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Home » Baking & Desserts » Cakes » Easy Coffee Cake

24 January 2019

Easy Coffee Cake

19.3K shares

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Easy Coffee Cake – A delicious all-in-one coffee sponge topped with smooth coffee buttercream. Simple to make and packed full of flavour.

PLUS – How to make this cake in any size of round, square or rectangular tin. 

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Easy Coffee Cake - A delicious all-in-one coffee sponge topped with smooth coffee buttercream. Simple to make and packed full of flavour. PLUS - How to make this cake in any size of round, square or rectangular tin. 

Last week I shared with you my recipe for Easy Chocolate Cake, and today I’m back with another simple, classic cake recipe – Coffee Cake topped with Coffee Buttercream.

Two big cake recipes in a row?

Yes. I realised that I have so many more cupcakes on here than full-sized layer cakes. The reason for this is that I almost always test new cake recipes as cupcakes, as it’s easy to make small batches making lots of little tweaks until the recipe is just perfect. As soon as the recipe is just right, I’ll share it on here and move onto the next one.

I decided it was about time that some of those cupcakes were transformed into big cakes, so I’m on a mission to supersize them all for you.

Easy Coffee Cake - A delicious all-in-one coffee sponge topped with smooth coffee buttercream. Simple to make and packed full of flavour. PLUS - How to make this cake in any size of round, square or rectangular tin. 

One of the reasons I love this coffee cake recipe is that both the sponge and the buttercream are absolutely jam-packed with coffee flavour. 

Coffee is one of my absolute favourite cake flavours, and I struggle to resist buying a slice if I spot one in a coffee shop. However, sadly I’ve noticed that quite a few lack coffee flavour in the actual sponge, there’s the subtlest hint, but all the coffee flavour is in the icing. Not so with this cake, both the sponge and buttercream are packed full of flavour.

Can I use freshly brewed coffee rather than powder or granules?

No, the reason I use instant coffee powder or granules in this recipe is that it’s the easiest way to get an intense coffee flavour into both the sponge and buttercream. The amount of freshly brewed coffee needed would mean adding too much liquid to the mixture.

You also cannot substitute the coffee powder/granules for ground coffee beans. Making this substitution wouldn’t give the same flavour (as they need brewing to bring out the flavour) as the coffee beans wouldn’t dissolve into the mixture, so you’d end up with bitty cake and buttercream.

I only have coffee granules, how do I grind them into a powder?

I always use granules rather than powder and I simply give mine a quick blitz in my spice grinder. You can also grind them in a pestle and mortar.

Can I use decaf coffee?

Absolutely. We mostly drink decaf coffee at home and so that’s what I usually use for my cakes. The results of using regular instant coffee and decaf are the same.

Can I use self-raising flour instead of plain?

Absolutely. Instead of the 200g of plain flour and 2½ tsp of baking powder listed in the recipe, use 210g of self-raising flour.

Easy Coffee Cake - A delicious all-in-one coffee sponge topped with smooth coffee buttercream. Simple to make and packed full of flavour. PLUS - How to make this cake in any size of round, square or rectangular tin. 

Other recipe inspiration for coffee lovers

If you’re like me and love coffee flavoured treats then take a look at some of my other coffee-filled recipes:

  • Caramel Macchiato Cupcakes – coffee cupcakes topped with whipped cream and a hidden caramel centre
  • Coffee & Walnut Cake
  • Cappuccino Truffles 
  • Coffee Cupcakes

Caramel Macchiato Cupcakes, Coffee & Walnut Cake, Cappuccino Truffles & Coffee Cupcakes

What’s the best way to store my coffee cake?

This coffee cake can be stored in an airtight container for 4-5 days. Preferably it should be stored in the fridge (but allow it to come up to room temperature before eating as it’ll have a better flavour and the buttercream will soften), but it’ll be fine at room temperature providing the room isn’t too warm.

This cake is suitable for freezing, either just the coffee sponge or the buttercreamed cake. To freeze the coffee sponge cake, wait for it to cool and then wrap the cake in clingfilm or store it in an airtight container before freezing. Defrost it thoroughly before decorating.

The buttercreamed cake can also be frozen in the same way. If you’ve piped the cake beautifully and you’re worried about squashing it when you wrap it in buttercream simply freeze the cake uncovered on a dish for an hour to firm up the buttercream. Then wrap it in clingfilm. As the buttercream is already solid, it won’t get squashed. When you want to defrost the cake, remove it from the freezer and remove the clingfilm (so it doesn’t stick to the buttercream as it thaws).

I would not recommend freezing just the buttercream to use later as the consistency becomes a little too fudgy. This means it’s delicious on the cake but tricky to spread or pipe.

What are the coffee cake ingredients for a different size of tin?

As for my easy chocolate cake, I wanted to make it simple for you to make this cake in a different size or shape (either round, square or rectangular) so you can get it to fit in a tin you already have at home or feed as many or few people as you need.

The main recipe below is for a two-layer 20cm round cake (this serves 12 people). However, this recipe is easily adapted to use other sizes of tins. 

To find the ingredients needed to make this cake in a different size, simply add the dimensions of your tin and the number of layers into the boxes below and hit “Calculate”.

Round Cake

Cake Diameter (cm)

Number of Layers

Cake Ingredients

0 g plain flour
0 tsp baking powder
0 tsp coffee powder/granules
0 medium egg(s)
0 g soft margarine or butter
0 g soft light brown sugar
0 tsp milk
0 tsp salt

Buttercream Ingredients

0 g butter
0 g icing sugar
0 tsp vanilla extract
0 tsp instant coffee powder/granules
0 tsp boiling water

Square or rectangular cake

Cake Size (cm)
x

Number of layers

Cake Ingredients

0 g plain flour
0 tsp baking powder
0 tsp coffee powder/granules
0 medium egg(s)
0 g soft margarine or butter
0 g soft light brown sugar
0 tsp milk
0 tsp salt

Buttercream Ingredients

0 g butter
0 g icing sugar
0 tsp vanilla extract
0 tsp instant coffee powder/granules
0 tsp boiling water

Easy Coffee Cake - A delicious all-in-one coffee sponge topped with smooth coffee buttercream. Simple to make and packed full of flavour. PLUS - How to make this cake in any size of round, square or rectangular tin. 

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Easy Coffee Cake - A delicious all-in-one coffee sponge topped with smooth coffee buttercream. Simple to make and packed full of flavour. PLUS - How to make this cake in any size of round, square or rectangular tin. 

Easy Coffee Cake

Easy Coffee Cake - A delicious all-in-one coffee sponge topped with smooth coffee buttercream. Simple to make and packed full of flavour.
PLUS - How to make this cake in any size of round, square or rectangular tin. 
4.52 from 108 votes
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Active Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
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INGREDIENTS

Metric - US Cups/Ounces

For the coffee sponge

  • 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 - butter must be soft at room temperature
  • 4 medium eggs
  • 2 tsp milk
  • ⅛ tsp salt

For the coffee 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
  • A little milk

This recipe is for 2x 20cm round sandwich tins. To find the ingredients for a different size of tin please use the calculator above the recipe.

    INSTRUCTIONS

    Make the coffee sponge

    • Pre-heat your oven to 160ºC/140ºC fan.
      Line two 20cm round sandwich tins with greaseproof paper or re-usable baking tin liners (I use these tins and these liners).
    • Put all of the cake ingredients into a large bowl (3 tbsp coffee powder, 200g plain flour, 2½ tsp baking powder, 220g soft light brown sugar, 220g margarine or butter, 4 medium eggs, 2 tsp milk, ⅛ tsp salt). Beat with an electric mixer or by hand on a low speed 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.
    • Once the cakes are cooked, remove them from the oven. Leave them to cool in their tins for about 10 minutes before removing them from the tins and moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.

    Make the coffee buttercream

    • While the cakes are cooling make the coffee buttercream. Start by mixing together the instant coffee powder/granules (8 tsp) with the boiling water (4 tsp). Set aside to cool.
    • In a large bowl beat the butter (200g) and vanilla extract (¼ tsp) on a low speed until soft. Add the icing sugar (400g) and beat on a low speed until combined with the butter and smooth. 
      Gradually add the coffee mixture, 1 tsp at a time. After each addition beat the buttercream until the coffee has been fully combined before adding more.
    • Check the consistency of your buttercream. It should be soft enough that you could spread it onto a slice of bread. If it is too firm, then add a little milk (no more than 1 tsp at a time) until it is your desired consistency.

    Build the cake

    • Place the bottom layer of your coffee sponge onto your serving dish. Spread about ⅓ of the coffee buttercream evenly across the sponge (I like to use a palette knife, but you could use a regular knife or the back of a spoon).
    • Add the top layer of sponge. Again spread ⅓ of the coffee buttercream on top. Put the remaining buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle (I use a JEM1B nozzle). Pipe 12 blobs of buttercream evenly spaced around the edge of the cake. I give the piping bag a little wiggle as I squeeze so that the buttercream looks slightly ruffled.
      Of course, if you don't fancy piping, simply split the buttercream even between the middle and top of the cake.
    • Serve

    NOTES

    ❄️ Suitable for freezing
    Please see storage instructions above the recipe for more information.
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    NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

    Calories: 521kcal | Carbohydrates: 63.1g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 28.3g | Saturated Fat: 12.6g | Sodium: 274.4mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 50.6g

    Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.


    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: British
    Keyword: Coffee Morning
    Author: Charlotte Oates

    Free From/Suitable For

    The ingredients I used to make this recipe are all free from the following allergens. However, please check any labels carefully for allergens you need to avoid as brands can vary, and product recipes can change over time.

     
    • Suitable for Vegetarians
    • Tree Nut-Free
    • Peanut-Free
    • Sesame-Free
    • Soya-Free
    • Sulphur Dioxide & Sulphite-Free
    • Lupin-Free

    Easy Coffee Cake - A delicious all-in-one coffee sponge topped with smooth coffee buttercream. Simple to make and packed full of flavour. PLUS - How to make this cake in any size of round, square or rectangular tin. 

    19.3K shares

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sarah says

      June 15, 2021 at 11:30 pm

      Made this cake and came out perfectly – so delicious

      Reply
    2. Suzanne says

      June 07, 2021 at 8:51 am

      Hey, can I use vegetable oil instead of butter for the frosting?

      Reply
      • Charlotte Oates says

        June 07, 2021 at 11:44 am

        No.

    3. Emily says

      May 29, 2021 at 11:00 pm

      1 star
      Didn’t rise at all

      Reply
      • Charlotte Oates says

        June 03, 2021 at 11:28 am

        I’m sorry to hear that. How old was your baking powder? It will lose its raising powers over time. To check if it’s still working as it should, try adding a little to some boiling water. The heat of the water will activate the raising agents and make lots of bubbles, if this doesn’t happen then that will be the reason it didn’t rise.

    4. Lerusha says

      May 27, 2021 at 12:13 pm

      Good Day, can I make this in a square pan instead of round?

      Reply
      • Charlotte Oates says

        May 27, 2021 at 4:50 pm

        Yes, just pop your tin dimensions into the calculator in the post and it’ll tell you the quantities you need.

    5. Val says

      May 14, 2021 at 4:52 pm

      I’ve been asked to make a coffee birthday cake which needs to be covered in sugar paste. Just one tier. Is this cake firm enough to take sugar paste please?

      Reply
      • Charlotte Oates says

        May 19, 2021 at 10:39 am

        Yes, it’s a very similar sponge to the one I use for my vanilla and chocolate birthday cakes which are perfect for covering in fondant.

    6. Lynette says

      May 10, 2021 at 6:04 pm

      Just checking would salted or unsalted butter work better in this recipe?

      Reply
      • Charlotte Oates says

        May 19, 2021 at 10:40 am

        I use unsalted

    7. Claudia says

      May 08, 2021 at 6:52 am

      Hi can I bake them all in one tin and then cut into 2 layers when it’s cooled? Thanks.

      Reply
      • Charlotte Oates says

        May 19, 2021 at 10:47 am

        You can but it’s not something I recommend as people can have mixed results. In some cases when people use a deeper tin the cake can dip in the middle after baking. If you want to give it a try then it’ll need to be baked at the same temperature for c. 50 minutes.

    8. Shal says

      May 06, 2021 at 2:03 am

      Can I use the powder from a nesspresso pod you think!

      Reply
      • Charlotte Oates says

        May 07, 2021 at 10:53 am

        I wouldn’t do that as Nespresso pods contain finely ground coffee beans. For this cake you need instant coffee (which will dissolve in the mixture of the other ingredients).

    9. Sylvie says

      April 25, 2021 at 3:10 pm

      Hello Charlotte

      Can I use white caster sugar instead of the soft light brown?
      Love your recipes, thank you !

      Reply
      • Charlotte Oates says

        April 27, 2021 at 10:13 am

        Yes, your cake will have a slightly different flavour, but it’ll still work well.

    10. Belinda Dennis says

      April 21, 2021 at 12:14 pm

      I need a recipe for your coffee cake it looks amazing, I have 2 square tins which are. 25.4 x 4.1 x 20.3.. I’ve tried using the converter but not getting anywhere, help please xx

      Reply
      • Charlotte Oates says

        April 21, 2021 at 12:26 pm

        The calculator is designed to give ingredients for cakes with a depth the same as those shown in the original cake (just different width and height). For those tins you’d add 25.4 in one box and 20.3 in the other. Adjusting for the different depth would result in the cake needing a different cooking time. Also, making this in deeper tins doesn’t always give such good results (sometimes it’s perfect, but some people find it can sink a little in the middle) which us why I don’t include depth as a variable in the calculator.

    11. Bably says

      April 21, 2021 at 9:34 am

      5 stars
      This cake was a big hit with my family. I made it with self raising gluten free flour from Doves farm. I used less icing sugar for the buttercream. Thank you for a super recipe

      Reply
    12. Lu says

      April 19, 2021 at 7:34 pm

      Hi,
      Will the buttercream set so that I can do a ‘drip’ icing effect? I was planning to smooth buttercream all over the top and sides. Also, should I beat the wet ingredients first and sift the flour, or just throw it all in a bowl un-mixed, and mix all together at once? Thanks.

      Reply
      • Charlotte Oates says

        April 20, 2021 at 12:13 pm

        Yes, this buttercream gets a “crust” if left for a few hours as a classic buttercream would so it’s perfect for adding a drip to. No need to mix the wet ingredients before adding the dry, just chuck it all in together and mix. I don’t sift my flour unless it’s become very compacted for some reason.

    13. Janice says

      April 18, 2021 at 6:33 pm

      5 stars
      I made this coffee cake for my sister’s birthday, it was a big success. Everyone loved it and the coffee flavour was really present. I used decaf coffee as that’s what my sister prefers and that worked perfectly. Thanks for a great recipe.

      Reply
    14. Vindhya says

      April 17, 2021 at 10:34 am

      How can I do this cake without eggs

      Reply
      • Charlotte Oates says

        April 19, 2021 at 4:46 pm

        Unfortunately this cake is designed to be made with eggs and they’re not straightforward to replace without making several other adjustments. I’d recommend finding a cake that’s been specifically designed to be eggless/vegan.

    15. Ayesha Shaikh says

      April 16, 2021 at 5:40 am

      I want to make this as a single layer cake for 12 people.
      How does the baking time & temperature change?
      Thank you!!!

      Reply
      • Charlotte Oates says

        April 16, 2021 at 1:57 pm

        Before I can answer your question I could do with a bit more info. When you say “single layer” do you mean you want to bake all of the mixture in a single deeper tin, you want to use a larger tin making a single layer of the same height as those shown in the images, or you want to make a single layer of the height shown in the images (in which case you’ll need to adjust the ingredient quantities). Let me know and I’ll give you the information you need. Thanks.

      • Ayesha says

        April 17, 2021 at 2:56 am

        Thank you for responding!! Same diameter but I only had 1 tin. I ended up taking a chance & baking the mixture together. It looks ok I haven’t tasted it yet though! Nervous that I’ve made a mistake!!
        I have guest coming over

    16. Suja says

      April 11, 2021 at 8:30 am

      Will the whip cream frosting works for this ? Should I use different method for making whip cream frosting ?

      Reply
      • Suja says

        April 11, 2021 at 8:31 am

        I’m planning to try this out !!

      • Charlotte Oates says

        April 11, 2021 at 11:39 am

        I’m not entirely clear what you mean by whipped cream frosting but if you’re talking about a sweetened and stabilized whipped cream, that should work. Unfortunately I don’t have a dedicated recipe but a quick Google search should help you. If you are asking about another type of frosting, please let me know some more details.

      • Hania Moid says

        June 13, 2021 at 7:52 pm

        Hi! As u said that to mix all the ingredients in a bowl and then beat with an electric mixer,,wont the cake become too hard after it is baked bc I always fold in the flour and never beat it with an electric mixer? Thanks

      • Charlotte Oates says

        June 16, 2021 at 10:43 am

        No, the ingredient quantities are set so that you get a lovely soft sponge with the given method.

    17. ellie says

      April 10, 2021 at 8:11 am

      i have tried this recipe yesterday twice and on both occasions the cake butter split … I had eggs and butter in room temperature as well as the milk. Any idea what did I do wrong? should I try mixing eggs in one by one perhaps . the flavour is still amazing, it just is not as fluffy due to the splitting.

      Reply
      • Charlotte Oates says

        April 11, 2021 at 11:38 am

        Are you mixing all of the ingredients together at the same time or beating the butter and sugar and then adding the eggs?

    18. Nuha says

      April 07, 2021 at 9:05 am

      Hi! I was wondering if I could use all purpose flour instead of plain flour? Would it reach the same results?

      Reply
      • Charlotte Oates says

        April 07, 2021 at 11:39 am

        Yes. They’re pretty much the same just with different names.

    19. Janine Edgar says

      April 03, 2021 at 12:33 pm

      I love this cake!
      Are walnuts or any other nuts also suitable for the cake?

      Reply
      • Charlotte Oates says

        April 03, 2021 at 1:57 pm

        Yes, you can fold 100g of chopped nuts into the mixture before adding it to the tins.

    20. Anne Marie says

      March 29, 2021 at 9:10 pm

      Hi, is it ok to use coffee essence instead ..?

      Reply
      • Charlotte Oates says

        March 30, 2021 at 10:53 am

        I haven’t tried it, but it should be fine.

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