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Coffee & Vanilla Bean Layered Cake …Happy Birthday to me

Deeba @ PAB

“Coffee smells like freshly ground heaven.”
Jesse Lane Adams

A Coffee & Vanilla Bean Layered Cake … this is what my dreams are made up of. Coffee in a birthday cake has become a quintessential part of my birthday, a flavour that inspires me like no other. A lot of friends express surprise, dismay and even chide me for baking on ‘my big day’ every year… yet this is what relaxes me the most – baking!

The teen did offer to bake for me the night before! She said she would begin baking after Grey’s Anatomy which continued late into the night. She offered to do a rainbow cake {her current obsession} but I wanted coffee. “How about rainbow coffee cake?” she asked. I was soon out cold after a hectic Diwali. She passed out soon too!

I tiptoed into the kitchen the next morning to get a head-start while the teens snoozed. Throw coffee into the cake batter and I can climb the highest mountain, sail the roughest sea and still come out good! This is a cake I look forward to baking, one with no plan in particular.

It’s a good relaxed feeling when you are bake for yourself. No disappointments, no one judges your slips and you get to enjoy the fruits of your own ‘labour‘! Therapy at your own pace, in your own time, in your own space!

Coffee is my favourite flavour in dessert, so my birthday cake is predictable. The tiramisu we did for the Daring Bakers sang to me. The tiramisu variants that the Olive churns out call my name. I thrive on cold coffee even in the winter.

I use generous doses of Bru instant coffee to get depth of flavour. Bru is one of India’s best known and oldest chicory coffee powders. We love that first mug every morning! It’s a blend we grew up on, the green packaging a nostalgic bit of our teenage years.

When we were young, coffee was forbidden. As teens, we took our first steps into the delicious world of coffee. Both our kids are true lovers of everything coffee, often the first flavour they reach for. Sometimes, chocolate comes second. 

A study from the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences found that a daily dose of caffeine may block the disruptive effects of high cholesterol that scientists have linked to Alzheimer’s disease. Coffee is now listed as one of many brain foods.

I am not advocating the benefits of coffee. Just saying that if you are a coffee lover, don’t miss the opportunity to enjoy a cake like this. Use your best loved coffee brand; indulge your palette!! This Coffee & Vanilla Bean Layered Cake is testament to it.

The flavours developed deeply and nicely. Alternate layers of vanilla bean and coffee sponge sandwiched with a light whipped coffee cream. I did contemplate a chocolate filling but the clock grew wings. Time flew away!  So I grabbed a huge bowl of chilled low fat cream and beat the daylights out of it. 2 tbsps of coffee later, junior teen dug a spoon in …. “Yummm. Can I finish whats left?”

I asked him to take a teeny video of me assembling the cake if he wanted the cream! Bribery works. Little hands, sometimes shaky, sometimes distracted, tired easily, we did get something on camera. Will process and post it soon. It was shot basically for the chocolate lace collar as I get a lot of mails asking me how I make it.

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Recipe: Coffee & Vanilla Bean Layered Cake

Summary: Light as air vanilla and coffee layers of cake sandwiched with delicious whipped coffee cream make for a perfect dessert. Make a day ahead if you like. The tastes mature beautifully!

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:

  • Vanilla Bean Sponge
  • 3 eggs
  • 75g raw sugar / bura {or powdered sugar}
  • 75g plain flour
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • pinch salt
  • 2tsp extra virign olive oil
  • 1tbsp 2% milk
  • 1/2 vanilla bean scraped
  • Coffee Sponge
  • 4 eggs
  • 100g raw sugar / bura {or powdered sugar}
  • 1/2 vanilla bean scraped
  • 1 1/2 tbsp instant coffee powder
  • 20ml warm water
  • 100g plain flour
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • pinch salt
  • 2tsp extra virign olive oil
  • 1tbsp 2% milk
  • Simple Coffee Syrup
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 tbsp instant coffee
  • 2tbsp raw sugar {or powdered sugar}
  • Coffee Whipped Cream
  • 800ml low fat cream, chilled
  • 150g raw sugar / bura {or powdered sugar}
  • 1 1/2 to 2 tbsp instant coffee powder {as per taste}

Method:

  1. Vanilla Bean Sponge
  2. Preheat oven to 180C. Line the base and sides of a 8″ round cake tin with baking parchment. 
  3. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Reserve.
  4. Beat the eggs with raw/powdered sugar and scraped vanilla bean in a big bowl over a pan of simmering water until tripled in volume and mousse like, about 7 minutes. {Thermomix: Butterfly insert, Speed 4, 37c, 7 minutes}
  5. Gently add the flour mix and fold through, followed by the olive oil and milk.
  6. Transfer batter to prepared tin and bake for 25-30 minutes in conventional oven until light golden brown.
  7. Cool in tin for 5 minutes, and demold and cool completely on cooling rack.
  8. Slice into 2 layers.
  9. Coffee Sponge
  10. Preheat oven to 180C. Line the base and sides of a 8″ round cake tin with baking parchment. 
  11. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Reserve.
  12. Stir the coffee into the warm water. Leave to mature flavours.
  13. Beat the eggs with raw/powdered sugar and scraped vanilla bean in a big bowl over a pan of simmering water until tripled in volume and mousse like, about 7 minutes. {Thermomix: Butterfly insert, Speed 4, 37c, 7 minutes}.
  14. Add the coffee  mixture and beat to incorporate.
  15. Gently add the flour mix and fold through, followed by the olive oil and milk.
  16. Transfer batter to prepared tin and bake for 25-30 minutes in conventional oven until light golden brown.
  17. Cool in tin for 5 minutes, and demold and cool completely on cooling rack.
  18. Slice into 3 layers.
  19. Simple Coffee Syrup
  20. Stir together all ingredients, heat gently if required. Cool and reserve in bowl. 
  21. Coffee Whipped Cream
  22. Make sure the cream is well chilled. {You can use whipping cream if available. Life just becomes a lot easier and quicker, but make sure you don’t over whip it and get butter}
  23. Whip the cream and sugar {reserve a little to add later once you taste the sweetness} to stiff peaks. Low fat cream available in India takes quite a while to beat up if the weather is warm. It sometimes even fails to oblige. Feel free to use whipping cream if you like.
  24. Assembling
  25. Divide the coffee cream into 2 bowls, one for filling and the second half for frosting.
  26. Place a layer of vanilla sponge on your cake plate/ dessert platter. Paint lightly with coffee syrup. Put a generous dollop of coffee cream and spread uniformly to the sides.
  27. Top with a layer of coffee sponge. Repaet until you use all layers, alternating between vanilla & coffee.
  28. Frost the sides and top of the cake with the remaining coffee cream. Pipe some rosettes on top if you like, garnish with chocolate flakes. Finish the cake with a piped chocolate lace border if desired.
  29. Chill until ready to serve. Leave out for about 30 minutes prior to cutting.

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Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

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