Retro Irish Coffee Cake

Name: Retro Irish Coffee Cake
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 12
Ingredients: 250 g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing; 3 tbsp instant coffee granules; 150 g caster sugar; 100 g light brown soft sugar; 4 eggs; 270 g self-raising flour; ½ tsp baking powder; 2 tbsp Irish whiskey

A splash of Irish whiskey gives a delicious twist to this brilliantly nostalgic coffee cake – just what you need for Father’s Day. The rosettes aren’t essential but they do provide a satisfyingly old-school edge.

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Vegetarian

Serves12
CourseCake
Prepare45 mins
Cook30 mins
Total time1 hr 15 mins
Pluscooling

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Sponge

250g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
3 tbsp instant coffee granules
150g caster sugar
100g light brown soft sugar
4 eggs
270g self-raising flour
½ tsp baking powder
2 tbsp Irish whiskey

Whiskey buttercream

100g unsalted butter, softened
225g icing sugar
3 tbsp Irish whiskey

Coffee glaze

60ml milk
1½ tbsp instant coffee granules
350g icing sugar
1 tsp Dr Oetker Liquid Glucose
Cooks' Ingredients Bronze Crunch, to decorate

Preheat the oven to 190ºC, gas mark 5, boil the kettle and grease and line 2 x 20cm sandwich cake tins. Dissolve the coffee in 3 tbsp just-boiled water; set aside. In a freestanding mixer (or using electric beaters), beat together the butter and both sugars until very light and fluffy (about 8 minutes). Beat in the eggs one at a time until combined. Sift in the flour and baking powder; gently fold in. Fold in the coffee and whiskey; divide between the tins and level out. Bakes for 23-28 minutes, until golden and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave for 5 minutes, then turn out upside down onto a wire rack to cool completely.
For the whiskey buttercream, beat the butter in a large bowl for 2-3 minutes until soft. Beat in the icing sugar until very pale and airy. Mix in the whiskey. Put a tray under the wire rack, then spread ⅔ of the icing over one sponge; sandwich the other on top. Put the rest of the buttercream in a piping bag with a star nozzle.
For the glaze, heat the milk until almost boiling, then stir in the coffee. Sift the icing sugar into a medium bowl; stir in the coffee mixture and glucose until smooth with a dropping consistency. Loosen with a tiny splash of milk if needed (not too much). Pour over the centre of the cake and let it drip down the edges, using the back of a teaspoon to help. Transfer to a plate; allow to set for 5 minutes. Pipe buttercream rosettes around the edge and sprinkle with the bronze crunch.

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