This Post Is Sponsored by Billingtons Sugar
Can we talk about the term coffee cake? I think in the US its generally understood that the cake doesn’t actually contain coffee, it’s a cake to be served with coffee, definitely a tad confusing. To my fellow brits coffee cake brings to mind that old fashioned British classic, coffee and walnut cake, a cake that I actively dislike and also had to make for my final audition all those years ago (hmm maybe there is a correlation there somewhere). No, ‘coffee cake’ is an umbrella term for cakes that are served alongside coffee, which is good as todays post is sponsored by Billingtons and there new Barista range of sugars. You know them as the makers of brilliant unrefined sugars and now they’ve launched a range of sugars perfect for your morning coffee. Aside from being great in coffee you could also bake with them. The crystal variety of the sugar has a larger crystal size than most UK sugars and is actually a little bit like a US ‘sanding’ sugar which would be great sprinkled on a cake for texture, like a larger brother to demerara. The classic coffee cake is the cinnamon crumb cake, normally made with sour cream and is the perfect accompaniment to a coffee. My favourite of the genre is a bundt cake and todays recipe, whilst not a cinnamon or a crumb cake, is my take on the coffee cake. White and dark chocolate swirled together to make a very tender, very simple cake that doesn’t need much adornment. I have left it naked, but you could add a simple icing sugar glaze or maybe a drizzle of chocolate, but for me this is the thing I want alongside my mid afternoon coffee, not too sweet and makes my break from work all the more enjoyable.
Mocha Marble Bundt Cake
Base Cake Mix
250g unsalted butter, room temperature
500g golden caster sugar
8 large eggs
White Chocolate
225g self raising flour
100g white chocolate, melted and cooled
100g sour cream
2 tbsp instant espresso powder, mixed with 1 tbsp boiling water
Dark Chocolate
100g dark chocolate, melted and cooled
200g self raising flour
25g cocoa powder
120g sour cream
Use a spray oil to lightly grease a 10-15 cup capacity bundt pan, making sure the entire surface of the pan is coated, especially the central column as this is the part people often miss and it leads to a cake that will not release from the pan in one piece. Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan).
Place the butter and sugar into a large bowl and using an electric mixer beat together until lightly and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Don’t underestimate the time this takes, creaming the butter and sugar together is one of the most important steps, make sure you the mixture really is almost white in colour and light in texture. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until fully combined before adding the next. Divide the batter equally between two bowls and set aside for a moment.
In a small bowl mix together the white chocolate, sour cream and espresso mixture. Add the flour to the first portion of batter and mix until combined. Add in the white chocolate mixture and then set aside for a moment.
In a small bowl mix together the cocoa with a couple tablespoons of the sour cream, mixing to make a smooth paste. Mix in the remaining sour cream and the melted chocolate. As before mix the flour into the batter followed by the chocolate mixture.
Dollop in alternate spoonfuls of the two batters into the pan then using a butter knife gently swirl the batters together. I find it’s best to do this very briefly and less aggressively than you think. The more you swirl the batters together the less definition the finished cake will have. Bake in the preheated oven for about 50-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Set onto a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before inverting the cake to release it from the pan. Allow to cool fully before serving. Kept covered the cake will keep for 3-4 days
