May 30, 2013

COFFEE, ALMOND AND BLACKCURRANT CAKE

I came across this recipe on the Good Food Channel website and was dying to have a go as soon as the opportunity or need for baking a cake arose.  I didn’t have to wait long as I made it (along with other cakes) for the party I held in our little French house to celebrate my recent retirement.

cakefest5The cake is essentially a coffee flavoured sponge cake but with a difference.  Ground almonds are included in the mixture and it is sandwiched together with blackcurrant jam as well as the usual butter cream.

cakefest4It was the combination of coffee and blackcurrant flavours that made me want to have a go.  I had never come across this before and I have to say it was a lovely combination.  Coffee cakes, especially of the traditional coffee and walnut variety, can sometimes be a bit overly sweet if there is butter cream on top as well as inside.  I liked the way the sharpness of the blackcurrant jam contrasted well with the sweetness in this recipe.

This is not a “light as air” kind of sponge cake.  The almonds made it slightly denser but it rose well and had a nice even crumb.  Using five eggs and a whole pack of butter it is not cheap to make but it goes a long way and tastes delicious.

I followed the recipe closely but made my butter cream by whizzing it up in the food processor.  I used espresso powder for the flavouring instead of the coffee granules in the recipe.  When filling the cake I found it impossible to “spread” the butter cream on top of the jam so just blobbed it on – otherwise the jam was being pushed off the edge of the cake!

As a change from the usual coffee sponge cake it was a great success and I would definitely make it again. 

(The link to the original recipe on the internet has disappeared.)

Ingredients

For the cake

2tsp instant coffee granules (or espresso powder)

250g self-raising flour

30g ground almonds

275g softened unsalted butter

275g caster sugar

5 large eggs, beaten

1 tblsp milk

For the filling

½tsp instant coffee granules (or espresso powder)

200g icing sugar

60g softened butter

1 tbslp milk

3-4 tblsp blackcurrant jam

icing sugar for sprinkling

Method

Grease and line the bases of two 20cm (8”) sandwich tins.  Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°fan / gas mk 4.

Dissolve the coffee granules/powder in 1 tblsp boiling water and put aside to cool.  Sift the flour into a bowl and stir in the ground almonds, making sure to break up any clumps.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 

Add half the flour mixture and beaten eggs.  Beat together. 

Add the remaining flour mixture, along with the other half of the eggs, the milk and coffee and beat until just combined.

Divide the mixture between the two tins and level the tops.  Bake for 30-35 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cool in the tins for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack.

To make the butter cream, dissolve the coffee in 1tsp boiling water and leave to cool.  Then put all the ingredients into a food processor and process until it is light and fluffy.

When the cakes are completely cold, slice some of the the dome off the top of one of them and turn it upside down on a cake plate so the flatter surface is facing up.  Spread with an even layer of jam.  Blob the butter cream over the top and gently spread it with the back of a spoon, making sure it goes right to the edge of the cake.

Put the second cake on top and dust liberally with icing sugar before serving.

Cuts into at least 12 slices.

11 comments:

  1. Wow. Never heard of the coffee and black currant combo but I'm so intrigued and it looks stunning. Well worth baking just to try a slice. Thanks for sharing x

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  2. Hmmm, now I wish I'd had some of this -- blackcurrant and coffee seems an unlikely combo.

    I wonder if you spread the buttercream on the underside of the top then carefully placed it, would that work?

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    1. Susan, I did wonder about that and will probably try it the next time.
      There is a good chunk left, so if we happen to come your way tomorrow.........

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    2. Or it might be easier the other way round..... Spreading butter cream on the bottom cake and the jam on the top one then inverting the jammy one -there would be less chance of losing the jam than the butter cream to gravity methinks!!

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  3. Wow, that looks fantastic. That's a wonderful combination of flavours, too. Congratulations on the retirement. Make sure that you do the things you really want to do. I thought I'd retired but I've never had less free time in my life. Oh well, at least there's cake.

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    1. Phil, that's what everyone tells me.
      It's a little worrying. But still better than going to work I think !!

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  4. Jean, it is so great that you linked this in. Lovely.

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  5. Now I know why it had such a lovely texture... it was the almonds!! That was... I presume WAS is now the operative word... a really yummmsome cake... as was the Guinness cake... and the "abricot" one... and the Lemming one... and.............

    In fact... the picture of the cake stall on the right of this picture reminds me of the table!!
    And not forgetting Walt's tart...

    Postus scriptus: Thank you for bringing some sun via your skyhook!!
    and...
    the w/v was "fruits ThePowe"..errr!?

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  6. I love coffee cake, so this is definitely one to make. Congratulations on your retirement - as Phil said, you'll never be busier!

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  7. i love coffee in the cake..i like your recipt..

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  8. I have only just spotted this. So glad that the recipe turned out well for you. I should have said in the recipe that the way I fill it is to put the buttercream on the bottom layer, the jam on the other and then as you said, 'invert the jammy one'. That works well.

    Happy retirement to you!

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