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 Jane I am wanting to make this as a 3 tier coffee and walnut cake my tins are quite deep they are PME and are 8×3 inches. How much more mixture would I need? And if I was to blend the walnuts and put into the buttercream for it to be covered would this work?thankyou! You are always so helpful x
These cakes are really quite deep already (I usually split a 400g mix between three tins now, not two) so you can just split it as it is between the three. Or, increase the mixture to a 500g mix! And I would just fold through chopped walnuts for a cake, but for the buttercream you could blend, but it would have a grainy texture! x
Great thankyou I will do the 500g mix how many walnuts would you suggest? As I don’t want it too heavy x
Maybe 250g? xx
Hi jane, id like to add extra height to the cake, are these layers ok to split and fill or would you recommend halving the recipe to make an extra cake and just stack the 3?
I would personally still use 400g mix for three layers (like in all my other recipes) but you can still add more ingredients if you wish! x
Hi
I wanted to do a coffee and walnut cake in this size. Is there a certain amount of walnuts to put in or can I just put some into it without it affecting the bake?
Many thanks
Christina
I would add maybe 200g or so?! x
Afternoon!
I’m looking to make my husband a coffee and walnut cake. I hate coffee so trying to find a recipe to use in a 7inch deep tin. Bake it in one go and then cut in half. Do you think halfing this recipe would work?
Thanks
Typically to just change the recipe to a 7″ you’d use 0.8x the recipe – so I would say half is too little. It may be best to stick to at least 2/3 of the mix instead x
Hi Jane,
I want to make a marble cake using this recipe and also the back to basic chocolate cake. Would this idea work if I combine the two recipes together? Just with the timings being different?
Yeah it should work well! Timings should be okay if you stick to the same total of ingredients xx
Hi Jane,
I want to make a chocolate and coffee marble cake. I was thinking of combing this recipe with your back to basics chocolate cake to create a marble cake. Do you think this will work, with both the batters being baked at different temperatures.
Thanks,
Jane
What measurements should I use if baking this in a 2lb loaf tin???? Xx
Use the guidance of my other loaf cakes – its about 250g per ingredient! x
Thank you, would the amount of coffee be the same?? X
Yes, or you can reduce it – it depends how strong you want it! x
Hey! Would Nescafé original instant coffee be okay to use for this? Or is that not strong enough?? X
It should be okay, but might be weaker than others!
Okay, do you have any recommendations of instant coffee brands that would create a strong enough flavour? 🙂 x
I usually use an espresso type one thats designed to be really strong- I like Nescafe azzuro I think it is? x
Hi Jane as I don’t have deeper tins I was going to split the mix between 3 sandwich cake tins and bake for 25-30 mins but then for decoration as there’s another layer would I need more buttercream?x
Hey! Yes baking wise that’s ideal – and maybe add on another half for the decoration? x
Hellooo, could you somehow make this into a 2 layer drip cake? How much buttercream ingredients? Also what ingredients in the drip? Thank you xxx
Hey! I would double the buttercream, and maybe use the drip from any of my drip cake recipes! x
I Jane I’ve recently started following you on Instagram and really love your cake designs. I’m interested in trying this cake but was thinking of doing three layers. I have 18cm tins about 2.5cm deep, what would be your recommendation in adjusting the recipe and baking times
Hiya! They sound like quite small and thin tins, so it may be best to reduce to a 300g mix/6 eggs, and split between the three tins. Baking time could be about 25 minutes? x
Thanks Jane, I did 200g, 4 eggs and added walnuts. Turned out great!
I’ve made this cake today but as a loaf cake, I used 250g recipe and weighed the eggs so they were that too, its worked really well and tastes great. Thanks Jane I love your recipes and can’t wait for your cookbook 😊 x
Hi Jane, what would the measurements be if i wanted to bake in a 24cm tin?
Hey! Technically it’s about 1.4x the recipe, so about 550g of each ingredient rather than 400g! x