In this series, I’m sharing a behind-the-scenes look at the process of making my brother’s wedding cake, including the recipes I developed, the issues I encountered and all the things I learned.

If you missed Day 1, you can check out my post on the Chocolate Tier here! Today, though, it’s all about the Coffee Tier.

Let’s get into it, shall we?

Table of Contents

• A Bit of Recipe Backstory
• Making the Cake Layers
  • Photo Tutorial: Coffee Cake Layers
• Making the Coffee Buttercream
  • Tutorial: Coffee Buttercream
• Assembling the Coffee Cake
• Decorating the Coffee Cake
• Recipe

A Bit of Recipe Backstory

As you’ll have seen in the intro post to this series, I will be doing a whole post on how I went about developing these recipes, but, like I did with the chocolate tier, I wanted to share a little bit of coffee-specific backstory here too!

For this recipe, I used the Coffee Layer Cake recipe by Sugar and Sparrow as my starting point. I made a number of initial changes to the recipe, based on what I wanted for this coffee cake specifically, then made my first test and… it was pretty much exactly what I wanted it to be! I never expect the first try to be right, especially after I made so many changes to the starting recipe, and, particularly after the chocolate cake drama, this felt like an absolute miracle!

The problem with this one came when I tried to scale it up… I just couldn’t get the bake time/temperature right and, somehow, the flavour seemed to be affected by those problems too! It was no longer the perfect coffee cake, so, as I attempted to nail down the baking instructions I also had to embark upon a little bit more trial and error to get the really intense, not-too-sweet coffee flavour with the perfect, soft and moist texture that I really wanted.

A few more iterations later and I was finally happy: the coffee cake was ready to go!

Making the Cake Layers

For the 8-inch coffee cake (unlike the 10-inch chocolate cake), I was able to fit two layers at a time in my oven (though, sadly, not all three). As a result, I made and baked the batter for two of the layers at once, then made and baked the batter for the final, single layer afterwards.

In fact, I actually made the first two layers the day before the final layer (on the Wednesday, the same day I made the chocolate cake). To keep them from drying out overnight, I wrapped each layer individually in clingfilm, only unwrapping them when the final layer was baked and cooled, and I was ready to assemble the coffee tier.

Photo Tutorial: Coffee Cake Layers

The process of the making the coffee cake batter is the same, no matter how many layers you are making at once (1, 2 or, if you have a large oven, 3): the only thing that changes is the ingredient quantities.

Preheat your oven to 150°C (conventional oven, not fan-assisted). Grease the 8-inch sandwich tin(s) with Stork (or softened butter, if you prefer) and line the base with a circle of greaseproof paper. Set aside while you make the batter.

Add the brewed espresso to a large measuring jug.

Top up with boiling water (to 100ml for 1 layer, to 200ml for 2 layers or to 300ml for 3 layers), then add the instant coffee granules and whisk to dissolve.

I found that using this combination of coffee types gave the best flavour and colour to the cakes, but you can use one or the other, if you prefer. For the brewed espresso, I used these Ristretto Decaffeinato capsules from Nespresso.

Add the milk, sour cream and vanilla extract and whisk again.

Allow the mixture to cool slightly, then add the eggs. Whisk until completely incorporated, then set aside.

Sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Set aside.

Place the Stork, caster sugar and light brown muscovado sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment.

Cream the Stork and sugars together on medium-high speed, until well combined and pretty fluffy (there’s such a high proportion of sugar in this recipe that the mixture won’t be as pale and fluffy as you might normally expect, so just beat it until evenly combined and looking creamy).

Turn the mixer down to medium-low and gradually add 1/3 of the dry ingredients. Mix until just incorporated.

Gradually add 1/2 of the wet ingredients, still mixing on medium-low.

Repeat this process, adding another 1/3 of the dry ingredients, then the remaining wet ingredients, then, finally, the last 1/3 of the dry ingredients, making sure to incorporate everything after each addition.

Turn the mixer up to medium and give it a final, brief mix, just to ensure everything is incorporated and mixed together.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared tin(s) (I find it helpful to divide it by weight, if baking more than one layer at a time) and bake in the preheated oven for 60-65 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.

Allow the cake(s) to cool in the tin (until they feel cool to the touch), then run a palette knife around the edges of the tin to loosen them. Level the top(s) using a large, serrated palette knife (see the Chocolate Tier post for more detailed instructions on this), then turn out onto a wire rack, in case any traces of heat remain on the underside, to cool fully.

If baking in batches, repeat the whole process again, with the necessary quantities, until you have 3 baked, cooled and levelled coffee cake layers.

Making the Coffee Buttercream

Once your cakes are cooled and ready to go, you can make the coffee buttercream. Again, just like with the chocolate cake, this cake requires a fairly large amount of buttercream, so I’d recommend making the icing in two separate batches.

As I mentioned in the last post, I prefer to soften my butter in the microwave (blasphemous, I know!), rather than leave it at room temperature, because my house does tend to be quite cold. For such a large amount of butter, I weigh it out first, then heat it in the microwave on the medium setting for about 30 seconds, so that it’s soft enough for me to press my finger into relatively easily.

Tutorial: Coffee Buttercream

I’ll be honest, I did forget to take photos of the majority of this process— so sorry! Luckily, it’s super similar to the chocolate buttercream in the last post (just without the cocoa powder), so you can follow the full photo tutorial there!

To make the coffee buttercream:

Heat the milk in the microwave, just until it is warm enough to easily dissolve the coffee granules in (20 seconds on the high setting should be absolutely fine). Stir in the coffee granules and set aside to cool slightly.

Place the softened butter into the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed, pausing every now and then to scrape down the sides of the bowl, until the butter is smooth, significantly paler in colour and super fluffy.

While the butter is being whipped, sift the icing sugar into a large bowl.

Once the butter is ready, turn the mixer speed down to low and add half of the icing sugar, a spoonful at a time, to the butter. Doing it slowly like this may feel tedious, but it will help to stop the icing sugar from getting everywhere and ensure that the icing is thoroughly mixed, so it is important!

After you have added half of the icing sugar, with the mixer still on low, gradually add in all of the coffee-infused milk.

Add the remaining icing sugar in exactly the same way as before, a spoonful at a time, until all of the sugar has been incorporated. If the icing seems too stiff at this point, add another splash or two of milk.

Turn the mixer up to high speed and beat the icing for a minute or so, just to get it super fluffy and ensure everything is nicely mixed.

Then, remove the bowl from the mixer and transfer a generous amount of the icing (about 2 dessertspoon’s worth) to a small, microwaveable bowl.

Melt the smaller amount of icing in the microwave (the high setting for 10-15 seconds will be plenty), until smooth and fluid, then add back to the main bowl of icing and stir in by hand, using a large spatula.

This process may seem a little strange, but it really does help to smooth out the icing, while still allowing it to retain all of the fluffiness we whipped into it!

Assembling the Coffee Cake

With the cake layers and buttercream made and ready, it’s time to assemble! I’ll be sharing a detailed tutorial for how I assembled these layer cakes on Thursday, so be sure to check that out!

To assemble this, particular cake, I used the following equipment:

• 8-inch, circular cake drum.
• 10-inch, square cake board.
• Adhesive paper stickers (I used these, folded in half to make them ‘double-sided’ and easy to cut through with a cake lifter, but any thin, temporary adhesives will work).
• Cake lifter.
• Cake turntable.
• Piping bag and large round piping tip (I used a #1A tip).
• Offset palette knives (I used an 8-inch AND a 4-inch one, but you could get away with just one or the other).
• Cake dowels (I used these ones).
• Icing smoother (I used this one by Wilton).
• 10-inch, heavy duty cake box.

Just like the chocolate tier, I assembled the coffee cake directly onto a cake drum that was the exact same diameter/shape as the cake itself (and which I had temporarily adhered to a thinner, square cake board, the same size as the cake box I would be transporting the cake in, to prevent the cake from slipping in transit). I sandwiched up the cake layers with two thick layers of buttercream in between, added 4 cake dowels, applied a crumb coat then added a thick, smooth layer of icing all over the cake.

Then, the cake was done! I set the cake aside at room temperature until it was time to transport it.

Decorating the Coffee Cake

As I mentioned in the last post, the decoration on these cakes was very minimal. All three cakes were topped with a little arc of pressed, edible violas from Nurtured in Norfolk (you can find the tutorial for that in the last post!).

However, the coffee cake tier was going to sit in the centre of the deconstructed cake display, so it had a little extra bit of decoration, in the form of the gingerbread bride and groom ‘figurines’, which were my little nod to my brother’s sometimes-ginger hair and a fun, foodie play on the traditional wedding cake toppers.

I’ll be giving a full recipe/tutorial for the gingerbread bride and groom (and how to fix them to the top of the cake!) on Friday, so stay tuned for that! In the meantime, just know that they exist and that this coffee cake was their home for the evening!

Recipe

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The Coffee Tier (Wedding Cake Week)

The full recipe for the 8-inch, 3-layer coffee cake tier of my brother's wedding cake!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword American buttercream, Coffee, Espresso, Wedding cake

Prep Time 4 hours hours

Cook Time 2 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Chill Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 6 hours hours 26 minutes minutes

Servings 36 wedding portions

Equipment

• 3 8-inch round sandwich tins (see Note 1)
• 1 piping bag
• #1A piping tip (or similar, large, round nozzle).
• 8-inch round cake drum
• 10-inch square cake board (see Note 2).
• Temporary adhesives (I used paper adhesive stickers, see Note 2).
• Cake lifter
• Offset palette knife
• 4 cake dowels
• Icing smoother (see Note 3).

Ingredients

For the coffee cake layers (quantities for 1 layer in italics, quantities for 2 layers in bold):

• 180 ml brewed espresso (60ml, 120ml) (see Note 4).
• 120 ml boiling water (40ml, 80ml) (see Note 4).
• 3 tsp instant coffee granules (caffeinated) (1 tsp, 2 tsp).
• 180 ml whole milk (60ml, 120ml).
• 240 g sour cream (80g, 160g).
• 3 splashes vanilla extract (1 splash, 2 splashes).
• 6 eggs (2 eggs, 4 eggs).
• 570 g self-raising flour (190g, 380g).
• 3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda (1/4 tsp, 1/2 tsp).
• 3 pinches fine sea salt (1 pinch, 2 pinches).
• 330 g Stork baking spread (110g, 220g), plus extra for greasing (see Note 5).
• 420 g caster sugar (140g, 280g).
• 120 g light brown muscovado sugar (40g, 80g).

For the coffee buttercream (half quantities in bold italics):

• 500 g unsalted butter, softened (250g).
• 1 kg icing sugar, sifted (500g).
• 70 ml whole milk (35ml).
• 4 tsp instant coffee granules (caffeinated) (2 tsp).

To decorate:

• Pressed, edible violas (see Note 6).
• Gingerbread toppers

Instructions

Make the coffee cake layers:

• If you have 3 x 8-inch tins (and your oven is big enough to fit all three tins on one shelf), you can make the whole amount of batter at once and bake the 3 layers simultaneously. Alternatively, you can bake the layers one at a time (using the single layer quantities listed in italics in the ingredients list), or bake two layers at once (using the 2 layer quantities listed in bold), then make the final layer individually (which is what worked best for me).
• Preheat the oven to 150°C (conventional oven, not fan-assisted). Grease the baking tin(s) with Stork and line the base(s) with a circle of greaseproof paper. Set aside.
• Place the brewed espresso, boiling water and instant coffee granules in a large measuring jug. Stir to dissolve.
• Add the milk, sour cream and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth. Allow to cool slightly, then add the eggs and whisk again until fully incorporated. Set aside.
• Sift together flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Set aside.
• Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream Stork, caster sugar and light brown muscovado sugar together on high speed until well-combined and fluffy.
• With mixer on medium-low, gradually add 1/3 of the dry ingredients. Continue mixing until just incorporated.
• With mixer still on medium-low, gradually add 1/2 of wet ingredients. Continue mixing until just incorporated.
• Repeat this process with the next 1/3 of the dry ingredients, followed by the remaining 1/2 of the wet ingredients and finishing with the final 1/3 of the dry ingredients.
• Turn the mixer speed up to medium and mix briefly to ensure everything is incorporated and batter is smooth.
• Divide the batter between the prepared tin(s) and bake in preheated oven for 60-65 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• Allow the cakes to cool completely in the tins, then carefully run a palette knife around the edges to loosen them. Use a large, serrated palette knife to level the tops of the cakes while still in the tins, then carefully turn out onto wire racks.

Make the coffee buttercream:

• I recommend making the buttercream in two batches, using the half quantities listed in (bold italics) in the ingredients list.
• Fit mixer with paddle attachment. Beat butter until smooth, pale and creamy (about 3-5 mins), scraping down the sides when necessary.
• While the butter is beating, warm the milk in the microwave (20 seconds on high), then add the coffee granules and stir to dissolve.
• With mixer on low, add half of the icing sugar to the butter, a spoonful at a time, pausing to scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go.
• With mixer on low, gradually pour milk mixture into buttercream and mix until incorporated.
• Add the rest of the icing sugar with the mixer still running, a spoonful at a time. 
• Once everything has been added, turn the mixer up to high and beat until fluffy and fully mixed (about 1 minute). Add a little more milk if icing is too stiff.
• Remove a spoonful of icing and microwave on high for 10-15 seconds to melt. Stir to ensure evenly melted, then mix into the rest of the icing by hand to smooth.

Assemble the cake:

• Secure the 8-inch cake drum to the 10-inch cake board (if using), using paper adhesive stickers (or other similar, temporary adhesive). Set on a turntable, with a layer of non-slip fabric in-between the turntable and the boards.
• Spread a dollop of buttercream onto the cake drum, then set the first, cooled cake layer on top, making sure it is level and centred on the drum. It should line up with the sides of the drum.
• Pipe an even layer of coffee buttercream all over the surface of the cake layer, making sure to go right to the edges. Use an offset palette knife to spread the icing out evenly, ensuring there is some overhanging icing at the edges.
• Place the next layer of cake on top, making sure it is centred and level. Repeat the icing process, adding another even layer of icing on top, then topping with the final layer of cake.
• Smooth the excess icing around the sides with a palette knife/icing smoother, then chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
• Add 4 cake dowels, if using.
• Apply a thin crumb coat, then chill again for 15 minutes.
• Apply a generous layer of icing all over the top and sides of the cake. At this stage, cover the sides of the cake drum with icing too. Smooth out the top, making sure to leave some overhanging icing all around the top edge, then use the icing smoother to smooth out the sides, moving the turntable, rather than the smoother, for best results. The overhanging icing should be pushed upwards and inwards during this process, forming a nice 'lip' around the top of the cake.
• If needed, apply more icing to any uneven sections and smooth again.
• Once happy with the finished cake, set aside at cool room temperature to firm up, until ready to eat/transport.

Decorate the cake:

• As close to serving as possible, lay the pressed flowers onto the surface of the cake (on which the buttercream is now hardened), making sure you are happy with the arrangement before sticking them down. Use a small amount of icing on the end of skewer to stick down each flower individually, then press the gingerbread cake toppers into the top, making sure they are centred.

Notes

Notes:

1. I use these 8-inch sandwich tins by Silverwood. If you only have one, that’s absolutely fine— just make and bake each layer individually using the single layer quantities listed in (italics) in the ingredients list. If you have two, you can make two layers at once (using the quantities listed in (bold) in the ingredients list), then bake the final layer using the single layer quantities. I did it this way, because my oven can’t fit 3 8-inch layers on the same shelf at once.
2. You can skip the extra cake board/adhesive if you don’t need to transport the cake— these just make it easier to manoeuvre the cake without worrying about it slipping/sliding.
3. If you want smooth sides on a cake, you really do need to invest in an icing smoother. I use this one by Wilton.
4. This roughly equates to 3 lungo settings on a Nespresso machine, so feel free to use that too (I used 3x Ristretto Decaffeinato on the lungo setting directly into a measuring jug, then made up the difference to 300ml (100ml, 200ml) with boiling water. If you prefer, you can omit the espresso, double the amount of instant coffee granules and use all boiling water, but the coffee flavour won’t be as strong.
5. Using Stork makes this cake extra light, fluffy and moist, but you can use softened, unsalted butter if you prefer.
6. I purchased the violas from Nurtured in Norfolk. On this cake, I used the colourways ‘Cream’ and ‘Midnight Blue & Cream‘.

 

Cake batter recipe developed using the Coffee Layer Cake recipe by Sugar and Sparrow as a starting point.