A showstopping coffee cake for afternoon tea

A delicious and impressive-looking cake that would surely get you bonus points if made for a visit from mum, gran or a friend.

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Ground Coffee instead of Coffee Granules

Instant coffee is the best as it gives a good strong coffee taste. Don’t substitute with ground coffee, as the coffee needs to be brewed first to give the same taste, plus you’ll end up with little bits of coffee beans in your sponge and icing which is meh.

Can decaf coffee be used?

Instant decaf and instant regular can both be used in this recipe.

How to store your coffee cake

If you can stand it, the cake can be in an airtight container for 4-5 days, as long as room temperature isn’t too warm.

Can this cake be frozen?

Yes, just wrap the cake in clingfilm and place the cake in the freezer. When ready to defrost, remove the clingfilm so that it doesn’t stick to your icing.

Ingredients

Sponge
3 tbsp instant coffee powder – or coffee granules ground to a powder
200g plain flour
2½ tsp baking powder
220g soft light brown sugar
220g margarine or butter
4 medium eggs
2tsp milk

For the buttercream
200g butter – soft at room temperature
400g icing sugar
¼ tsp vanilla extract
8 tsp instant coffee powder or granules
4 tsp boiling water

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 160ºC/140ºC fan.
Line two 20cm round sandwich tins with greaseproof paper.
Put all of the cake ingredients into a large bowl.
Beat until all of the ingredients are combined.
Split the mixture between the two prepared tins.
Then bake for 30-35 minutes until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Remove the cakes from the oven and leave them to cool.
Make the coffee buttercream icing whilst the cakes are cooling.
Mixing together the instant coffee powder/granules with the boiling water then set aside to cool.
In a large bowl beat the butter and vanilla extract until soft.
Add the icing sugar and mix until the mixture is smooth.
Gradually add the coffee mixture.
Place the bottom layer of your coffee sponge onto a dish.
Spread about ⅓ of the coffee buttercream evenly across the sponge.
Add the top layer of sponge and spread ⅓ of the coffee buttercream on top.
Put the remaining buttercream into a piping bag.
Pipe blobs of buttercream evenly spaced around the edge of the cake.
I added coffee beans just to make it look fancy.

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Course afternoon tea, Dessert

Ingredients

3 tbsp instant coffee powder - or coffee granules ground to a powder
200 g plain flour
2½ tsp baking powder
220 g soft light brown sugar
220 g margarine or butter
4 medium eggs
2 tsp milk
For the buttercream
200 g butter - soft at room temperature
400 g icing sugar
¼ tsp vanilla extract
8 tsp instant coffee powder or granules
4 tsp boiling water

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 160ºC/140ºC fan.
Line two 20cm round sandwich tins with greaseproof paper.
Put all of the cake ingredients into a large bowl.
Beat until all of the ingredients are combined.
Split the mixture between the two prepared tins.
Then bake for 30-35 minutes until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Remove the cakes from the oven and leave them to cool.
Make the coffee buttercream icing whilst the cakes are cooling.
Mixing together the instant coffee powder/granules with the boiling water then set aside to cool.
In a large bowl beat the butter and vanilla extract until soft.
Add the icing sugar and mix until the mixture is smooth.
Gradually add the coffee mixture.
Place the bottom layer of your coffee sponge onto a dish.
Spread about ⅓ of the coffee buttercream evenly across the sponge.
Add the top layer of sponge and spread ⅓ of the coffee buttercream on top.
Put the remaining buttercream into a piping bag.
Pipe blobs of buttercream evenly spaced around the edge of the cake.
I added coffee beans just to make it look fancy.