The wonderful thing about a cappuccino, is that you can enjoy it throughout the year; whether it be as a deliciously creamy treat at the beginning of autumn, to warm yourself by the fire in mid-winter, for brunch on a Sunday morning at the approach of Spring or as an iced drink to cool yourself off in the heat of summer…

and for those of you who love coffee, you are in for a real treat, for this cake is the perfect combination of dark chocolate and coffee, with it’s rich and creamy frosting flavoured with just a hint of vanilla! It will make the perfect desert for a decadent afternoon tea among friends and family and a divine collation for brunch especially if accompanied with a lightly flavoured tea which will refresh your palate and bring out the different flavors in the cake…

Cappuccino cake for afternoon tea Creamy cappuccino cake Creamy cappuccino cake

You wil find the recipe and tips here below, don’t hesitate to leave a comment or tips of your own…enjoy baking!

Recipe

Cost: +

Difficulty: ++

Ingredients

50g dark cocoa powder

6 tablespoons of boiling water

3 large eggs

50ml of milk

175g all purpose flour

3 teaspoons of baking powder

100g of butter, melted

275g of caster sugar

1 and a half tablespoons of coffee, dissolved into water

1 teaspoon of natural vanilla essence

For the icing and filling

250g mascarpone

50g of icing sugar

2 tablespoons of coffee, dissolved into boiling water

cocoa powder for dusting

A pinch of natural vanilla essence

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line or grease a 25cm round baking pan.

In a large bowl, measure out the cocoa powder and add the boiling water to it. Mix well until completely dissolved.

Cocoa powder cocoa powder dissolved in boiling water

In another bowl, beat the eggs and milk together until well combined. In a third bowl, sift the flour, caster sugar, baking powder and natural vanilla extract and mix together, then slowly add the dry ingredients and the milk and egg combination alternately to the cocoa paste, making sure all the ingredients are well combined.

measuring out the milk eggs and milk ingredients whisked together with the cocoa

Poor the coffee into the cake batter and then finish up by adding the melted butter. Stir one last time before pouring the mixture into the cake pan.

cake batter before being cooked cappuccino cake, just out of the oven

Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes or until the tip of a knife comes out clean. Leave to cool for an hour before taking it out of the cake pan, then leave to cool on a cake rack for a further 30 minutes before icing.

For the icing

Place your cake on a round turntable. In a large mixing bowl, beat the mascarpone, icing sugar, coffee and vanilla until thick and smooth. Pick out the nozzle of your choice and place it into a piping bag. Then, poor a quarter of the icing into the piping bag and reserve the rest of the icing for later.

mascarpone mascarpone with icing sugar and vanilla

With the aid of a mandolin, cut the cake into two equal halves and spread a thick layer of icing between them with a metal spatula.

Icing the inside half of the cappuccino cake Icing the cappuccino cake cappuccino cake sliced into equal halves with a mandolin

Make sure the icing is spread evenly. Put the top layer of the cake back onto the bottom half and press down gently, then spread a thick layer of icing onto the top, making sure it’s even. Then, pipe beautiful swirls around the top and bottom of the cake, creating the designs of your choice and finish up by sprinkling some powdered cocoa on the top.

Icing and decorating the cappuccino cake decorating the cappuccino cake cappuccino cake

Serve with a glass of sweet sherry for an utterly decadent afternoon tea or enjoy with a delicious Lapsang Souchong tea, which will compliment the taste of the cake and bring out it’s richness – You can store this cake for about a day or two in the fridge, but I find that cakes are best eaten fresh.

A slice of cappuccino cake for afternoon tea layered cappuccino cake A slice of cappuccino cake

I hope to see you here next week for another exciting recipe…

Cécile.

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