If you’re going to make a layered cake, it might as well be one that actually packs a punch on flavor. So, meet the moist caramel chocolate coffee cake, which fits the bill. Each layer in this caramel chocolate coffee cake has something different going on, coffee in one, dark chocolate in another, and caramel in the third. They’re not just there for color; you’ll actually taste them. The frosting isn’t overly sweet and pulls everything together with caramel sauce lurking in between as a nice surprise. The best part about this cake is the caramel drizzle on top. This recipe takes a bit of time, but nothing here is complicated. Just take it step by step, and you’ll end up with a cake that’s worth every minute.
Moist Caramel Chocolate Coffee Cake with Caramel Drizzle
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups caster sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 4 eggs, room temperature
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1-2 tbsp strong brewed coffee, room temperature
- 2 tbsp caramel sauce
- 2 tbsp Cadbury Bournville dark chocolate, melted and cooled
For the Frosting:
- 1 cup full-fat milk
- 1/3 cup caster sugar
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 7 oz full-fat cream cheese
- 2/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- A pinch of salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp Cadbury Bournville dark chocolate, melted and cooled
- 1/4 cup caramel sauce for layering
Caramel Drizzle (for the topping)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- A pinch of salt (for the salted caramel)
Instructions
For the cake:
Note: You will need three 6-inch round cake pans for this. Otherwise if you just have one, bake it in three sittings.
- Grease one or three 6-inch round cake pans, and line them with parchment paper and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. While that happens, melt the chocolate using the double boiler method, or the microwave and get the coffee ready.
- Take a large bowl, sift flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda into it. Set aside.
- Take another big bowl, and whip sugar with butter, using your hand or an electric whisk until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one by one, mixing after each.
- Add half of the contents of the flour bowl and fold it, not mix. Then fold in the remaining half. Do not over mix the batter or you’ll have a dense cake.
- Pick 3 different bowls and pour the batter equally into each. Use a rough estimation if you don’t have a weighing scale.
- Pour the melted chocolate into the first bowl, coffee into the second and the salted caramel sauce to the third. Fold all of the 3, do not mix or stir vigorously otherwise the cake will turn out to be dense.
- If using 3 cake tins, transfer the batter into each, or bake one by one. Each cake will have a different baking time – the caramel cake needs 25 minutes of oven time, the coffee 30 minutes and the chocolate 35 minutes. Poke each cake in the center, around the 25 minutes mark, with a toothpick to check for doneness.
- Once the cakes are done, remove from the oven and let it cool in the pan on a wire rack.
For the frosting:
- Take a saucepan, add the milk, sugar and salt and heat on low medium flame. As soon as the sugar dissolves, add the flour and keep whisking for 4 minutes till it thickens.
- Pour this thick liquid into a shallow dish and freeze for 25-30 minutes.
- Once cool, whip the cream cheese using a hand-held or stand mixer for 1 minute. Then add the almost solid milk mixture to it and whip on high speed for 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl periodically. It might take longer.
- Once the mixture is smooth, add the butter and whisk again, until smooth. Your frosting is ready. You can refrigerate it for a firmer version, in case it is too soft.
- Arrange the cake layers, adding around 2 tablespoons of caramel sauce in between each. Then frost the cake. You can dye your frosting chocolate color, by using melted chocolate in it.
- Chill the cake for 30 minutes before serving.
Finishing with Caramel Drizzle
- Once the cake has finished chilling, drizzle the caramel over the top of the cake using a spoon or piping bag. Let it drip slightly down the sides for a good visual effect.
- Garnish with sea salt, chocolate shavings, or crushed nuts.