Coffee cake

Being one of my Dad's favourites, I have wanted to try a coffee cake for a long time and I found a perfect (and pretty straight-forward) recipe from the wonderful Mary Berry that drew me into the kitchen. 

I have to say it was successful, despite my doubts. Below is the recipe I followed, plus the link to the original page. I did alter the coffee-flavouring for the buttercream a bit, and I decided not to bother with the four separate layers but it tasted great anyway. The mixture did look seriously runny to me at first, but I decided to put my trust in Mary Berry, and of course it paid off. I was left with a beautifully moist, but suitably airy, perfectly coffee-flavoured coffee cake.

Original recipe here. (even includes a handy aga-cooking guide)

Ingredients-

225g (8oz) very soft butter, plus more for the tins
225g (8oz) caster sugar
225g (8oz) self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 large eggs

4 level tsp instant coffee, dissolved in 1 tbsp boiling water

(For the buttercream, if you are doing four layers)

175g (6oz) soft butter
350g (12oz) icing sugar
3 level tsp instant coffee, dissolved in 1 tbsp boiling water

Method-

1. Preheat oven to 180C (160C for fan) and prepare two 20cm (8in) sandwich tins.

2. Place all of the cake ingredients into a bowl, apart from the coffee, and mix until smooth in texture. Add the coffee and stir in until all blended (it will look a bit too runny, but that turned out to be fine!)

3. Divide the mixture between the two tins and bake for 25-30 mins (according to the original recipe but mine were in for about 35, when an inserted skewer came out clean and the sponge bounced back from the touch).

4. Leave the sponges to cool and make the buttercream. Combine butter and sugar until smooth and then stir in the coffee mixture.

5. Spread in between layers, and on the top if you wish. I dusted with icing sugar because I didn't make enough buttercream to cover the top as well, I'll be making more in future!

6. Eat it and enjoy! Nom, nom.