Friday 15 January 2016

Mocha Marble Cake with Coffee Buttercream.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

This cake first made an appearance on Eid-al-Adha last year.
It was a big success and I knew I had to bake it again for the blog.
This time though, I covered and filled the entire thing in a coffee buttercream.

So if you don't like coffee, then this cake isn't really for you. Although, my Mother is not a big coffee drinker but she still enjoyed it. Maybe you will too!

When I baked this cake for Eid, I filled the middle with a Nutella whipped cream. That also worked really well, cutting out a little of the sweetness from the coffee buttercream.

Speaking of the buttercream, I ended up having to make it twice. The first time, I burnt the coffee and so it tasted horrible. In the recipe that follows, I have included tips so that you do not do the same. Also, doing a crumb coat on my cakes was something I never bothered with until I actually tried it and now I'm obsessed. I'll show you how I do mine in the photos that follow. Enjoy the cake!

Coffee Cake, previously: Cappuccino Fudge Cake // Nusskuchen 

A Simple List of Ingredients:

For the Mocha Marble Cake:
1. Butter
2. Caster Sugar
3. Large Eggs
4. Self-Raising Flour
5. Cocoa Powder
6. Instant Coffee Granules
7. Boiling Water

For the Coffee Buttercream:
1. Instant Coffee Granules
2. Milk
3. Butter
4. Icing Sugar

Bismillah, let's begin!

Before we bake, let's pre-heat the oven to 180C / 350F / Gas Mark 4. Since this is a sandwich cake, grab two 18cm round sandwich tins.

Grease them well and line with baking paper.

For the cake, we will first create our coffee and cocoa flavourings so that they can cool whilst we make the cake batter.

For the chocolate flavour, take 1 tablespoon Cocoa Powder.

Pop it in a bowl and add 2 tablespoons Boiling Water.

Stir until smooth and set aside.


For the coffee flavour, in a separate bowl, place 1 tablespoon Instant Coffee Granules.

Add in 1 tablespoon Boiling Water and stir until dissolved. Set aside for later.

Now, for the cake batter. I used a bowl and electric hand whisk but feel free to use a stand mixer or do it by hand.

We will begin with the usual suspects.

Into your bowl, place 170 grams Butter, softened.

Pour in 170 grams Caster Sugar.

And, beat the two until well combined and fluffy.

Next, take 3 large Eggs.

Crack them in, one at a time.

And, beat after each one.

Once they're all in, the mixture will curdle. Do not worry because it'll sort itself out one we add in the flour.

Speaking of flour, we're going to be using self-raising in this recipe.

Add in 170 grams Self-Raising Flour.

Beat or stir until just combined.

Then, grab your coffee and chocolate flavourings.

Divide the cake batter between them.

Mix ...

.. until well combined.

Take the tins that we prepared earlier, and begin to divide the batter between - alternate between the coffee and chocolate.

Until the batter is finished!

Since this is a marble cake, we're going to want to marble the batter.

Use a toothpick or knife to marble the batter.

Then, pop into bake for 20-25 minutes until cooked and risen - it's cooked when a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Let the cakes cool completely!

While the cakes completely cool, let's make the coffee buttercream. I had a few disasters with this so I will give you all my tips so you don't do the same!
Let's first of all heat up our coffee and milk.


Take 2 tablespoons Instant Coffee Granules.


Mix it with 2-3 tablespoons Hot Milk until dissolved. Set aside to cool.
The method that I did was to put the coffee and milk into a bowl (not a mug!) and heat in the microwave for 10 seconds at a time until ready.


To make the buttercream, we will need butter!


Into a bowl, place 200 grams Butter, softened.


Beat the butter well until ..


... pale!


Then, take icing sugar.


We'll be using 420 grams Icing Sugar.


Give it a sift - I hate sifting and will only do it when absolutely necessary. making buttercream is one of those times.


Add the sifted icing sugar to the beaten butter.


Beat slowly ..


.. until the two are really well combined and whipped.


Then, take your coffee milk.


Add it in a little at a time.


And, beat after each addition.


Keep adding, beating and tasting as you go until the buttercream is as strong as you want it.


The coffee buttercream is done!


If you feel that it could be a little looser, stir in a splash of Milk, as needed.


Once the cakes are completely cool, it's time to assemble!


Remove them from the tin and let's begin!


I assembled mine on a cake turntable but a cake stand or plate is fine.


Onto one cake, dollop on some buttercream.


Spread it out, right to the edges.


Take your second cake.


And, place on top!


I have recently discovered the joys of a crumb coat and so decided to do just that. Here's how I do mine - place a dollop on the top of the cake.


Using a palette knife, I spread it out and begin to push it to the edges.


Like so!


Once you've pushed it down ...


... spread a light coating of it onto the sides of the cake.


Like so! You can also directly apply the buttercream to the sides of the cake - that works well too. The crumb coat locks all the crumbs into the cake so later when you put on a final layer of icing, there won't be any crumbs mixed into it!


Do the same to the top and scrape off any excess icing.


Then, place the cake into the fridge to set for about 30 minutes. This will set the first layer of icing and make the second even easier.


Once the cake is chilled, it's ready to have more icing on!


All I did was place another dollop on top of the cake.


And, begin pushing it down the sides.


Smoothing it out as I went until the entire cake was done!


You can get your piping bag out at this point and decorate more but I am super lazy - I just sprinkled the top with shaved milk chocolate and made simple designs using my palette knife.


And, we're done!

I think it's time to slice!



This mocha marble cake is a coffee lovers dream - and surprisingly not too sweet!

Full Written Recipe:


Mocha Marble Cake with Coffee Buttercream.

Prep Time: About 2 hours – includes cake cooling and crumb coating time.
Bake Time: About 20-25 minutes.
Serves: About 8-10 people.

Ingredients

For the Mocha Marble Cake
170 grams Butter, softened
170 grams Caster Sugar
3 large Eggs
170 grams Self-Raising Flour
1 tablespoon Cocoa Powder dissolved in 2 tablespoons Boiling Water
1 tablespoon Instant Coffee Granules dissolved in 1 tablespoon Boiling Water

For the Coffee Buttercream
2 tablespoons Instant Coffee Granules dissolved in 2-3 tablespoons Hot Milk, and left to cool
200 grams Butter, softened
420 grams Icing Sugar, sifted
Milk, to soften if needed

Method

Before baking the cakes, pre-heat the oven to 180C / Gas Mark 4. Grease and line two 18cm round sandwich tins.

To make the cake batter, put the butter and sugar into a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until well combined and fluffy.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
Finally, add in the self-raising flour and beat or stir until just combined.

To divide and flavour the batter, add half of each cake batter into the coffee and cocoa powder bowls. Stir to combine.
Dollop both coffee and cocoa batters into the cake tins, alternating as you go. Use a knife or toothpick to swirl and marble the batter.

To bake the cakes, pop them into bake for 20-25 minutes until the cooked through – a toothpick inserted into the centre should come back with no wet batter.

Before icing, let the cakes cool completely.

To make the coffee buttercream, beat the soft butter until pale. Then, add in the icing sugar and beat until well combined – this should take a few minutes.
Next, pour in the coffee milk mixture, a little at a time, beating and tasting after each addition. You can add as much or as little as you like depending on how strong you want the coffee flavour.
If you don’t want a strong flavour but the buttercream still needs loosening, add a splash of milk and stir in.

To assemble the cake, spread one sponge with buttercream and place the other on top. Lightly ice the sides and top of the cake – scraping off any excess icing.
Place in the fridge to set for 30 minutes. Then, using the remaining buttercream, ice the cake again all over, decorating as you wish. I made simple designs with my palette knife and sprinkled on shaved milk chocolate.


Slice and enjoy!


This Time One Year Ago:
Breakfast Apple Crumble

This Time Two Years Ago:
Orange Meringue Pie

This Time Three Years Ago:
Cheese Straws

Keep me in your duas please, and enjoy your cake!

Wasalaam!


Spice Enthusiast
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