To some people, very few things are better than their morning cup of coffee. Coffee is sacrosanct to so many people, and claiming that something else is just as good is clearly offensive. But I’m going to go out on a limb and say that my coffee cake is just as good as your sacred morning coffee.
The cake I’m talking about has coffee in it. You’re going to feel the punchy taste of coffee in every bite you take. You might as well think that this coffee cake is more or less coffee in cake form. This cake is soft, spongy, flavorful, and it’s eggless!
My coffee cake recipe has a strong coffee flavor throughout with chocolate chips dotted to cut through the robust bitterness of coffee.
This recipe is unbelievably easy to follow, and if you’re about to venture into baking for the first time, please let this be your first. This coffee cake recipe calls for no special equipment or technical skills; all you have to do is follow the simple instructions.
What’s in this coffee cake?
Well, of course, since it’s a coffee cake, it has coffee in it. I use a strong variety of instant coffee powder mixed with hot water, which I incorporate into the batter. You can also use brewed coffee, as long as it’s fresh and hot.
The cake calls for standard ingredients — all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, neutral-tasting oil, a little bit of vanilla, baking powder, and salt. You can switch the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour if you want to.
The cake also happens to be eggless, and the eggs have been replaced with yogurt and baking soda, which mimic the aeration that eggs provide.
You might have noticed the absence of milk, which you see in standard cake recipes, but in this case, I use coffee since milk would’ve diluted the flavor.
As I mentioned above, I also add chocolate chips to this cake. I pour in half of the batter and then sprinkle some chocolate chips before adding the rest of the batter. Chocolate chips cut through the one-tone flavor of the coffee while also providing some added sweetness.
Equipment
This recipe does not call for any special equipment, such as an electric mixer. I make the batter using a mixing bowl and a wire whisk. Since there is no butter in this recipe, you won’t need to cream the butter and sugar; simple whisking is enough.
Now, coming to the pan, I use a 9x5 inch loaf pan for baking the cake in, and it takes about 45-50 minutes for it to cook thoroughly.
If you have a different shaped pan, you can use it, but you will need to adjust the baking time accordingly. Loaf pans are narrower and taller. Hence loaf cakes take longer to bake as the surface area for the heat to spread out is lower.
If you want to use a round or a square cake pan, it’ll take significantly less time for the cake to bake. It is so because you will have a wider and shallower pan with more surface area. If you’re using a round or a square cake pan, your cake should most likely be baked fully in 30-35 minutes.
With that, here’s every piece of equipment you need to bake this coffee cake.
9x5 loaf pan
Parchment paper
Medium-sized mixing bowl
Mesh sieve
Wire whisk
Rubber spatula
Measuring tools
Oven
The Easiest Recipe For Coffee Cake
Time: 1 hour
Yields: One 9-inch loaf cake
INGREDIENTS
150 grams (1 ½ cup) yogurt
½ teaspoon baking soda
150 grams (¾ cup) granulated sugar
112 grams (½ cup) neutral oil
12 grams (1 tablespoon) strong instant coffee
108 grams (½ cup) hot water
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
188 grams (1 ½ cup) all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
40 grams (¼ cup) dark chocolate chips
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Line it with parchment paper and grease over it again. Dust the pan with flour and remove the excess.
Mix the instant coffee powder and hot water and let it sit for a few minutes.
In a mixing bowl, add the sugar and oil and whisk until the sugar is dissolved moderately.
Add the yogurt and baking soda and whisk until everything is emulsified.
Add the coffee when it’s still a little warm and whisk until the sugar dissolves.
Mix in the vanilla extract.
Sift in the dry ingredients, and fold with a spatula until no dry spots are visible, use the whisk to gently break up any lumps.
Pour half the batter into the prepared pan, and add the chocolate chips.
Pour the rest of the batter and smooth it out.
Bake, the cake at 180°C for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted inside comes out clean.
Let the cake cool down completely before slicing and serving.
Notes
If your loaf pan is smaller, you will most likely need to cut down the ingredients in the recipe in half. The batter this recipe makes is also suitable for an 8 or 9 inch round cake.
If you’re using a round or a square cake pan, bake the cake at 180°C for 30-35 minutes. Stick in a toothpick, and it should come out clean.
If you tried my recipe for this coffee cake, let me know what you thought in the comments below or on Instagram and Facebook.