve the 3tsp strong espresso/instant coffee in 1tbsp of boiling water carefully, and leave to cool fully.
- Beat the unsalted butter on it's own until smooth
- Add the icing sugar and mix
- Add the coffee and mix again until light and fluffy
- With the first layer of the cake, spread/pipe half of the buttercream onto the top of the first layer, then add the second cake on top, and repeat again
- Sprinkle over some pretty sprinkles and or chocolate coated coffee beans and enjoy!
Notes
- This cake will last in a container for 3+ days at room temperature, or you can freeze for up to 3 months!
- I used this Medium 2D Closed Star Piping Tip
- I used this large piping bag
- I used this 8" Cake Tins
- Recipe updated March 2024 - original recipe on the blog post
ENJOY!
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J x
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Hi, I was wondering if I doubled the ingredients in this recipe, could I bake it in 4 6inch cake tins for a 4 layer cake. Thanks. I admire all your baking !!
Hey so if you were just wanting to do the same two layers but in 6″ tins, it would actually be 2/3 of the recipe – so to do a four layer 6″ cake you really don’t need too much more mix! Maybe add on 50g/1 egg extra and that’s it!
Hi Jane, is this a recipe that works well gluten free? Or does anything need to be added to it
This should work absolutely fine! I would use GF flour, and add xantham gum!
Hi jane, love your recipes! I’m making this coffee sponge for my daughters birthday and I was thinking of covering it in fresh cream and have caramel drips… what do you think of This combination? Do you think caramel and fresh cream would Be good between the layers or Nutella and cream. Thank you in advance.
Hey! I would say filling it with fresh cream would be yummy, but covering the sides would maybe go a little odd (fresh cream doesn’t hold particularly well) – but either caramel or Nutella would be yummy!
Hi Jane
Could you please advise how deep your tins are-want to avoid spillage!
Made your raspberry/lemon cake a few days ago…..delish!!!!!
Hey!! So all tins I have are at least 3″ deep! So glad you liked the lemon raspberry cake! x
Hi Jane, I love your recipes and tried many of them. I’ve just baked the yummy looking coffee cake in 8 inch tins, but found some of the batter spilled over into the oven – is there anything I can do to stop this another time?
Thanks so much
Hey! What depth are you cake tins? It may be that they were shallower than mine so over spilled slightly!! x
I tried this cake last week. I didn’t have enough eggs for the full recipe so just halved the amount of the ingredients and made one layer. I also grated dark chocolate on the top as I didn’t have sprinkles. I used a fine coffee (Nescafe Azera) which dissolved great without sticking to the spoon (I find granules stick too much and you loose lots of coffee). I used a £1.99 piping syringe from B&M which made it quite easy to pipe considering I’ve never piped icing before. The cake tasted so good. Was really chuffed with it. Recipe is so easy to follow. Thank you 🙂
Hi Jane! I really want to try this one but only have two loaf tins, no cake tins (haven’t been able to get my hands on any during lockdown!). If I used half of all the ingredients would this be okay to split into two loaf tins? Or use the same amount of ingredients?
Hiya! It depends on the size of your loaf tins?
Hi Jane, please could you advise what size piping nozzle you used to pipe the buttercream on this cake.
This one will have been a wilton 1M!
Hi Jane.
My husband wants me to make a latte style cake, I couldn’t find one anywhere but thought of what would happen if I used this recipe and dissolve the coffee in hot milk instead of water. Do you think this would work?
Hi Jane i would like to do this as a loaf cake but would that work with the same amount of ingredients? As I feel it would be spilling out x
Hi Jane,
Im making this for 50 people for a surprise 60th..as the top layer is going to be quite heavy there is a chance it will push all the filling out..im afraid of it being too dry! can you give me any tips please on doing such a large cake?? its 18*20 inches..thank you xx
Bake it on 140C fan – no higher, but for a long long time. And if you’re worried, use a sugar syrup! If you do the frosting properly, and use genuine unsalted butter and no type of spread, it should stay sturdy!
If I want to make a smaller cake – can I just half the sponge ingredients and cook in two 20cm layer tins?
I would half and bake in one tin, but stick to the timings of the recipe – or yes half and split, but the timings would change.
Thank you very much. And if I was to add chopped walnuts to the sponge – would you reduce any of the other ingredients?
No I wouldn’t – I just whack some in! About 150-200g!
Hi Jane, can I use the coffee cake icing to crumb coat/decorate the outside of the cake?