Coffee and Roast Pecan Cake with Coffee Buttercream Icing
Light and fluffy, melt in the mouth Coffee and Pecan Cake with a deliciously smooth and sweet coffee buttercream icing enhanced by a slight kick of salt. If I ask Emma to choose her favourite cake she invariably asks for this one. Combined with roasted pecans, which add a depth of flavour and texture, this is the perfect traditional English teatime treat. Ironically I always drink a hot cup of tea with coffee cake - rather than coffee - it is the perfect accompaniment!
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 50g pecan nuts plus 8 unbroken halves for decoration
- 4 teaspoons instant coffee mixed with 4 teaspoons boiling water
- 130g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 130g soft brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon milk
- 130g plain/all-purpose flour, sieved
- 1¼ teaspoons baking powder
For the coffee buttercream and topping: (Please see Recipe Notes for reduced quantity suggestions)
- 4 teaspoons instant coffee mixed with 3 teaspoons boiling water
- 125g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 250g icing sugar, sieved
Instructions
For the cake:
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Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.
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Preheat oven to Fan Oven 160°C/180°C/350°F/Gas 4
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Tip all the pecan nuts (ie the 50g plus 8 complete halves) on to a baking tray and cook in the centre of the pre-heated oven for 10 minutes, giving them a stir after 5 minutes.
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Transfer to a plate or dish and remove 8 complete halves to decorate the top of the cake. Tip the rest into a food processor and blitz until they look like breadcrumbs. Be careful not to over-process or they may turn into pecan nut butter.
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Mix the coffee with the boiling water and set aside to cool.
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Grease and line your 2 x 18cms/7 inch cake tins or insert cake tin liners.
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Weigh the butter into a mixing bowl and ensure the butter is at room temperature and soft enough to beat. If not, soften it slightly in the microwave. (Be very careful not to melt it though – just do 5 seconds at a time if you are unsure.)
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Add the sugar, salt, eggs, milk, cold coffee and ground pecan nuts to the butter. Put the mixing bowl on the scales, balance the sieve on the bowl and zero the scales.
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Weigh the flour and baking powder directly onto the sieve. Lift the sieve above the bowl and shake the sieve. You may need to use a spoon to press any remaining lumps of flour or baking powder through.
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Whisk thoroughly with an electric whisk until just combined. This should take around 40 seconds to 1 minute and no more.
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Transfer to the prepared cake tins (see Recipe Notes) and cook in the centre of the oven for 23 – 27 minutes or until the sponge is cooked. It is cooked when:
– the centre feels springy when lightly touched with your finger and no imprint remains
– a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean
– the cake is beginning to come away from the sides of the tin.
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Take out of the oven and leave for 5 minutes. Remove the cakes from the tins onto a cooling rack. Leave to cool.
For the coffee buttercream icing and topping:
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Mix the coffee with the boiling water and set aside to cool.
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Weigh the butter into a mixing bowl and ensure the butter is at room temperature and soft enough to beat. If not soften it slightly in the microwave. (Be very careful not to melt it though – just do 5 seconds at a time if you are unsure.)
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Add the salt and whisk the butter until light and fluffy. Put the mixing bowl on the scales, balance the sieve on the bowl and zero the scales. Weigh in half the icing sugar and sieve. Quickly fold in with a spoon (this is to stop the icing sugar clouding up and making a mess of your kitchen!) Whisk until light and fluffy.
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Repeat with the remaining icing sugar and whisk again.
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Thoroughly mix in ¾ of the cold coffee. Taste to see if you want to add the remaining coffee. If necessary, add some extra milk - although you may not need to.
Assemble the cake:
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Turn one of the cakes up side down and place in the centre of a serving plate so the flat side faces up.
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Spread roughly ½ of the buttercream over the cake ensuring you spread it to the edges.
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Place the second cake on top, flat side down.
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Use the remaining buttercream to spread over the top of the cake. Use your knife to make a decorative pattern and place the 8 pecan halves around the edge.
Recipe Notes
Equipment
- 2 x 18cms/7inch round cake tins, greased and lined with baking parchment or a cake tin liner
- kitchen scales and measuring spoons
- mixing bowl
- electric whisk
- baking dish/cake tins
- food processor
- sieve
- cooling rack
Balancing the cake tins:
- It is important that both tins have as equal amount of batter as possible. You can do it by eye but this is a really simple way to be accurate. To do this, I:
- put a cake tin on the scales and zero the scales
- add half the batter – it should weigh between 270g – 280g. Take off the scales
- place the second empty tin on the scales and press to ensure it has gone back to zero
- add the remaining batter and check it is the same weight. If not adjust.
For a larger cake, use 3 eggs and 2 x 8 inch cake tins:
- 75g pecan nuts
- 6 teaspoons instant coffee mixed with 6 teaspoons boiling water
- 195g unsalted butter
- 195g soft brown sugar
- ¼ plus ⅛ teaspoon fine salt
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 195g plain/all-purpose flour
- 1¾ plus ⅛ teaspoon baking powder
Alternative Buttercream Quantities:
The amount of buttercream people like in cakes varies greatly. The quantities of buttercream in this recipe allows for a very generous amount of frosting. If you would prefer less, see alternative quantities below.
Centre of cake only:-
- 2 teaspoons instant coffee mixed with 1½ teaspoons boiling water
- 65g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ⅛ teaspoon fine salt
- 130g icing sugar
Top and centre of cake, but less than the recipe:-
- 3 teaspoons instant coffee mixed with 2¼ teaspoons boiling water
- 95g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- heaped ⅛ teaspoon fine salt
- 19og icing sugar