Soft coffee cake layers filled and frosted with a creamy, fluffy coffee buttercream! Perfectly sweet, with a delicious coffee flavor! As a kid, I did NOT like coffee cake. And I don’t mean “coffee cake” that is cinnamon flavored or some other type of sweet cake that is eaten with coffee. I’m talking about actual coffee cake, i.e. coffee flavored cake. This type of coffee cake was popular in Sri Lankan bakeries, and were often served when entertaining guests. I didn’t truly appreciate coffee flavored desserts (coffee flan and coffee popsicles likely being the only exceptions) until I was older. Now, I make my own coffee flavored layer cake, and it’s absolutely glorious!
Coffee layer cake components
There are only two components to this cake, with another optional component.
How to make espresso cake (coffee layer cake)
Coffee flavored cake layers
These cake layers are EASY. The base of this espresso cake is my easy vanilla cake recipe, with the addition of instant coffee. I use instant coffee in this coffee layer cake because it’s easier to find, and the flavor of coffee can be easily adjusted without impacting the final cake and buttercream texture. Just make sure that you use an instant coffee brand that you like! Personally, I’m partial to Nescafe, but only because it’s what I grew up with, and it makes amazing iced coffee too.
How to make the cake layers
The base of this cake is my vanilla cake. The method is the same, so if you like, you can read my classic vanilla cake post for a more detailed step by step description of the process. The difference here is the addition of coffee (dissolved in milk).
Cream the butter, oil, and sugar until fluffy and creamy. Add the eggs and mix. Dissolve the coffee in the wet ingredients, and sift the dry ingredients. Fold the dry ingredients and the milk mixture together, alternating the addition of the two. Divide the batter into the cake pans. Bake the cake layers. Let the cakes cool until they are ready to be used.
Tips on how to get perfect cake layers for this espresso cake
Have all the ingredients at room temperature. Make sure you cream the butter and oil together very well before adding other ingredients. The combination of butter and oil gives the cake a buttery taste and a light crumb! Don’t overbeat the eggs into the cake batter. Beat them only until the eggs are mixed in. Fold in the dry ingredients without overmixing. Overmixing can lead to a tough and/or gluey cake. For flatter cake surfaces, you can use a bake even strip to insulate the cake pans. But this is optional.
How to make coffee flavored buttercream
You can make coffee buttercream in two ways. Either make Coffee Swiss Meringue Buttercream OR American Coffee Buttercream. Since the coffee layer cake I grew up with used American buttercream frosting, that is what I am using here as well. (But you can also check out my classic Swiss meringue buttercream, and the easy Swiss meringue buttercream for a cheat’s version.)
Tips for making perfect American Coffee Buttercream
Use room temperature butter. Whisk the butter in the mixer until light and fluffy. This can take as long as 10 minutes, so be patient. Whisk in the confectioner’s sugar ONLY after the butter is light and fluffy. Dissolve the instant coffee in the heavy cream and add it to the buttercream. Don’t forget to add salt and vanilla, which will help balance and bring out all the flavor of the buttercream.
If the butter hasn’t been whisked properly, you risk ending up with a pasty buttercream with the fatty mouthfeel of solid butter. Your coffee layer cake will have heavy, gummy buttercream if that happens. If the buttercream sets (this happens especially in the winter), simply re-whip it to bring it back to the correct consistency.
How to assemble the coffee layer cake
This coffee cake is very easy to assemble. You can go rustic and just assemble the cake with a layer of buttercream in the middle, and frost the outside of the cake. But if you’re going for something a little fancier, then take extra care to make the cake layer flat on top, and to evenly spread the buttercream as a filling. The cake layers should also look even, and not lopsided. Here are some tips.
Make the surface of the cake layers nice and even (i.e. slice off any domed tops). Place the first cake layer on the tray (the bottom of the cake layer facing down). Spread an even layer of buttercream frosting. Place the second cake layer on top (the bottom of the cake layer facing up this time). Apply a thin layer of frosting as the crumb coat and let it set (in the fridge or a cool place). Frost the cake (rustic or clean look) with the coffee buttercream, and decorate.
Decorating the espresso cake
To decorate this coffee cake (espresso cake), I added a piped border of coffee buttercream on top. But I created a marble effect with chocolate fudge sauce. This was because Sri Lankan coffee cakes are always decorated with a little chocolate, and I just felt a little nostalgic! 😀
To do this, I made my chocolate fudge sauce in advance and let it cool. You won’t be using all of it, so make sure to refrigerate the rest of it so you can use it top ice cream, waffles, pancakes, or even make chocolate milk with it!
Take about 3 – 4 tbsp of the fudge sauce and place it in the bowl. Usually my fudge sauce is pretty stiff at room temperature. To loosen the sauce a little, I add about 1 – 2 tsp of water and mix it in until it has slightly softened, but not runny in consistency.
Then take a pastry bag, and place the tip of your choice in the bag (with the end of the bag snipped off). Spread a line (1 – 2 inches in width) of the chocolate sauce inside the pastry bag, on one side, starting from the tip, and up to about half-way up the pastry bag. Just one slightly thick strip of chocolate sauce on one side of the pastry bag.
Now place the coffee buttercream inside the bag. When you pipe the buttercream, you will now get a streak of the chocolate fudge sauce in the buttercream too (see picture below).
For a more simple decoration idea for your coffee layer cake, you can sprinkle the cake with chocolate sprinkles, or a drizzle of chocolate sauce or roasted nuts on top.
Storing the cake
To store the coffee cake layers (without frosting); Cool down the cake layers to room temperature. Wrap each layer separately with plastic wrap and then foil. Then freeze for up to 3 months, and thaw them out in the fridge before using. You can also wrap them with plastic wrap and leave them at room temperature overnight. If you have frosted the cake, the cake will stay at room temperature for about 3 days, provided the cake was stored in an air-tight container. Exposed edges will dry out. You can also keep the cake in the fridge. Let the cake thaw out at room temperature before serving, because that soft buttercream and the moist cake taste best at room temperature.
Why I love this recipe
If you’re looking for a coffee flavored cake with a wonderfully balanced coffee flavor and sweetness, THIS is the recipe! The cake layers are soft, with the perfect crumb and perfect sweetness! The coffee flavor is prominent, but not overwhelming. The base of the coffee buttercream is my vanilla buttercream frosting, which is well-loved by my readers! It’s not too sweet and ridiculously creamy. I’ve used it for my vanilla cupcakes, vanilla Swiss roll cake, vanilla chai cake, Sri Lankan butter cake, white coconut cake (winter cake), classic white cake, and so many other cakes! Add a little coffee to it, and it’s even more irresistible. The combination of the coffee cake layers and the coffee buttercream is any coffee lover’s dream dessert! If you know someone who loves coffee, and they have a birthday coming up, this will make for a fantastic coffee flavored birthday cake! 🙂
