If you’re looking for a moist, fluffy coffee cake that is bursting with coffee flavour, then this recipe is it! Soft coffee cake layers are sandwiched between the most divine white chocolate and coffee whipped ganache frosting, and lightly candied walnuts – YUM!
How to make coffee cake
This recipe has three different elements, but they’re all easy to put together!
The whipped ganache frosting is the star of this cake so I would highly recommend making it. It’ll be best to start on the ganache first before making the cake as it needs time to cool in the fridge before whipping (instructions for making the ganache are after the coffee cake).
Coffee cake
For the coffee cake, begin by preheating your oven to 160 °C (320°F) with the fan on (see note 4 on recipe card below if you don’t have a fan function) and grease and/or line two 8 inch cake tins (I use my homemade cake release). Set aside for now.
In a bowl, sift together flour, cornflour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and instant coffee powder. Using a whisk or fork, mix until well combined. Set aside.
In another bowl, add in your butter, vegetable oil and soft brown sugar. Using an electric mixer (hand or stand mixer are both fine – see note 2 on recipe card below), cream together for 2 minutes until light and creamy.
Add in eggs one by one, mixing well in between each addition (about 10-15 seconds between eggs).
Add in your vanilla, vinegar and half a cup of the buttermilk, and mix until well combined. The batter may look curdled but that’s okay. Now set your mixer aside as the remainder of the batter will be finished by hand.
Finish off by adding in half of your premixed dry ingredients to your wet mixture, and gently fold it in with a spatula until just combined. Then add in the remaining 1 cup of buttermilk, and fold it in until just combined. Lastly, add in the remaining dry ingredients and gently fold it into the mixture until just combined. Do not overmix (see note 3 on recipe card below). Your batter should be nice and smooth and no longer curdled.
Divide the batter evenly into the two 8 inch cake tins and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Once done, let the cakes cool in the cake tins for 20 minutes and then turn them out onto a wire rack to completely cool before frosting.
White chocolate and coffee whipped ganache frosting
Chop up your chocolate into small pieces (no need to do this if using chocolate callets) and place in a heat proof bowl.
Place the cream in a saucepan over a low-medium heat and heat it up until it begins to gently bubble. Once it’s gently bubbling, immediately take it off the heat (you don’t want to overheat the cream) and pour it over the chocolate. Add in the coffee at this point too but no need to mix it.
Allow the chocolate/cream mixture to sit for 5 minutes untouched. After 5 minutes, stir with a spatula and then using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. Keep the immersion blender at the bottom of the bowl to prevent air bubbles getting into the ganache.
Pour the ganache into a wide baking tray/dish (this will allow it to cool quicker), and cover it with cling wrap so that it’s touching the top of the ganache. This will prevent a skin from forming as it cools. Place it in the fridge for at least a few hours to allow it to thicken up slightly and become very cold. You can also do this step the day beforehand.
Once ready, pour the ganache into a bowl and whip until you reach semi-stiff peaks. It comes together quite quickly so be careful not to overwhip the cream.
Lightly candied walnuts
Place a saucepan over a medium heat and add in sugar, butter and cinnamon, stirring occasionally.
Once the sugar is melted and begins to gently bubble, add in the walnuts and stir so that the walnuts are evenly coated with the butter/sugar mixture. Once coated immediately take it off the heat and pour it onto a tray. Use a spatula or spoon to separate the walnuts.
Allow the walnuts to cool and harden (about 5 minutes or so).
How to decorate this coffee cake
OPTIONAL: Begin by trimming off the top of the cake layers so that they’re nice and flat. These cake layers bake up quite flat so you should only need to trim off a very small amount.
Place your first cake layer onto your cake stand, and spread out a generous amount of the whipped ganache frosting on top. Evenly distribute half of the candied walnuts on top of the cream.
Place the next cake layer on top and cover the top and sides with more whipped ganache. I like to do a little bit of piping on the top (I used a 1A piping tip for this cake). Finish off by evenly distributing the remaining walnuts on top. Enjoy!
IMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
Coffee Cake
- 2½ cups (320 g) flour - regular all purpose (see note 1 if you want to use cake flour)
- ⅓ cup (40 g) cornflour - also known as cornstarch
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt - omit if using salted butter
- 4 tbsp (15 g) instant coffee powder - I use a fine powdered coffee
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter - room temperature
- ½ cup (105 g) unflavoured vegetable oil - I use canola
- 1½ cups (300 g) soft brown sugar - firmly packed (see note 6)
- 3 large eggs - room temperature
- 1¼ tbsp vanilla essence/extract
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 1½ cups (337 g) buttermilk - room temperature, see note 5 if using a homemade buttermilk substitute
Whipped White Chocolate & Coffee Ganache Frosting
- 1 cup (180 g) white chocolate - couverture preferred, otherwise regular eating chocolate. Try not to use compound white chocolate. Milk chocolate can be used too.
- 3 cups (675 g) cream - minimum fat percentage of 34%
- 1½ tbsp instant coffee powder - I use a fine powdered coffee
Lightly Candied Walnuts
- 2 tbsp (30 g) soft brown sugar
- 1 tbsp (14 g) unsalted butter
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup (100 g) walnuts - roughly chopped or halved
Instructions
- IMPORTANT: For this recipe I would highly recommend using gram measurements, especially for the flour for accurate results. It has a high fat/liquid ratio so slight adjustments to the quantities can throw off the balance of the cake 🙂
- The whipped ganache frosting is the star of this cake so I would highly recommend making it! It'll be best to start on the ganache first before making the cake as it needs time to cool in the fridge before whipping (instructions for making the ganache are after the coffee cake).
Coffee Cake
- Preheat oven to 160 °C (320°F) with the fan on (see note 4 if you don't have a fan function) and grease and/or line two 8 inch cake tins (I use my homemade cake release). Set aside.
- In a bowl, sift together your flour, cornflour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and instant coffee powder. Using a whisk or fork, mix until well combined. Set aside.
- In another bowl, add in your butter, vegetable oil and soft brown sugar. Using an electric mixer (hand or stand mixer are both fine - see note 2), cream together for 2 minutes until light and creamy.
- Add in eggs one by one, mixing well in between each addition (about 10-15 seconds between eggs).
- Add in your vanilla, vinegar and half a cup of the buttermilk, and mix until well combined. The batter may look curdled but that's okay. Now set your mixer aside as the remainder of the batter will be finished by hand.
- Finish off by adding in half of your premixed dry ingredients to your wet mixture, and gently fold it in with a spatula until just combined. Then add in the remaining 1 cup of buttermilk, and fold it in until just combined. Lastly, add in the remaining dry ingredients and gently fold it into the mixture until just combined. Do not overmix (see note 3). Your batter should be nice and smooth and no longer curdled (see note 7 if your batter is still curdled).
- Divide the batter evenly into the two 8 inch cake tins and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Once done, let the cakes cool in the cake tins for 20 minutes and then turn them out onto a wire rack to completely cool before frosting.
Whipped White Chocolate & Coffee Ganache
- Chop up your chocolate into small pieces (no need to do this if using chocolate callets) and place in a heat proof bowl.
- Place the cream in a saucepan over a low-medium heat and heat it up until it begins to gently bubble. Once it's gently bubbling, immediately take it off the heat (you don't want to overheat the cream) and pour it over the chocolate. Add in the coffee at this point too but no need to mix it.
- Allow the chocolate/cream mixture to sit for 5 minutes untouched. After 5 minutes, stir with a spatula and then using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. Keep the immersion blender at the bottom of the bowl to prevent air bubbles getting into the ganache.
- Pour the ganache into a wide baking tray/dish (this will allow it to cool quicker), and cover it with cling wrap so that it's touching the top of the ganache. This will prevent a skin from forming as it cools. Place it in the fridge for at least a few hours to allow it to thicken up slightly and become very cold. Ideally you want to leave it for over 6+ hours (overnight is best). You can also do this step the day beforehand.
- Once ready, pour the ganache into a bowl and whip until you reach semi-stiff peaks. It comes together quite quickly so be careful not to overwhip the cream.
Lightly Candied Walnuts
- Place a saucepan over a medium heat and add in sugar, butter and cinnamon, stirring occasionally.
- Once the sugar is melted and begins to gently bubble, add in the walnuts and stir so that the walnuts are evenly coated with the butter/sugar mixture. Once coated immediately take it off the heat and pour it onto a tray. Use a spatula or spoon to separate the walnuts.
- Allow the walnuts to cool and harden (about 5 minutes or so).
Assembly
- OPTIONAL: Begin by trimming off the top of the cake layers so that they're nice and flat. These cake layers bake up quite flat so you should only need to trim off a very small amount.
- Place your first cake layer onto your cake stand, and spread out a generous amount of the whipped ganache frosting on top. Evenly distribute half of the candied walnuts on top of the cream.
- Place the next cake layer on top and cover the top and sides with more whipped ganache. I like to do a little bit of piping on the top (I used a 1A piping tip for this cake). Finish off by evenly distributing the remaining walnuts on top. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
195 Comments
Hi can I freeze this recipe?
Hi Rachel! 🙂 Yes you can freeze the cake layers – just wrap them well in cling wrap and pop it into an airtight container before freezing. Hope you enjoy the recipe! 🙂
I just discovered your blog and I am in love with the content. Can I substitute buttermilk for whipping cream? And what does the “tsp” measurement mean? Thank you very much!!!!
Thanks so much Anna and welcome to the blog! 😀
I haven’t tried substituting buttermilk for whipping cream myself so I’m not too sure how it would affect the taste and texture sorry! The baking soda in the recipe relies partly on the acidity in the buttermilk to activate it so I would recommend sticking to the buttermilk 🙂
The ‘tsp’ measurement refers to teaspoon 🙂
Hope that helps Anna and hope you enjoy the recipe!
I baked this for my son’s birthday as he requested for coffee cake. It turned out beautifully. My cake and ganache were darker in colour but delicious. He actually didn’t believe that I made it.
Thank you for a lovely recipe.
Awesome! So so happy to hear you and your son loved the cake Joana 😀 really appreciate the feedback!
This coffee cake recipe is easy to follow, moist, and absolutely delicious. Thanks, from Alaska.
Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback Sharonica 😀
Much love from NZ to Alaska!
Hi I made you cake frozen it and took it out this morning the made the ganache sticking carefully to the recipe. The ganache has been innovative the fridge s for 6 hours at least but it is still liquid and has not thickened at all! Should I beat it now and try and get peaks or leave in fridge overnight until it’s thickened?
Hi Dianne! 🙂 Hmm did you use the gram measurements for the ganache recipe? Perhaps there wasn’t enough chocolate in the ganache? The ganache should be still quite liquidy though, not your usual thick ganache (check video for visual demonstration), so if it has thickened a little but still liquidy then it’s fine 🙂 either way, if you don’t want to wait, you can still totally whip it now, it’s basically a whipped cream flavored with chocolate so as long as it’s cold, it’ll whip up fine! Enjoy 🙂
Salaam Maryam,
Shukran for sharing your recipes. Is this cake stable enough for stacking a 4 layer cake?
Can’t wait to try it.
hello, if I am assembling the cake the next day what is the best way to store the ganache.
Thanks
Hi Jemma! 🙂 I would recommend whipping the ganache just before you are going to frost the cake, but you can leave the unwhipped ganache in the fridge in an airtight container until it’s ready to whip 🙂 enjoy!
This cake is insanely good. It came out perfect. Perhaps 2 mins longer in the oven, perhaps I should have iced it a tiny bit later when it was 100% cool, as the cream-based icing (brilliant) did melt a tad in the centre, but no less yummy for that. Thank you for the recipe.
Yay! So so happy to hear you loved the recipe Lisa 😀
Is it possible to use finely ground coffee beans instead of instant? Nobody drinks instant in our house and it feels like such a waste buying a tin…
Hi Even! 🙂 I haven’t tried using finely ground coffee beans myself, but it may work fine! If you can technically use it as an instant coffee then it should work fine – the flavor profile just may be slightly different though based on the type of coffee 🙂
This recipe is sooo good, thank you for sharing it! Just wondering if you’ve made this recipe using milk chocolate instead of white (I note it’s listed in the ingredients as an alternative) and if so, is it just as good?
Thanks in advance.
Hi LouLou! So happy to hear you loved the recipe 😀 I haven’t tried milk chocolate in the ganache with this coffee cake as a combination myself, but I have tried milk chocolate whipped ganache which is sooo good. I myself personally though prefer white with the coffee, I feel like it’s a nice balance of flavors, but I provided milk chocolate as an option for those who don’t like white chocolate and feel it’ll go great as well 🙂 hope that made sense!