Simple cappuccino coffee cake recipe from Mary Berry

[schema type=”recipe” name=”Simple Cappuccino Coffee Cake Recipe from Mary Berry” author=”Rachel Howard” pubdate=”2013-07-22″ image=”http://www.sundaybaking.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Coffee-cake-full-700.jpg” description=”A full flavoured and simple luxurious coffee cake recipe” prepmins=”10″ cookmins=”25″ yield=”8-10″ ]

This weather is amazing but way too hot to be baking in. I was meant to bake towards the end of last week but I just couldn’t face getting in the kitchen so I treated everyone to ice creams instead! But at the weekend I had a real craving for coffee cake. Such a craving that I made it at 9pm! And this is one of those cakes that you can bake late. It takes no time at all and it’s a ‘throw it all together’ cake leaving you with minimum washing up (I didn’t even bother sieving the flour or icing sugar!).

It’s not the most attractive cake I’ve ever made but the taste more than made up for it.

I baked it quickly in the evening and then cut and iced it the next morning meaning I could make it at the two coolest times of the day. And now I get to enjoy a slice in the garden!

My step dad is a coffee cake connoisseur and his opinion?…As good as mums! – Not bad for my first coffee cake attempt!

[callout title=Ingredients for the Sponge]

• 225g very soft butter
• 225g light muscovado sugar or caster sugar (I used golden caster sugar)
• 225g self raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 4 large eggs
• 4 level tsp instant coffee, dissolved in 1 tbsp boiling water (I used Kenco Millicano)

[/callout]

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/350F/315F fan/Gas 4
• Butter and line the base of two deep 20cm (8in) sandwich cake tins
• Measure all the cake ingredients, except the coffee, into a large mixing bowl and beat together until smooth
• Stir in the dissolved coffee until thoroughly blended
• Divide the mixture evenly between the two prepared tins and level the tops
• Bake in the preheated oven for about 25–30 minutes until golden brown, shrinking away from the sides of the tin and the sponge springs back when lightly pressed

[callout title=Ingredients for the Coffee Icing:]

• 175g soft butter
• 350g icing sugar
• 4 level tsp instant coffee, dissolved in 1 tbsp boiling water

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Method:

• To make the icing, mix the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl and beat together until smooth
• Beat in the dissolved coffee and divide into four
• When they are cold, slice each cake horizontally in half, giving four layers of cake
• Sit one base on a cake stand and spread with a quarter of the mixture
• Continue layering up with cake and icing so you finish with icing on top and swirl to give an attractive finish

If you are worried about cutting the cakes in half, you can just sandwich the two together with half the icing in the middle and half the icing on top. I decided to make it a 4 layer cake. This is what led to it looking less than perfect. The cakes didn’t rise enough to make cutting it in half very easy. But the good thing about layering it up means you get a good ratio of icing to cake. And if you’re not too fussed on how it looks I would definitely recommend it.

A really great tasting simple coffee cake recipe that I will definitely be baking time after time.

And how’s this for a testimonial?….”That’s good coffee cake man!”