Vanilla Latte Cake; light fluffy vanilla and coffee cake layered with sweet vanilla and coffee buttercream, simple, soft and delicious!
It’s official, I have become completely addicted to Pokémon Go.
Since it’s release in the UK in the past couple of days, I’ve clocked up over 12 kilometres travel from just wandering around building up and training my little squad. My boyfriend is home from Croatia tomorrow, and our plans above all else are to go Pokémon hunting around town and to be perfectly honest, I couldn’t be happier.
However, in true Scottish style, the rain began to pour this afternoon, leaving me glum and in need of both occupation and sugary solace. Thus the Vanilla Latte Cake was born!
As someone who has worked in a coffee shop for nearly two years, I’ve become one of those people who most often drinks their coffee black with no sugar or trimmings. However that doesn’t mean that I’m not partial to the gentle comfort of a milky coffee from time to time. This Vanilla Latte Cake is just that, a mellow, subtle, non-judgmental mouthful of coffee flavour laced with sweet vanilla. Something even those who only really like coffee for the sickly sweet syrup can enjoy.
Light fluffy vanilla and coffee sponge cake layered with sweet vanilla and coffee buttercream, simple, soft and delicious. While my coffee-hating mother might loathe this cake, myself and my coffee-loving father have lapped it up. So I really hope you will too.
If you love Vanilla Lattes, try out this Vanilla Latte Granola!
For the cake layers, you’ll need to start by preheating your oven and greasing/lining two sandwich cake tins.
Place some butter, sugar and vanilla into a large bowl and beat with a mixer or by hand until light and fluffy.
Add four eggs one at a time, beating between each addition until fully combined. Don’t worry if it looks a little curdled, once you add the flour it will come right!
Sift some flour and salt into the bowl along with the strong coffee/espresso and mix gently until everything is smooth and combined.
Scoop all the batter into the two prepared cake tins and smooth out the top as best you can.
Bake the cakes until firm and a skewer inserted into the centre can be pulled out cleanly.
Allow the cakes to cool for at least 15 minutes before removing them from the tin to cool completely. Meanwhile, make the buttercream icing.
For the buttercream, beat together butter, vanilla and some icing sugar until combined.
Add a little more icing sugar and some strong coffee/espresso and beat vigorously until fully incorporated, light and pale in colour.
Once the cake is completely cool and your icing is ready, slather the top of one gorgeous latte-coloured sponge with buttercream.
Sandwich it with the other sponge.
Spread the top sponge with buttercream, pushing it down the edges.
Smooth the edges out roughly with a knife or palette knife, this is known as the crumb-coat.
Add another few blobs of icing round the sides and the top of the cake, smoothing it out as best you can until you have no icing left. (If you do have extra, feel free to pipe little stars or blobs around the top like I have!)
Grate over some chocolate or decorate the Vanilla Latte Cake however you like.
Now just slice up the Vanilla Latte Cake and devour it with reckless abandon. It, much like yourself, deserves no less.
Scroll down to find the full recipe to make this gorgeous Vanilla Latte Cake!
Vanilla Latte Cake
Vanilla latte cake; light fluffy vanilla and coffee cake layered with sweet vanilla and coffee buttercream, simple, soft and delicious!
Notes
BE A MAVERICK: why not melt some white chocolate and stir it through the buttercream for a White Chocolate Mocha flavour?
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 200g (13 tbsp) softened butter/margarine
- 200g (1 cup) caster sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 200g (1 ½ cups) self-raising flour
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp coffee granules dissolved in 2 tbsp water OR 3-4 shots of espresso
For the buttercream:
- 250g (16 tbsp) softened butter
- 400g (2 cups) icing sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp coffee granules dissolved in 1 tbsp water OR 1-2 shots of espresso
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat your oven - 180°C / 160°C fan / 350°F / gas mark 4 - and grease/line two 6-8 inch sandwich cake tins.
- Place your butter, sugar and vanilla into a large bowl and beat with a mixer or by hand until light and fluffy.
- Add your eggs one at a time, beating between each addition until fully combined. Don't worry if it looks a little curdled, once you add the flour it will come right!
- Sift your flour and salt into the bowl along with the strong coffee/espresso and mix gently until everything is smooth and combined.
- Scoop all the batter into the two prepared cake tins and smooth out the top as best you can.
- Bake the cakes for 25-30 minutes, until firm and a skewer inserted into the centre can be pulled out cleanly.
- Allow the cakes to cool for at least 15 minutes before removing them from the tin to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, make the buttercream icing.
For the buttercream:
- Beat together the butter, the vanilla and half the icing sugar until combined.
- Add the remaining sugar and the strong coffee/espresso and beat vigorously until fully incorporated, light and pale in colour.
- Once the cake is completely cool and your icing is ready, slather the top of one sponge with buttercream.
- Sandwich it with the other sponge.
- Spread the top sponge with buttercream, pushing it down the edges.
- Smooth the edges out roughly with a knife or palette knife, this is known as the crumb-coat.
- Add another few blobs of icing round the sides and the top of the cake, smoothing it out as best you can until you have no icing left. (If you do have extra, feel free to pipe little stars or blobs around the top like I have!)
- Grate over some chocolate or decorate the cake however you like.
- Now just slice and enjoy!
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I made this recipe on the weekend and it’s going straight into my favs! I had two 8-inch pans ready to go but when I saw the final quantity of batter I didn’t think there was enough for two pans. I just out all
The batter into one and just cut it he cake in half when cool.
The icing is amazing! And I took your hint and put a little melted white chocolate in too. Thank you for sharing this recipe. Rachel
i used a eight inch cake, pan what kind of pan did you use? a tin or nonstick cake pan because my cake came out somewhat flat in the middle why? i followed the directions .help
I was not impressed with the height or lack there of, of this cake. The recipe really needs to be doubled to have 2 in layers when baked.
Hi Shelley, I’m sorry to hear you weren’t impressed. Did you use self-raising flour? What size of tin did you use? If you follow the recipe stages with beating the butter/sugar until fluffy etc alongside the self-raising flour, the cake should rise well.
Just made the cake and its great! Thank you for sharing the recipe, I will be doing more of it for sure!
Aw that’s great, I’m very happy to hear that!
Do you use medium or large eggs please?
Hello Vicky, I tend to use large eggs in my cakes!
Hi,
I made this and it came out great. Only issue was it didn’t rise up like in the photo and I used self-raising flour. Want to make it again, should I add baking powder too?
Hello Lee! Hmm that’s strange. Did you use the same size of tin? Other than that, I’d advise beating the butter and sugar a little more to add some extra air, and then maybe a half teaspoon of baking powder. Hope that helps!
Hmm. I had the same problem. I am no novice, and I don’t think I’ve ever had a cake not rise for me, but this one did not. I imagine it will still taste yummy though!
Hi Sav. I’m sorry to hear that! What size of tin did you use to make the cake? The one pictured was baked in a 7″ tin exactly as the recipe stated.
Can I use instant espresso powder in lieu of coffee granules? Also, do you use salted or unsalted butter?
Hi Elizabeth! Yes, I have used instant espresso powder to the same effect as the coffee granules before, it may just be a slightly stronger taste. I tend to use unsalted butter, that way I can add salt if I need to.
This recipe looks amazing! I’ll be making this next weekend for my hubby’s birthday 🙂 I only have a Keurig – could I replace the espresso with strong black coffee?
Yay, glad to hear it! Yes, that should work fine. Anywhere between 2-5 tbsp of strong coffee should mimic the flavour, depending on how strong you’d like the coffee flavour to be!
This cake is amazing!! I have a tea room in Cambridgeshire and I’ve made it the last three weeks, everyone has absolutely loved it! Thank you!
Ahhhh that’s so lovely to hear! Thanks so much for letting me know, and sharing that Vanilla Latte love!