Americano Coffee Cake

The heat wave has passed, HURRAH!  It seems like ages since I've baked anything.  I didn't want to heat up the house by using the oven but now it's time to bake a cake.  


It's still too warm for a cake covered in mountains of icing so I decided to bake a 'naked' Americano Coffee Cake.  Three guesses where I got the idea. 

Ingredients:

125 grams butter or baking margarine
125 grams caster sugar
140 grams plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
2 eggs - room temperature
60 ml milk 
1 teaspoon vinegar
50 ml strong coffee made with 1 Tablespoon instant coffee powder

Heat the oven to 180C/350F.  Grease an 18 cm cake tin and place a circle of baking paper in the bottom of the tin.  (I used a 6 inch, loose bottom cake tin).

Place the milk into a jug and add the vinegar.  Set this aside for about five minutes while you prepare the dry ingredients. 

In a large mixing bowl, sift together the sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cocoa powder.  Place the butter or baking margarine on top of the dry ingredients.  

Now, add the eggs, vanilla, and 25 ml of the strong coffee mixture to the milk. Stir with a fork to break up the eggs.  Pour this into the dry ingredients and beat with an electric mixer until you have a smooth batter.  

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for about 25-30 minutes for the 18 cm pan, or about 40-45 minutes for a 6 inch pan.  Always begin checking your cakes a bit early.  Nothing is worse than over baked cake. 

Remember that little bit of coffee we have left over?  Add 1 tablespoon of sugar and stir until it is completely dissolved.  Remove the cake from the tin and brush this 'coffee syrup' over the top and sides of the warm cake.  


Serve with a dusting of icing sugar...strawberries are optional.

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