Description
Meet your new favorite indulgence: a rich, moist Espresso Cake layered with velvety espresso cream cheese frosting. This coffee-lover’s dream is bold, luscious, and just the right amount of sweet. Perfect for birthdays, brunches, or cozy weekends. One bite and you’ll be hooked on this mocha magic! #EspressoCake #CoffeeLoversDessert #LayerCakeDelight
Ingredients
Scale
Espresso Cake
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (325g), sifted
- 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
- 1.5 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- ½ cup light brown sugar (100g)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil (133g)
- ⅓ cup buttermilk (or ⅓ cup whole milk + 1 teaspoon vinegar)
- 1 cup sour cream (240g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2–3 tablespoons instant coffee (adjust to taste)
- ¾ cup boiling water (180g)
Espresso Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 ¼ cups unsalted butter, softened (283g)
- 20 oz cream cheese, room temperature (570g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons instant coffee + 1 tablespoon hot water
- 3–4 cups icing sugar, sifted (360–480g)
Instructions
Make the Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour cake pans.
- In a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, sour cream, and vanilla until smooth.
- Dissolve instant coffee in boiling water, then gradually add to the wet ingredients, mixing until combined.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, folding gently until just combined.
- Pour batter evenly into prepared pans and bake for 25–30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Let cakes cool completely before frosting.
Make the Frosting
- Beat butter and cream cheese together until smooth and creamy.
- Mix instant coffee with hot water until dissolved, then add to the frosting along with vanilla and salt.
- Gradually add sifted icing sugar, beating until fluffy and spreadable.
- Frost the cooled cake layers as desired.
Notes
- Adjust the amount of instant coffee in the cake and frosting based on how bold you want the flavor.
- If using milk + vinegar in place of buttermilk, let the mixture sit for 5 minutes before using.
- Cake layers can be made a day ahead and refrigerated or frozen before frosting.
- This frosting also pairs beautifully with chocolate cake for a mocha twist.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (1/12 of cake)
- Calories: 520
- Sugar: 38g
- Sodium: 360mg
- Fat: 32g
- Saturated Fat: 17g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 54g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 6g
- Cholesterol: 95mg