Cuban Coffee Espresso Cake with Chocolate Espresso Buttercream Frosting by B.A.

Cuban Coffee Espresso Cake with

Chocolate Espresso Buttercream Frosting by B.A. 

The longest name in the world is meant to slow you down while you are eating it. The texture, the moistness, it will be half gone before you are done rolling your eyes in bliss.

A side note though; of course my mind is always set to morphing something. While I was eating this with my husband, I devised what I think would be an even better frosting to go with this cake.  Honestly, this cake was created out of necessity .  For my husband’s birthday, I had baked his favorite double chocolate espresso cake and had a ton of frosting leftover.  I decided to create this recipe and use the remainder of the frosting.  While this was fabulously decadent, I think the new improved frosting would be better.  I will post both and you can pick and choose what one you would like to use.  So without further adieu, let’s get cooking!

What you will need for the Cuban Coffee Espresso Cake ( frosting instructions will come later)

• 2 cups of sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
• 2 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 teaspoons of espresso powder
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 cup of milk
• 1/2 cup of canola oil
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1 cup of cuban coffee  (No espresso pot? No worries. Just use coffee & brew it stronger, I won’t tell!)

Getting Started

Preheat your oven to 350 and grease and lightly flour two 9 in. cake pans.

Brew a cuban coffee and set aside to cool a bit. (If you do not have an espresso maker, a strong brew will do!)

Cake Mix From Scratch, No Box Here;

In a large mixing bowl, add all of your dry ingredients; sugar, flour, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Mix these well and thoroughly.

Then add in the milk, canola oil and eggs and vanilla extract. Mix well.

Then add in your 1 cup of cuban coffee. It should be hot but not scalding.  If you can not keep your finger in it, cool it down.  You don’t want to add it in too hot, as it will scramble your eggs and you don’t want to do that!!

Mix this all well and thoroughly. Yes, yes, you can use a mixer but honestly, you can do it by hand too.  I always do.  Either way is just fine.

Separate your mixture into your two pans. Softly drop pans on counter to get any air bubbles to rise and pop.

Place in the oven and cook for 30 min. Do the ol’ toothpick check at the 30 min. mark, some of you may need another 5 min.

Insights from B.A.

• **B.A. tip; I have found when cooking in an oven; when you can smell something, it usually means it is done, or at the very least need to be checked on.  I don’t mean a burning smell but the aaaaah, that smells divine smell.  Put it in practice and let me know what you think?

Alrighty, take the lovelies out and set them somewhere to cool. I will tell you to put them up on a rack, so that air can circulate all around the cake pan.  This way you won’t get an accumulation of moisture in the bottom center portion of your cakes and release from the pan will be easier.

Now let’s talk frosting!

As I said before, the pictures show a chocolate espresso buttercream frosting.

You will need:

• 1 1/2 sticks of softened butter
• 1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa
• 2 1/2 cups of confectioners sugar
• 1/8 cup of  milk
• 1/8 cup of coffee / espresso
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon of espresso powder

Cream your butter and cocoa together.

Then slowly add confectioners sugar, milk and coffee to your cocoa/ butter mixture. I will usually add a 1/4 cup of sugar and alternate a splash of milk, with a splash of coffee.  Keep this going until your confectioners sugar is completely mixed in.  You may or may not need all the milk and coffee to get your desired frosting texture…. or you may need to add a bit more if your sugar/ cocoa mixture is too dry. At the end add in your vanilla extract and your espresso powder and mix thoroughly.

When your cakes are cool to the touch, remove from their pans and frost away.

Now… if I had it to do over again, I would try this frosting, In my head, it sounds perfect to go with this cake. However, I have not tried it and I feel three cakes in one week is a bit excessive to do to my neighbors, friends and family.  So this will have to wait for another special occasion.  If you use it, please drop a line and let me know what you think.

B.A.’s Espresso Buttercream Frosting.

• 1 1/2 sticks of softened butter
• 2 1/2 cups of confectioners sugar
• 1/8 cup of  milk
• 1/8 cup of coffee / espresso
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon of espresso powder

Cream 1/2 a cup of the confectioners sugar with the full amount of the butter

Then slowly add the remaining confectioners sugar, milk and coffee to your sugar/ butter mixture. I will usually add a 1/4 cup of sugar and alternate a splash of milk, with a splash of coffee.  Keep this going until your confectioners sugar is completely mixed in.  You may or may not need all the milk and coffee to get your desired frosting texture…. or you may need to add a bit more if your sugar/ cocoa mixture is too dry. At the end add in your vanilla extract and your espresso powder and mix thoroughly. 

When your cakes are cool to the touch, remove from their pans and frost away.

Thank you so much for taking the time to check out my Cuban Coffee Espresso Cake with Buttercream Frosting Recipe.  If you used it, I hope you enjoyed it. Did you make changes to it?  Please leave a comment and let me know. If you liked this recipe, you may want to look at my LAVENDER & LEMON COOKIES,  You can check out my other recipes on my blog; COOKING ON THE FLY WITH BA.  My recipes are super simple and really deliver in taste. Also, please take a min to peruse my STOREFRONT. I’m actually an artist, who loves cooking.  Finally, I would love to see you on my FB PAGE.  Feel free to reach out and join me there.

Have a splendid day in the kitchen!!

Peace, Love and Rocks

B.A.