Espresso Cake (Coffee Layer Cake)

Name: Espresso Cake (Coffee Layer Cake)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 50 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 ½ cup All-Purpose Flour (2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (325g), sifted); 1 ½ tsp Baking Powder (1.5 tsp baking powder); 1 ½ tsp Bicarbonate of Soda (1.5 tsp baking soda); 1 cup Granulated Sugar (1 cup granulated sugar (200g)); ½ cup Light Brown Sugar (1/2 cup light brown sugar (100g)); 1 ½ tsp Table Salt (1 tsp salt + ½ tsp salt); 3 pieces Egg (3 large eggs); ⅔ cup Vegetable Oil (⅔ cup vegetable oil (133g)); ⅓ cup Buttermilk (⅓ cup buttermilk; mix ⅓ cup whole milk (80g) + 1 teaspoon vinegar to make your own); 1 cup Sour Cream (1 cup sour cream (240g)); 2 tsp Vanilla (1 tsp vanilla + 1 tsp vanilla); 4 tbsp Coffee (2-3 tbsp instant coffee depending on how strong you want the flavor to be — up to 3 + 2 tbsp instant coffee + 1 tbsp hot water); ¾ cup Water (¾ cup boiling water (180g)); 1 ¼ cup Unsalted Butter (1 ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened (2.5 sticks or 283g)); 20 oz Cream Cheese (20 oz cream cheese, room temperature (2.5 8 oz blocks or 570g)); 3 cup Icing Sugar (3-4 cups icing sugar, sifted (360 to 480g) — up to 4)

A rich, moist American layer cake with a distinct espresso flavor, filled and topped with a tangy espresso cream cheese frosting.

50 minAmerican

Servings4

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Vegetarian
Pescatarian
Halal

Ingredients

For 4 servings

All-Purpose Flour2 ½ cup · 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (325g), sifted
Baking Powder1 ½ tsp · 1.5 tsp baking powder
Bicarbonate of Soda1 ½ tsp · 1.5 tsp baking soda
Granulated Sugar1 cup · 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
Light Brown Sugar½ cup · 1/2 cup light brown sugar (100g)
Table Salt1 ½ tsp · 1 tsp salt + ½ tsp salt
Egg3 pieces · 3 large eggs
Vegetable Oil⅔ cup · ⅔ cup vegetable oil (133g)
Buttermilk⅓ cup · ⅓ cup buttermilk; mix ⅓ cup whole milk (80g) + 1 teaspoon vinegar to make your own
Sour Cream1 cup · 1 cup sour cream (240g)
Vanilla2 tsp · 1 tsp vanilla + 1 tsp vanilla
Coffee4 tbsp · 2-3 tbsp instant coffee depending on how strong you want the flavor to be — up to 3 + 2 tbsp instant coffee + 1 tbsp hot water
Water¾ cup · ¾ cup boiling water (180g)
Unsalted Butter1 ¼ cup · 1 ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened (2.5 sticks or 283g)
Cream Cheese20 oz · 20 oz cream cheese, room temperature (2.5 8 oz blocks or 570g)
Icing Sugar3 cup · 3-4 cups icing sugar, sifted (360 to 480g) — up to 4

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Steps

1Pre-heat your oven to 350F (conventional, no fan) and line 3 8" cake pans with parchment paper.
2Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, granulated sugar, brown sugar and salt to a bowl and whisk until combined and no lumps remain.
3Add the eggs, oil, buttermilk, sour cream, and vanilla to the same bowl. Use a hand whisk to gently stir until the wet ingredients are combined with the dry and no lumps remain. Do not overmix.
4Mix the instant coffee with the boiling water in a separate bowl / cup, and pour it into the batter. Very gently fold until a smooth espresso cake batter forms.
5Divide the batter evenly between the three lined pans.
6Bake at 350F for ~20 min until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with light, moist crumbs attached.
7Let the cakes cool in the pans for at least 20 minutes, then carefully turn them out. Cover with cling wrap and chill in the fridge for 30-60 minutes before frosting.
8Espresso Cream Cheese Frosting: Make sure the butter and cream cheese are fully softened at room temperature. Add them to the bowl of your stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment. Add the vanilla, salt, and instant coffee mixed with hot water. Whisk on medium-low speed for 2-3 minutes until the mixture becomes really smooth and creamy, scraping the bowl 2-3 times along the way.
9Keeping the mixer on low speed, add the sugar one cup at a time until the frosting reaches the consistency and sweetness level you like. Do not whisk too long as it will become more runny.
10If you feel the frosting is too soft, refrigerate for 10-20 minutes so it firms up a bit.
11Assembly: Once the cakes have cooled, carefully trim off the domes from them, and layer them with a generous amount of the frosting between them.
12Cover with a thin layer of frosting on the top and sides (crumb coat) and refrigerate for ~20 minutes so the coat sets. Then cover with the remaining frosting.
13Decorate the cake however you like. You can pipe on the frosting, or decorate with instant coffee and / or coffee beans.
14Slice, serve & enjoy!