A delicious homemade cake is the perfect afternoon treat, served on its own or with a steaming hot cup of tea.
Coffee-lovers will find this recipe by Mary Berry hard to resist; a layered coffee sponge with a fluffy buttercream filling.
Sharing the recipe from her cookbook Mary Berry’s Simple Comforts, the chef described the bake as “a special occasion cake”, thanks to its praline crunch.
But this everyday version is just as “impressive” and easy to make in just one hour.
Mary’s recipe uses granulated coffee for ease, but you can switch it out for something more up-market by using the same quantities.
Coffee cake recipe
Ingredients
1 tbsp coffee granules
4 large free-range eggs
225g/8oz baking spread or softened unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
225g/8oz caster sugar
225g/8oz self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
For the buttercream
1 tbsp coffee granules
125g/4½oz unsalted butter softened
225g/8oz icing sugar
Method
Mary’s recipe is easy to make in one bowl, but it is important to make the coffee separately first.
Before this, preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ Gas 4 then grease two deep 20cm loose-bottom round tins and the bases with grease-proof paper.
Boil a small amount of water in the kettle and dissolve one tablespoon of granulated coffee in a cup. Take a large mixing bowl and add the eggs, baking spread, sugar, flour, baking powder, and finally, the coffee.
Mix with an electric whisk until smooth then divide the mixture evenly between the tins and level the surface.
Bake the cakes in the preheated oven for half an hour, or until well risen. When done, the sponge should come away from the sides of the tins slightly.
Remove them from the oven and turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Meanwhile, make the buttercream by dissolving one tablespoon of coffee in boiling water.
Add the butter to a bowl and whisk until smooth. Gradually add the coffee and icing sugar to the butter, mixing between intervals. The icing is done when light and fluffy.
Place one of the cakes on a plate, upside down, then spread or pipe small dollops of buttercream onto the cake, reserving half the buttercream for the top.
Sit the second cake on top, spread with the remaining buttercream and sprinkle with toppings of your choice – Mary recommends praline or walnuts.
