Classic Coffee Cake (Loaf)
This is a splendid recipe for an old-fashioned coffee cake – the sort Mummy made – and we still make it regularly. Everyone loves it.
SERVES
10
PEOPLE
PREP TIME
65
MINUTES
COOKING TIME
45
MINUTES
Ingredients
You will need 1 x 20cm square cake tin
225g soft butter
225g caster sugar
4 organic eggs
225g plain white flour, preferably unbleached
1 tsp baking powder
scant 2 tbsp Irel or Camp coffee essence
For the coffee buttercream:
150g butter
330g icing sugar, sieved
5-6 tsp Irel or Camp coffee essence
For the coffee glacé icing:
450g icing sugar
scant 2 tbsp Irel or Camp coffee essence
about 4 tbsp boiling water
To decorate:
Caramelised walnuts or just use walnut halves
For caramelised walnuts:
100g sugar
50ml cold water
20 walnut halves
225ml hot water
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4.
Line the base and sides of the tin with greaseproof or silicone paper. Brush the bottom and sides with melted butter and dust lightly with flour.
Beat the soft butter with a wooden spoon, add the caster sugar and beat until pale in colour and light in texture. Whisk the eggs. Add to the mixture, bit by bit, whisking well between each addition.
Sieve the flour with the baking powder and stir gently into the cake mixture. Finally, add in the coffee essence and mix thoroughly.
Pour the mixture evenly into the prepared tin and bake for 40-45 minutes. When the cake is cooked, the centre will be firm and springy, and the edges will have shrunk from the sides of the tins. Leave to rest in the tin for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Remove the greaseproof paper from the base, then flip over so the top of the cake doesn’t get marked by the wire rack. Leave the cake to cool on the wire rack.
To make the coffee buttercream:
Whisk the butter with the sieved icing sugar and add the coffee essence. Continue to whisk until light and fluffy.
When cold, cut the cake in half lengthwise, then cut each half horizontally creating rectangular layers, 4 in total. Sandwich each sponge layer together with half of the coffee butter cream, forming a loaf-shaped cake. Place half of the remaining buttercream into a piping bag, fitted with a medium star-shaped nozzle. Spread the sides and top of the cake thinly with the last of the butter cream and place into the fridge for 10-15 minutes to chill. This technique is called crumb coating.
Next make the Coffee Glacé Icing:
Sieve the icing sugar and put into a bowl. Add coffee essence and enough boiling water to make it the consistency of a thick cream.
To decorate, remove the cake from the fridge. Pour the glacé icing evenly over the top of the cake, gently spreading it down the sides with a palette knife. Allow to set, 30 minutes approx. Decorate with piped rosettes of buttercream and garnish with the caramelized walnuts or walnut halves if preferred.
For the carmelised walnuts:
Dissolve the sugar in the cold water over a gentle heat. Stir until all the sugar has dissolved, then remove the spoon and continue to simmer until the syrup caramelises to a chestnut colour.
Remove from the heat, dip the walnuts into the hot caramel, and coat each one completely using a fork. Remove to a silicone baking mat, or oiled cake tin, and allow to cool.
Once all the walnuts have been coated, pour the hot water into the saucepan and continue to cook until the caramel dissolves and the sauce is quite smooth. Reduce until it starts to thicken slightly.
Allow to get cold. This sauce can be used for serving with ice cream.
