Coffee Flavored Cake with Espresso Meringue

Calling all coffee lovers, this rich espresso coffee flavored cake is for you! All you need is one bowl and fork to whip this super easy and moist dessert together. Top this spiced coffee cake with a whipped espresso Swiss meringue frosting or a dollop of Pumpkin Spice Coffee Sauce for a special treat. This lightly sweet dairy-free dessert is perfect for any gathering, brunch, or anytime you get a craving for something sweet.

This is not one of those crumble topping types of “Coffee Cakes” without any caffeine. This cake recipe with coffee is infused with instant espresso and a few pantry staples. It’s a coffee lover’s dream come true. Filled with warming spices and the deep rich flavor of espresso in each bite – this easy cake is soon to be your favorite.

All Purpose Flour – You can substitute 1:1 gluten free measure for measure (cup for cup) substitute for the wheat flour.

Granulated sugar – regular or coconut sugar works well. We have not tested this recipe with other sugar alternatives.

Brown Sugar – adds a delicious caramel flavor. We used dark brown sugar, but you can also use light.

Baking soda and Baking Powder – helps the cake batter to rise and give way to soft and fluffy cake.

Salt – enhances the flavor of the cake.

Egg – acts as a binder

Oil – makes this cake extra moist.

Non-dairy milk with apple cider vinegar – combined forms a dairy free buttermilk. This is an important ingredient because it adds to the flavor and assists the baking soda by helping the cake batter to rise. Feel free to exchange the non-dairy with regular milk or even buttermilk if no lactose issues.

Instant Espresso Coffee – is the star ingredient! You can find instant espresso at most grocery stores, or you can order it online. It adds a rich and decadent coffee flavor to this snack cake, eggless tiramisu cups and coffee pancakes. You may substitute with regular instant coffee or decaffeinated coffee.  However, you may need to add more dried granules to achieve the same decadent flavor.

Cinnamon and Nutmeg – adds a pop of warming spices.

Vanilla – rounds all the flavors together.

How to Prepare the Coffee Cake

What we like most about this snack cake is how easy it is to throw together. Seriously all you need is a bowl and a fork and some pantry staples. There is no need for a mixer or any fancy equipment. Just dump all the ingredients in a bowl and stir, bake, and enjoy. That has our vote!

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (176 °C). Grease and flour or line an 8-inch cake pan.
• Add apple cider vinegar to non-dairy milk or dairy of choice to make a homemade buttermilk. Set it aside.
• In a large bowl add flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg and stir.

• In a separate little bowl, add hot water to instant espresso coffee and stir well.
• Then add the egg, homemade buttermilk, espresso coffee mixture and vanilla and stir until combined.

• Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake for 30 - 36 minutes or until the toothpick comes clean.
• Cool completely before frosting or topping is added.

Tips for Make the Cake

• Use an 8-inch round cake pan. We even used an 8-inch round cheesecake pan on a couple of tests. This worked great.
• Line the cake pan with parchment paper or grease and flour to prevent sticking. Grease the pan before adding the parchment paper.
• Ensure your eggs and non-dairy milk come to room temperature before mixing. This makes them easier to incorporate into the cake batter.
• Do not use the measuring cup to scoop up the flour. Instead, use a spoon to gently spoon the flour from the flour bag or storage to the measuring cup. Be sure to level off the measuring cup off with the back of a butter knife.
• Pack the brown sugar into the measuring cup.
• Don’t overmix the cake batter – just mix until the ingredients are well combined.
• Stop opening the oven door every 5 minutes to check on the cake! This will cause the temperature to lower. Your cake may not rise properly, crack or even sink.
• Determine if your cake is done by using the toothpick test. If the toothpick comes out clean in a couple of places near the center, it is done.
• Allow the cake to fully cool directly in the pan BEFORE removing it from the pan.  

Favorite Toppings and Frostings

We don’t do dessert often, but when we do – we like to go big! There is nothing as fancy and decadent as a whipped Espresso Swiss Meringue Frosting. The texture is phenomenal - almost like marshmallow fluff or creme. Then we torched the stiff peaks like a toasty espresso marshmallow. Meringue frosting transforms this simple cake into an impressive dessert.

If you want to keep this coffee flavored cake simple, opt to top with a sprinkle of powdered sugar or add a dollop of whipped coconut cream. Our personal favorite is a drizzle of prune sweetened coffee sauce on top of the cake upon serving. You can also make a simple buttercream frosting and add instant espresso or coffee right to the mix. The choice is yours.

Ingredients for the Meringue Frosting (Optional)

Egg whites – When the egg whites are whipped over a hot water bath with sugar and cream of tartar, 2 things happen. First, the eggs will be safe to eat because you will be using a thermometer to check the temperature. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), dishes containing eggs should be cooked to 160°F (71°C) Secondly, the egg whites will form stiff peaks that can be piped on a cake.

Granulated Sugar – sweetens the meringue frosting and makes it shiny.

Cream of tartar – acts as a stabilizer to help the egg whites to hold their shape. ½ teaspoon of lemon juice can be exchanged for ¼ teaspoon of cream of tartar.

Instant Espresso Coffee – turns plain old Italian frosting into decadent coffee frosting. You can substitute espresso with instant regular or decaf coffee or try our Bumblebee coffee.

How to Make Espresso Swiss Meringue

This marshmallow-like meringue frosting is completely optional but so delicious. Alternatively, you can enjoy the cake plain, with a little powdered sugar, a dollop of coffee sauce, whipped topping, or your favorite buttercream frosting.

• Carefully separate the egg whites from the egg yolk. Don’t throw away the egg yolks as they are delicious in a savory bread pudding or in scrambled eggs.
• In a heat proof bowl, add egg white, sugar, cream of tartar and dried instant espresso.

• Place the filled heat proof bowl over a double boiler or a sauce pot with a couple inches of water on the bottom. Bring to a simmer while stirring continuously.

• Continue mixing the meringue until the temperature reaches 160°F (71°C) and no grains of sugar are felt between your fingers.

• While the mixture is still piping hot, transfer to your mixer or use handheld beaters and whip until glossy stiff peaks are formed.

Meringue Frosting Tips

• Make sure your bowl and beaters and everything touching your frosting mixture is squeaky clean. If there is any residual grease, the coffee frosting will not whip up properly.
• Be careful separating the egg yolk from the egg white. If any fatty egg yolk particles get into the bowl - your meringue will not form stiff peaks.
• We used aluminum foil around the edges of the saucepan to prevent any steam or water splashing into the Swiss meringue while heating on the stovetop.
• There should only be a couple of inches of water at the bottom of the saucepan. Do not fill the water so high that the bowl is sitting directly in the water.
• Simmer only! Do not let the water boil in the saucepan or double boiler.
• Use a whisk and stir constantly while you are waiting for the sugar and espresso coffee to melt.
• Be certain that the mixture comes up slowly to 160°F (71°C) and that no sugar granules can be felt between your fingers before moving on to whipping. This process usually takes around 4 to 6 minutes.
• Beat on high for about 5 minutes or until stiff peaks are formed.
• Frost or pipe the coffee frosting onto the cake as desired. If you want to get fancy, use a kitchen torch to toast the marshmallow-like topping for a stunning effect.

Storage

Unfrosted Coffee Flavored Cake can be stored covered at room temperature for about 6 hours or in the refrigerator for up to 5 to 7 days.  You can also freeze cake for up to 3 months.

Frosted Coffee Flavored Cake with Espresso Meringue will only last 2 days in the refrigerator. In addition, we do not suggest freezing meringue. If you prefer to top with our coffee sauce, like shown below, just top right before serving.

Rhode Island Coffee Cake vs a Coffee Snack Cake

Have you ever tried Rhode Island’s famous Autocrat coffee syrup? We used to use it all the time to make this cake recipe with coffee. However, we quickly realized that this ingredient is difficult to source around the world. In addition, we found that “homemade coffee syrups” can have a different consistency and this gave us inconsistent baking results. So, we went back to the drawing board.

After several rounds of testing, tasting, and consuming more caffeine than a person should have in a year over a course of several days – we finally nailed it! We used standard pantry ingredients and easy to source instant espresso. The result was a flavorful spiced coffee flavored snack cake that is lightly sweet but with bold spiced coffee flavor.