This coffee and cream sponge cake features layers of coffee infused sponge cake wrapped in a fluffy mocha whipped cream. It is a coffee lover’s dream come true and a grown up dessert that is sure to impress.
This cake is the perfect way to end a dinner party. It might become your birthday dessert request as well.
The sponge is laced with coffee perfection and frosted with a mocha whipped cream frosting that is going to make you want to take that next bite. It is like enjoying your coffeehouse favorite in cake form and it really doesn’t get much better than that!
I originally posted this cake back in February of 2016 as part of a group I was in, the Cake Slice Bakers. We were baking our way through Maida Heatter’s Cakes.
To tell you the truth, when I got the book I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to like it. There were no pictures for one and pictures are usually one of my favorite parts about cookbooks.
Then I started baking and fell in love. Some of my all time favorite bakes ended up coming from that book and I began to appreciate the lack of pictures.
Without having a picture to imitate, I was left to my own devices to finish the cakes. That meant I got to do it my way without feeling bad about it.
Plus then I didn’t have to compare my finished results to those of a professional food stylist.
So that is how I found this beauty of a cake. This cake feels grown up, it is not overly sweet or frilly.
There is the right amount of coffee in it and the soft whipped cream frosting really brings it all together. We were all ooh-ing and ah-ing as we ate our slice.
If you like coffee treats, you have to give this one a try. It is so good!
Email Me The Link
I'll email this post to you, so you can easily find it later. Plus you’ll get new recipes from me every week!
Making the Sponge Cake
This was my first attempt at an actual sponge cake. It seems fiddly, but it really isn’t that hard to put together.
It does take an extra dirty bowl to whip up the egg whites, but the results are certainly worth that effort.
Once your batter base is put together, whip the egg whites to a stiff peak. Then fold them into the rest of the batter.
Be sure to be gentle at this stage. You just spent the time and effort to get all of that air into the egg whites, you don’t want to knock it all out.
Just gently fold the batter over the egg whites, working your way around the bowl. As soon as it is mostly mixed in, stop.
Decorating the Cake
A cake like this doesn’t need a crazy amount of decoration (or skill) to make it look nice. You spread the frosting on smooth like in these pictures or make swoops with the whipped cream, whatever you prefer.
It really would be fine just as is, but I like to put either chocolate shavings or some mini chocolate chips on top. It adds just a little interest (and more chocolate!!!)
So you don’t have to have a lot of frosting skills to make this look like the showstopper dessert it is. Just a knife or spatula to spread the goodness on and let it speak for itself!
Coffee and Cream Sponge Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅓ teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon instant coffee
- ¼ cup boiling water
- 3 large eggs separated
- 1 cup granulated sugar divided
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Mocha Whipped Cream Frosting
- 1 ounce semisweet chocolate
- 1 Tablespoon instant coffee
- 1 Tablespoon boiling water
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ Tablespoon granulated sugar
- Optional but encouraged: Chocolate shavings or mini chocolate chips
Instructions
Coffee Sponge Cake
- Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Prepare 2 9-inch pans. I sprayed mine with baking spray (the kind with the flour in it), but you can do whatever works best for you.
- Sift 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and ⅓ teaspoon salt together and set aside. Alternately, you can put them in a mixing bowl and fluff them up with a wire whisk.
- Dissolve 1 Tablespoon instant coffee in the ¼ cup boiling water and set aside.
- In your mixer bowl, beat the 3 egg yolks, ¾ cup of sugar until pale and thick. Turn mixer to low and stir in a couple of tablespoons of the flour mixture. Add the ½ teaspoon vanilla extract and coffee mixture, beating until smooth. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.
- In a separate clean bowl, beat the 3 egg whites and salt until foamy. Slowly add the remaining ¼ cup of sugar and continue to beat until they form soft peaks.
- Spoon a small amount of the egg whites into the yolk mixture and fold in to lighten it. Fold in the rest of the egg whites until blended, but not any more than you have to.
- Spread into prepared pans.
- Bake 20-25 minutes, until the top springs back when lightly touched.
- Cool for 2 minutes, then turn out. Continue to cool, right side up on a wire rack until completely cooled.
- Mocha Whipped Cream Frosting
- Place your mixer bowl and beater in the refrigerator.
- Chop the 1 ounce semisweet chocolate and melt in the microwave. Start with a thirty second burst, then go in fifteen second increments stirring between each one until the chocolate is smooth.
- Stir the 1 Tablespoon instant coffee into the 1 Tablespoon boiling water until dissolved. Pour over chocolate and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool.
- Once the chocolate mixture is close to room temperature, add a couple of tablespoons of the cream to it and stir until smooth.
- In the chilled bowl, whip the remaining 2 cups heavy cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1½ Tablespoon granulated sugar until soft peaks form. While the beater is running, add the chocolate mixture and beat until the cream is stiff enough to work as an icing.
- Layer the cake and frosting, smoothing the whipped cream as you go. It is soft and billowy, so you can make it look nice as is, but chocolate shavings or mini chocolate chips add a little fun.
Email Me The Link
I’ll email this post to you, so you can easily find it later. Plus you’ll get new recipes from me every week!
Did you try this recipe?
Don’t forget to leave a rating below and make sure to follow on Pinterest and Instagram for more!
More Great Maida Heatter Cake Recipes
Get social!
Recipes in your inbox
Hi
This recipe don’t need any oil or butter
No butter or oil needed, it’s a fluffy sponge that relies very heavily on the eggs for texture.
@Suja, Thanks for the reply 🙏
It looks so good! I’d like to know how many days ahead of time can I make the cake? And the frosting would be ok to put it together the day before? Thanks
Thank you! You can make the cake several weeks ahead of time if you want to wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze it until you are ready to decorate it. The frosting a day ahead of time is great, then store it in the refrigerator. I wouldn’t do much longer than a day ahead of time though.
I am thinking of making just the cake part as a base layer in an entremet and was wondering if 1/4 cup of just straight espresso would work instead of the powder and hot water, also I am planning on baking it in a sheet pan, I was curious how this would affect the timing. One more question if baking at high altitude are there any things I should consider ingredient-wise?
Well now I want to be invited to enjoy this entremet! Or at least want to see a picture. 1/4 cup of espresso would work great in place of the water and instant coffee. If you are using a 13×18-inch half sheet pan, the surface area will be greater than in two 9-inch pans. So the bake time will need to be reduced. I don’t have a lot of experience with high altitude baking, but I would think with a thin layer of batter in a sheet pan you shouldn’t have too much issue with the batter rising too quickly and then falling. I am really curious about what exactly you are making and how it will turn out!
I am so happy when someone writes in that has actually made this cake.The last response from Shelley has helped me so much to know that it is not overly sweet.
I was wondering if it would be possible to bake this into 3 six inch pans to make a tall cake. I just love them so much more than the huge 9 inch cakes.
I was a bit surprised when I read the instruction, because for some reason when I started out reading the post I thought that the sponge would be soaked with some sort of syrup like the European cakes I have been making. I am sure it will be delicious with the icing all the same.
It should work fine in 3 six inch pans. Just check them early as the bake time will be reduced. A coffee syrup would probably be delicious, but I don’t think it’s needed. The whipped cream keeps everything soft and adds great flavor.
I made this for my friends birthday this weekend. A very simple cake to make. It was light and fluffy with just the right amount of coffee flavor. I shaved a Lindt hint of sea salt chocolate bar as a garnish (yum). My Asian friend had a piece and kept saying “it’s not too sweet.” He then told me that a lot of his Asian friends and family tend to judge American desserts based on the amount of sugar used (usually a colossal amount). With this cake he could tell it was made with less sugar and he couldn’t stop raving about/eating the cake. So the moral of that story is, this would be a great cake to make for your Asian friends and family (in addition to everyone else)! Will definitely be bookmarking this one to make again some day.
I love it!! I am so glad the cake was a hit.
Can i make the frosting and store ahead of time…freezer or fridge?
A little bit ahead of time should be fine. I would store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.
Hello, can you use cake flour instead of regular flour
I haven’t tried it, but I can’t see why not.
I hope you give it a try!
Have you tried this as a cupcake, any big adjustments you'd recommend?
I haven't, but I can't see why it wouldn't work. Let me know how it goes!