Sunday 2 December 2007

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

This is another example of my altruistic nature. I am not a coffee fan – I hate the smell and taste of it, even to the extent of recoiling if it’s on someone’s breath. I can just about manage a coffee Revel but that’s only because I know it increases my odds of the next one being a good one. One of the things I particularly love about the internet is the access it gives you to vital information and research that you otherwise may not have had to opportunity to enjoy. Geoff with his statistical analysis of Revels may just be my new hero!

But I digress, this is a coffee cake for people who complain that coffee cake is never coffee-y enough. Comments made were that the sponge was lovely and light and the flavour was unmistakable.

My mother has subtly hinted that this is “the cake she would choose to be made for her whenever she needed cheering up”. Although having The Caked Crusader for a daughter means that situation doesn’t come up very often!


What happens when you drop a cake on to the work top from a height? Unfortunately not the opening line of a joke. This is the sorry answer:


Luckily icing is a cake’s band aid!


Ingredients:
For the cake:
125g unsalted butter
250g caster sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
90g plain flour
60g self raising flour
90g soured cream

For the icing:
2 teaspoons instant coffee powder
125g icing sugar
20g unsalted butter, melted or very soft

How to make:

- Preheat oven to 160°C/fan oven 140°C/315°F/ Gas mark 2-3 and line a 28cm x 18cm tin with greaseproof paper.
- Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy then gradually add the egg. Don’t worry if the mix curdles – it will right itself as soon as the flour is added.
- Dissolve the vanilla and coffee powder in 1 tablespoon of warm water and beat into the creamed mixture.
- Using a metal spoon, fold in the flours alternately with the soured cream.
- Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
- Let it cool for 10 minutes in the tin before turning out onto a wire cooling rack.
- For the icing, dissolve the coffee powder in 2 tablespoons of warm water in a small bowl.
- In a separate bowl beat the icing sugar and butter until smooth then beat in the coffee mixture.
- Spread over the cooled cake.
- Bask in glory at the wonderful thing you have made.
- Eat.

2 comments:

Carolyn said...

I am not a coffee cake lover or come to that sweets, although I drink coffee. So not sure this is one for me - although I like the look of it maybe one for me to try out for my country Market baking, thank you for sharing

Maggie said...

Did you make this whilst wearing a face mask then?!! The cake looks wonderful and I think the addition of sour cream would add an extra dimension to the said cake.
As a huge lover of coffee this will be on my to-do list this week.
I am pleased to have found someone else who shares my passion for cake tins (I'm addicted). Mx