I have to admit, these days my palate has a bit of a love-hate relationship with cake. Well, maybe more 'not too keen' than 'hate' but, still, cake divides me in a way I wish it wouldn't. The reason for this: overwhelming sweetness. Specifically, cakes, especially, some shop-bought ones, that do little to balance liberal amounts of icing and/or buttercream. Of course, this doesn't apply to all, a Victoria sponge with lots of freshly whipped cream and a bit jam for the filling or a carrot cake with a cream cheese topping are just a couple of great examples that get it right for me.
With this in mind, I was thinking about good old coffee cake the other day and I hit upon the idea of switching in the usual buttercream for a boozy Tiramisu-style filling. In my head, this combination would deliver sweetness but, crucially, punctuate proceedings with some heady, mature notes. Anyway, I was convinced by the concept and quickly set about making it.
My starting point for the cake was a basic sponge recipe. I wanted to have four layers of cake so each slice would deliver a decent hit of boozy cream filling. To that end, I used four large eggs and employed the old fashioned method of weighting out my butter, sugar and self-raising flour against them. I chose light Muscovado for an extra depth of flavour, though regular caster would have been fine. As for the sponge's caffeine component, I turned to an instant coffee favourite, Douwe Egberts Pure Indulgence, for a beautifully rich flavour.
When it came to the filling, I looked no further than the cream, mascarpone, sugar and brandy combination that had served me so well with my previously featured tiramisu (see here). Liking a decent hit of alcohol, I put in quite a bit of brandy but upped the sugar accordingly. Slathering this on three of the sponges, I then grated some 70% dark chocolate over the fillings to intensify those deep, mature notes.
As for the topping, I exchanged the brandy in the filling recipe for some more coffee mixture using my Douwe Egberts Pure Indulgence. I played around with the quantities of sugar a bit, as you might want to if you make this, but I eventually got the smooth, rich taste I was looking for. In any case, the result was a fittingly brownish, coffee-looking cream to top the cake with.
In terms of taste, this cake lived up every bit to my expectations. The sponge and topping provided a beautiful wave of sweet, coffee-laden notes whilst those hits of filling delivered a gorgeous burst of warm brandy. The only thought I had afterwards was whether or not I could have replaced the filling between the second and third sponges with a coffee-flavoured one, as per the topping recipe. The reasoning behind this is that, being a four-layer cake, it is hard to get the coffee and brandy creams in every mouthful. By alternating the creams it might have helped alleviate this issue but, then again, I do love my brandy!
All in all, this was a great success and, if I do say so myself, the best coffee cake I've eaten to date. Definitely recommended.
RECIPE
Ingredients
Sponges
4 large eggs
Self-raising flour, light Muscovado sugar (or regular caster sugar) and softened butter - quantity of ingredients determined by weighing each against 4 eggs used.
Coffee mixture (around 4 very decent teaspoons of instant coffee fully dissolved in around 1 tbsp boiling water)
1/2 tsp baking powder
Filling
185 g mascarpone
425 ml double cream
5 tbsp golden caster sugar (or regular caster sugar)
110 ml brandy
Dark chocolate
Topping
3 tbsp sugar
35 g mascarpone
70 ml double cream
Coffee mixture (around 2 1/2 very decent teaspoons of instant coffee fully dissolved in around 1 tbsp of boiling water).
Tins
2 x 20 cm / 8 in round baking tins (well greased and base lined)
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 160°C fan (180°C non-fan).
2. Cream together the softened butter and sugar.
3. Pour in the coffee mixture and then add the eggs slowly, mixing them in one at a time.
4. Add the flour (sift in) and baking powder and fold in gently until everything is well incorporated.
5. Divide the cake mixture evenly between the two prepared tins.
6. Place in the preheated oven for around 25-30 mins, or until the sponges are coming away from the sides and are nicely coloured.
7. When done, remove the sponges and place them inverted on wire racks to cool.
8. After 5 or so minutes, lift off the tins and leave the sponges to cool thoroughly.
9. When the cakes have cooled completely (this will take a few hours or so), take a serrated knife and very carefully cut the two sponges in half.
10. For the brandy filling, place the mascarpone, double cream, sugar and brandy in a bowl and, using an electric whisk, mix until nicely thickened.
11. Top three of the sponges with generous amounts of filling and finish off each by grating over dark chocolate.
12. For the topping, place the mascarpone, double cream, sugar and coffee mixture in a bowl and, using an electric whisk again, mix until nicely thickened.
13. Liberally spread this coffee cream over the fourth, still-bare sponge.
14. Assemble the cake with the coffee-cream topped layer obviously going on last.
15. If not eating immediately, refrigerate due to the use of fresh cream.
