Old School Coffee Cake

There’s nothing like coffee cake. A slice of this with a cup of coffee is absolutely gorgeous and inexplicably nostalgic (I never ate it as a child!). It’s very easy and if you are going to bake a cake for someone as a present then this is the one to make!

Ingredients
225g (8oz) butter
225g (8oz) caster sugar
4 free range eggs
200g (7oz) self raising flour
1 heaped tbsp cocoa powder
5tsp instant coffee granules
dissolved in 5tbsp water

Icing:
225g (8oz) soft butter
450g (16oz) icing sugar
4tsp instant coffee dissolved in 4tbsp water
toasted almond flakes
walnut halves

Serves 10-12

• Method
  Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.
  Alot of people just throw the butter and sugar into the bowl and beat like mad. The key to this cake is to have the butter so soft it’s almost melting.
  If you’re using a mixer then mix the butter for a while on its own just to soften it up. Then gradually add your sugar. Once beaten with the caster sugar the mixture becomes incredibly light.
• Next add your eggs one by one. Mix it really well after each addition.
• Then fold in the sifted flour and cocoa powder. When its half mixed add the coffee and then continue folding the flour and egg mix together gently. A flexible spatula is good for this.
• Put this glorious smelling mix into two well greased and floured 8 inch sandwich cake tins. Bake until you press the top with your finger and its springs up to say “I’m done!”. Usually around 30 minutes.
• Cool on a wire tray. When cold cut in half through the centre, horizontally.
• Beat the butter, sugar and coffee together till thick and creamy.
• Sandwich the 4 layers together with half the butter icing. Spread some icing on the sides of the cake. Layer the almonds around the sides. Spread a thin layer of icing on top and then place the remaining icing into a piping bag and pipe a lattice design across the top of the cake. Decorate with walnuts.
  Gorgeous!

Lilly x