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This Espresso Cake is a delicious and moist coffee flavored cake layered with a luscious espresso cream cheese frosting. The cake itself is very easy to make, comes together in one bowl with just 10 minutes of work, and is perfect for coffee lovers!
Read the full blog post below for detailed notes, tips, tricks, photos and videos.
What is espresso cake?
An espresso cake is simply a coffee-flavored cake. I feel like it should just be called coffee cake, but unfortunately that name is very commonly used to describe a cinnamon crumb cake which doesn’t even have coffee in it, but is served with coffee. So now we are stuck naming an actual coffee cake things like espresso cake, latte cake, coffee flavored cake, or coffee layer cake.
Why you will love this espresso cake
If you love coffee, you are going to love this espresso cake! Here are a few things I am absolutely obsessed with:
- It is insanely delicious, with a strong but balanced coffee flavor. Imagine your favorite latte turned into cake! It has the perfect harmony of flavors, with a strong coffee flavor which is not overpowering
- It has a wonderfully moist texture. This cake has a texture similar to red velvet cake, with a very moist and soft crumb which is not too dense or heavy
- It is really easy to whip up. The cake itself comes together in one bowl with a wet / dry ingredient method, and takes less than 10 minutes of work. The espresso cream cheese frosting is also very simple to make with no complicated steps
- It is different. Somehow, a simple coffee-flavored cake is very hard to come by! I have seen more pumpkin spice latte, caramel latte, or chocolate espresso cakes than just pure espresso cakes.
Process with photos
The detailed recipe is provided in the recipe card at the bottom of this post, but let’s go over the steps with photos to help you visualize everything.
For the cake, start by whisking together the dry ingredients:
Add the wet ingredients except the coffee, and whisk until just combined:
Pour in the hot coffee, and gently fold until a smooth batter forms:
Divide the cake batter between 3 8″ cake pans and bake:
Make the cream cheese frosting by whisking together the cream cheese, butter and coffee, and slowly adding in the powdered sugar. Once cooled, frost the cake layers with the espresso cream cheese frosting:
Decorate with instant coffee and coffee beans. Slice, serve and enjoy!
Frequently asked questions
This cake should be very soft and moist. If your cake is dense or dry, you have most likely added too much flour. Make sure to use a weighing scale for accurate measurements. If using a measuring cup, fluff up the flour before adding it in; do not stuff it.
Since this cake is very moist and soft, it needs to be handled with care, especially when hot. Make sure to let the cakes cool down for at least 20 minutes before removing from the pans, and then chill for another 30-60 minutes in the fridge before frosting.
I recommend using instant coffee for both the cake and frosting because it will give more consistent results. However, you are welcome to replace the instant coffee and hot water with 3/4 cup of very strong, hot brewed coffee for the cake batter.
Insert a toothpick in the middle of the cake(s). It should come out with light, moist crumbs attached (no wet batter, and not fully clean).
Yes, you can divide the batter in 2 8″ or 9″ pans instead of 3. However, the cakes will take longer to bake and dome more.
You can divide all quantities by 2, and bake in 3 6″ pans instead of 3 8″ pans to make a cake which is half the size of this cake.
Yes! You can turn this cake into a 9×13″ sheet cake and slather with frosting on top. The baking time may vary, so rely on a toothpick to check for doneness.
Keep this espresso cake in an airtight container (or covered with cling wrap) in the fridge for 5-7 days.
If you like this recipe, you will also love these cakes!
Berry Chantilly Cake
The Best Coffee Cake With Coffee
Moistest Red Velvet Cake
Best Matilda Chocolate Cake
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Ingredients
Espresso cake:
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (325g), sifted
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 1.5 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar (100g)
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 large eggs
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil (133g)
- ⅓ cup buttermilk; mix ⅓ cup whole milk (80g) + 1 teaspoon vinegar to make your own
- 1 cup sour cream (240g)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2–3 tbsp instant coffee depending on how strong you want the flavor to be
- ¾ cup boiling water (180g)
Espresso Cream Cheese Frosting: *see notes
- 1 ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened (2.5 sticks or 283g)
- 20 oz cream cheese, room temperature (2.5 8 oz blocks or 570g)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp instant coffee + 1 tbsp hot water
- 3–4 cups icing sugar, sifted (360 to 480g)
Instructions
Espresso cake:
- Pre-heat your oven to 350F (conventional, no fan) and line 3 8″ cake pans with parchment paper
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, granulated sugar, brown sugar and salt to a bowl and whisk until combined and no lumps remain
- Add the eggs, oil, buttermilk, sour cream, and vanilla to the same bowl. Use a hand whisk to gently stir until the wet ingredients are combined with the dry and no lumps remain. Do not overmix
- Mix the instant coffee with the boiling water in a separate bowl / cup, and pour it into the batter. Very gently fold until a smooth espresso cake batter forms
- Divide the batter evenly between the three lined pans
- Bake at 350F for ~20 min until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with light, moist crumbs attached
- Let the cakes cool in the pans for at least 20 minutes, then carefully turn them out. Cover with cling wrap and chill in the fridge for 30-60 minutes before frosting
Espresso Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Make sure the butter and cream cheese are fully softened at room temperature. Add them to the bowl of your stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment. Add the vanilla, salt, and instant coffee mixed with hot water. Whisk on medium-low speed for 2-3 minutes until the mixture becomes really smooth and creamy, scraping the bowl 2-3 times along the way
- Keeping the mixer on low speed, add the sugar one cup at a time until the frosting reaches the consistency and sweetness level you like. Do not whisk too long as it will become more runny
- If you feel the frosting is too soft, refrigerate for 10-20 minutes so it firms up a bit
Assembly:
- Once the cakes have cooled, carefully trim off the domes from them, and layer them with a generous amount of the frosting between them
- Cover with a thin layer of frosting on the top and sides (crumb coat) and refrigerate for ~20 minutes so the coat sets. Then cover with the remaining frosting
- Decorate the cake however you like. You can pipe on the frosting, or decorate with instant coffee and / or coffee beans
- Slice, serve & enjoy!
Video Tutorial
Notes
- *This recipe makes a generous amount of frosting. You can scale it down to 1 cup butter, 16 oz cream cheese, 1.5 tbsp coffee, and 3 cups powdered sugar if you prefer less frosting
Comments
Hina
Hi Zoha, I baked this cake for a birthday and everyone loved it. The coffee flavour in the cake shines with the cream cheese coffee frosting, it brings it together so beautifully. Thanks so much! 🙂
Zoha Malik
YAY thank you, Hina!
Suzan
Can I omit the buttermilk?
Also do I need to butter the pans in addition to parchment paper
Zoha Malik
Hi Suzan! I don’t recommend skipping the buttermilk but you can make your own with milk and vinegar/lemon juice. Yes, add butter first, then parchment to the bottom.
Fareen Kanji
Made the cake today for 40th birthday. Paired it with your chocolate cake recipe. I alter one layer espresso and one layer chocolate in a 4 layered cake. It is sooooo good and soooo moist. I’m struggling with the frosting. I like to pipe designs and find the frosting to be really soft. How can I reduce the butter and cream cheese ratio? I find there is too much cream cheese.
Zoha Malik
What a fun idea! You can replace every ounce of cream cheese with half an ounce of butter if you want to reduce the cream cheese vs butter. I also find you can make cream cheese frosting firmer if you refrigerate it 🙂
Fareen Kanji
Thank you. Would it work if I just reduced the cream cheese and not add any more butter?
Zoha Malik
You need some sort of base for the frosting! So I don’t recommend that but it might work 🙂
Sadeen
im pretty sure you can use Greek yogurt instead in a 1:1 ratio
perttu
Can i possibly use one pan?
Zoha Malik
No Perttu, this would be too much batter for one pan which means it won’t rise properly. I recommend using 3 pans for the best results, but a minimum of 2!
Baley Holt
This is the best cake I’ve ever made. So delicious. I’ve made 4 of Zoha’s recipes and I’d give them all 5 stars. I’m very impressed.
Zoha
Aw, Baley, that is so kind of you! 4 recipes is definitely a lot of trust you’ve put in me and I am so happy they haven’t disappointed.
A
My daughter wanted a coffee flavored cake for her birthday, and was super excited to find this one by Zoha (she recently watched her on Next Level Baker). This recipe did not disappoint! I used actual espresso shots instead of the instant, and the flavor was amazing! Easily my favorite cake to date!
Zoha
Thank you so much, A! Made my day 🙂
Peggy Horst
This is the most delicious cake we have ever eaten. Our neighbor said that “It’s to die for, it’s so good.” The cake was totally enjoyed by all. Thank you for posting this recipe.
Zoha
WOOO thank you so so much!
Aliya Hasan
The coffee frosting alone deserves 5 stars!
C
What’s a sour cream alternative?
Zoha
Try full fat yogurt!
Zoha
AWW thank you SO much!!
Mike
I made this cake Gluten Free. Everyone at work loved it! I used a stencil to make a cool design with the espresso powder.
javeria Hafeez
sour cream alternative plz
Azra
I am not a very experienced baker but this recipe was easy to follow and my cake was soooo good!
G
The best expresso recipe so far. So moist and delicious. This is definitely a fan favorite and will be made again. Thank you so glad I came across it,
Zoha
so glad you liked it!
Debbie
Can I make this in a sheet pan?
Zoha
Yes that should be fine! A 9×13 will make a nice thick cake 🙂
April Tom
I want to cry! I made this receipt and was hoping for an excellent cupcake but they turned out dry and my cupcakes are never dry! Any suggestions?
Zoha
Hi April! I of course have never made this cake as cupcakes, but dryness can be because of either too much flour, or overbaking.
amanda
Simply wonderful. Thank you for this recipe.
Abigail
Hi Zoha. What can I use instead of Sour Cream, since it’s not available where i live?
javeria Hafeez
sour cream alternative plz
Claire
Can this be made in 2 6 inch pans for a 2 layer 6 inch cake ?
Dani
I don’t have instant coffee, can I use espresso shots (I have a nespresso) or drip coffee? If so how much for both the frosting and cake? So excited to make!
Zoha
Hi Dani, unfortunately I haven’t tested this recipe with those ingredients, so would recommend getting instant coffee 🙁
Sabah Shabbir
Can I make batter at once and bake in two batches as my oven takes one pan
Nav
for half the size , how many eggs to consider?
Susan
instead of sour cream can i use buttermilk.
Zoha
Hi Susan! I think that should be ok in this recipe, though I haven’t tested it myself
Ume
Hi Zoha… this turned so good everybody loved it
SS
I used 1 egg and it turned out perfectly
Folimo
Made the cake base today and the taste of the baking soda is really over powering. Is this how it supposed to be?
Ethan
I don’t believe so. you may have added too little vanilla like I did once I added the rest it tasted fine but that may also be because I used real espresso instead of the powder. hope this helps 🙂
Zoha
hi there! no that shouldn’t be the case and is quite strange! was everything else about the cake ok?
Lucy
I made this cake today for a birthday and it was soooooo moist! I baked it in two 9 inch round pans and it came out perfectly!!! For the filling and frosting, I used mascarpone cheese instead of cream cheese and I omitted the butter. It came out so light and fluffy. I’ll definitely be making this again!